Hustler [VHS]
by Robert Rossen
![Hustler [VHS]](/images/Hustler-VHS-630321245X-L.jpg)
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: George C. Scott, Jackie Gleason, Myron McCormick, Paul Newman, Piper LaurieDirector: Robert Rossen
Cinematographer: Eugen Sch?fftan
Producer: Robert Rossen
Writer: Robert Rossen
Editor: Dede Allen
Writer: Sidney Carroll
Writer: Walter Tevis
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 134 minutes
Release Date: 1999-10-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox
VHS Movie Reviews of Hustler [VHS]
Movie Review: You know, like anything can be great, anything can be great. I don't care, BRICKLAYING can be great, if a guy knows...
Summary: 4 Stars
When I sat down to watch the Hustler I expected it to be a pretty straight forward story of talent and greed, the build up to the match of a lifetime, win or lose, all the tropes that tend to come with a film about talent and obsession. I was expecting something along the lines of Steve McQueen and the Cincinnati Kid or Charles Bronson in Hard Times, which are both great flicks about gifted men trying to cut out a life in the seedy underbelly of America. The Hustler parallels both of these flicks, but it seems like there is a lot more to chew on in the story of Paul Newman's Fast Eddie, with his dream to beat the reigning champ of the pool hall, Minnesota Fats, played very restrained by Jackie Gleason.
The Hustler is one of those movie experiences that I tend to cherish. Often I find that I have a hard time getting into pre-70s films because I lack the experience and frame of reference to appreciate the merits of the filmmaking when I grew up in an era that built on that foundation. Hazarding a guess, I'd say that one of the merits of a film like the Hustler was its unique narrative flow. Instead of building to one climax, the plot has a number of peaks and valleys, throwing off the usual expectations and keeping the viewer engaged. It's also genre blending, not to mention incredibly subtle, even for its slightly hammy dialogue and heartfelt performances. What ended up hooking me into the story was that there was a thematic through line, Fast Eddie's search for love, that I really wasn't paying attention to, which in my mind has the true build up and climax to the story. It's not the love of a woman, or really a love of pool, but a love of process and meaning.
There's also an openness for interpretation, for finding allegory and metaphor in the film. George C. Scott might as well be playing the devil, and it's Fast Eddie's soul in the stakes pile with his match against Minnesota Fats. But the beauty of this is that it's in the details, and not so heavy handed that it makes the film overbearing or hard to watch. There's also a very realistic tone to the film. It's one of the touchstones in that era that illustrates the breaking away from ham-fisted, staged, theatrical filmmaking, to a more honest no holds barred portrayal of life, Cin?ma v?rit?, even for being filmed a good seven years before the end of the Hayes code. I'd suggest the Hustler for anyone who enjoys the early work of Marlon Brando, the films of James Dean and Steve McQueen, or early unconventional filmmaking.
Summary of Hustler [VHS]
Paul Newman shines as cocky poolroom hustler "Fast" Eddie Felson in Robert Rossen's atmospheric adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel. Newman's Felson is a swaggering pool shark punk who takes on the king of the poolroom, Minnesota Fats (a cool, assured Jackie Gleason in his most understated performance). After losing big and crashing into a void of self-pity, Eddie meets down-and-out Sarah (Piper Laurie in a delicate performance), an alcoholic blue blood who's dropped into Eddie's world of dingy bars and seedy poolrooms. Eddie regains his confidence and attracts the attention of a shifty, calculating promoter, Bert Gordon (George C. Scott at his most heartless), who offers to bring Eddie into the big money--but at what cost? Rossen brings his film to life with the easy pace of a pool game, giving his actors room to explore their characters and develop into a razor-sharp ensemble. Eugen Sch?fftan earned an Academy Award for his shadowing black-and-white cinematography, as did art directors Harry Horner and Gene Callahan for their deceivingly simple set designs. Even in the daylight this film seems to be smothered by night, lit by the dim glow of a bar lamp or the overhead glare of a pool-table light, an appropriate environment for this tale of one man's struggle with his soul and his self-esteem. Newman returned as an older, wiser, cagier Felson 25 years later in Martin Scorsese's Color of Money. --Sean AxmakerDrama VHS Video
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