Product Description

Paul Newman heads a superb cast featuring Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie in the riveting film that received an Academy Award(r) nomination as Best Picture of 1961 and brought all four of its Oscar(r) nomination. Newman (Best Actor nominee) is electrifying as Fast Eddie Felson, an arrogant, amoral hustler who haunts backstreet pool rooms fleecing anyone who'll pick up a cue. Determined to be acclaimed as the best, Eddie seeks out the legendary Minnesota Fats (Gleason, Supporting Actor nominee), who's backed by Bert Gordon (Scott, Supporting Actor nominee), a predatory gambler. Eddie can beat the champ, but virtually defeats himself with his low self-image. The love of a lonely woman (Laurie, Best Actress nominee) could turn Eddie's life around, but he won't rest until he beats Minnesota Fats, no matter what price he must pay. Voted one of the year's ten best by "The New York Times" and "Time," and distinguished by 2 Academy Awards- Cinematography, Art Direction-Set Decoration (B&W), The Hustler is a dazzling cinematic triumph.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18662 in DVD
• Brand: Fox
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Collector's Edition, Black & White, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 134 minutes

Amazon.com
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 Schüfftan 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 Axmaker

On the DVDs
In addition to a wealth of new material, all of the bonus features from 2002's special edition DVD of The Hustler are included on this two-disc Collector's Edition. The full-length audio commentary is an assembly of several interviews, combining pre-recorded questions by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV with anecdotes, recollections, and observations by star Paul Newman, film editor Dede Allen, Carol Rossen (daughter of director Robert Rossen), filmmaker Ulu Grosbard (who served as assistant director on The Hustler), actor Stefan Gierasch (who played "Preacher" in the film), writer-producer Jeff Young, and Time magazine film critic/historian Richard Schickel, who was a friend of the late Robert Rossen. The commentary is wide-ranging and intelligent, covering a broad spectrum of topics from on-the-set memories, thematic analysis, production history, and historical context. Also carried over from the previous DVD is the full-frame documentary "The Hustler: The Inside Story" (24:30), in which Schickel, Grosbard, Carol Rossen, the late Law & Order actor Jerry Orbach, and several authors, billiards historians and champion pool players provide personal perspectives on The Hustler's enduring appeal. The documentary also includes vintage 1961 newsreel footage of red-carpet ceremonies at The Hustler's New York premiere. In "How to Make the Shot," pool champion Mike Massey provides a picture-in-picture demonstration of five challenging pool shots shown in the film.

The new Collector's Edition features begin with "Life in the Fast Lane: Fast Eddie Felson and the Search for Greatness" (11:50), in which Paul Newman, costar Piper Laurie, Dede Allen, actor Michael Constantine, and USC film-school professor Drew Casper are seen in separate interviews, discussing the personality, psychology, and motivations of Newman's memorable character. Most of the same interviewees appear in "Milestones in Cinema History" (28:00), an excellent in-depth study of The Hustler, focusing on the film's themes of winning and losing in America, its place in the history of cinematic social realism, and revealing character analysis. In "Swimming with Sharks: The Art of the Hustle" (9:35), several authors and professional billiards players discuss the history of pool sharks and The Hustler's authentic depiction of pool-hall hustlers. "Paul Newman: Hollywood's Cool Hand" (43:40) is a full-length episode of Biography from 2003, narrated by Lost in Space alumnus Bill Mumy and providing a thorough biographical profile of Newman from the start of his stellar career and long-time marriage to Joanne Woodward, to his superb supporting role in 2002's Road to Perdition. "The Films of Paul Newman" is a collection of eight trailers from 20th-Century Fox productions that Newman starred in; the stills gallery consists of nine images (stills, posters, etc.) from The Hustler; and the film's English and Spanish-language theatrical trailers are also included. --Jeff Shannon