The Hustler [Blu-ray] | DVD Review

The Hustler is a splendidly constructed entertainment, with each frame attesting to high levels of craft in every phase of its production. Helmed by Robert Rossen, a talented writer/director of hardnosed dramas, this is at heart a sports movie that somehow manages to avoid the genre’s clichéd baggage. There’s no Rocky triumphalism, no Hoosiers man-love sentimentality, and yet its narrative building blocks, however darkly rendered, follow a similar blueprint to countless other scripts about unlikely champions. If all sports movies are basically a variation on David vs. Goliath, then The Hustler expands that theme by encompassing other elements of the David story, including his moral imperfections, blind ambition and arrogant sense of entitlement. There’s even a seductive but tragically flawed Bathsheba thrown into the mix.

Rossen, who had his promising career stifled for a decade by the HUAC investigations, felt an unusual empathy for this story of deferred redemption, and The Hustler marked his return to mainstream American filmmaking. Scoring great success early in his career with Oscar winners Body and Soul and All the King’s Men, Rossen spent the bulk of the 1950s making B-movies in Europe and Mexico, partially in an effort to avoid McCarthy’s subpoenas. The story first appeared in 1959 as a popular novel by Walter Tevis, and to Rossen, in his younger days a boxer and occasional pool shark, the tale was a perfect match for his storytelling instincts.

But picking a good source was not Rossen’s only sage decision. In fact, The Hustler must be considered one of the most perfectly cast films in Hollywood history. Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson, a brash young magician with a cue stick, is nothing short of a revelation. Felson is on the fast track to the top of the shadowy world of big money pool hustling, and Newman radiates the cocky charm such a journey would require. Here we see the genesis of the sarcastic, smart-ass edge Newman would later perfect in some of his most memorable roles. Whether it’s Butch Cassidy or Henry Gondorff in The Sting, it was Fast Eddie who taught Newman how to play a lovable rogue.

But Eddie is not easy to love. In his first marathon attempt to knock off the legendary Minnesota Fats, Eddie proves that he’s incapable of handling success. After dominating early, Eddie succumbs to ego, gloating and his own destructive addictions, and eventually staggers away a penniless loser. Fats is played by Jackie Gleason, but exhibits not a trace of Ralph Cramden’s sloppiness. Cool, calm and intensely focused, Gleason’s approach is laced with the quiet reverence born of experience; a man at the top of his game who knows how difficult it is to stay there. Although renowned for his outsized characters, here Gleason shows the patience and restraint of a minimalist. Gleason moves around the billiard table with the efficient grace of a jungle cat, and Newman is left a withered husk who can only marvel with defeated blue eyes.

This sequence is a powerful illustration of why Dede Allen went on to become Hollywood’s most sought after editor. Here, Allen creates several time compression montages that, amazingly, don’t feel like montages. By cleverly placed reaction shots and cutting on matching movement – even movement that could be considered a continuity error by the literally minded –she created an effective illusion of real time. Pool can be a boring sport to watch – just try to sit through it on ESPN some time – but Allen’s assembly makes the action fresh and exciting, without resorting to obvious up-cuts or dreamy dissolves. Most importantly, she perfects the pace while ingenuously convincing viewers of Newman and Gleason’s exceptional skills at shot making, enhancing the film’s rugged, streetwise credibility.

Humiliated and fed up with billiards, Newman stashes his meager belongings in a Port Authority locker and resigns himself to a quiet life of binge drinking and wallowing in self pity. A solitary redhead catches his eye at the lunch counter, a fellow wounded soul named Susan Packard (Piper Laurie) and before long they’ve set up housekeeping in a cozy flat for three: Eddie, Susan and a bottle.

As the only female character in this film, Laurie is charged with a heavy dramatic load. Her Susan shares many of Eddie’s dour destructive tendencies, but without his playful, charming counterbalances. Laurie also doesn’t look the part; she appears much too refined and elegant for a morose young woman in the process of slowly drinking herself to death. But Laurie takes these obstacles and turns them into powerful performance enhancers. By confounding our prejudices, she becomes an even deeper and more tragic figure than could ever be conveyed by dialogue alone. Just as Newman’s eyes emanate a sensitive but impish wit, Laurie’s reflect guilt and wrenching disappointment; the distorted, crackled contours of a life defined by empty bottles and lonely winter nights. Laurie transmits all this and more, with an effortless conviction that elevates her performance from innovative to extraordinary. On the cinema transition timeline from June Cleaver to Bree Daniels, troubled Susan Packard is an evolutionary highlight.

As the film moves into the final act, there are two other delicious performances to be savored. A newly weaned George C. Scott appears as a sort of pool hustler booking agent hoping to entice Fast Eddie out of self-imposed exile. Scott, ever the immensely talented sensationalist, emits deadly toxic sleaze convincingly disguised as business acumen. As Eddie slowly falls under his sway, alarm bells sound in the besotted soul of Susan, who realizes her love for this self-centered pool shark has reached the point of no return, and she makes a fateful decision that will require the ultimate sacrifice. Meanwhile, consummate character actor Murray Hamilton, as a closeted upper-class Southern homosexual, strikes chords of utter perfection, breathing decadent life into a character that, in 1961, could only be portrayed through heavy coding and subtle innuendo. And as Eddie, now a somewhat purified and chastened spirit, resumes his climb to the top, he finds whole new wells of strength to draw upon. But that strength presents an imposing new challenge. Eddie must now succeed not only for himself, but to honor those who have paid dearly for their faith in him.

The film is presented in its original Cinemascope format, giving the frame a wide horizontal axis, perfect for accommodating the full thrust of cue sticks and overhead scenes of billiard tables. DP Eugene Shuftan, who won the Oscar for cinematography for this film, was a skilled technician whose lengthy resume includes work on everything from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis to the hippie cult classic Chappaqua. He avoided the obvious Noir lighting schemes – and with this subject matter it must have been a temptation – in favor of a balanced look that emphasized detail over dramatics. The Hustler is not a story of shadows and fog but of intimate human dynamics. The Hi-Def transfer keeps that philosophy in mind as well, giving us a good, sharp look at the characters’ faces while maintaining a rich tonality. The film’s aesthetics are simple and ungimmicky, carefully invoking the feel of available light while small instruments quietly sculpt the actors and the sets. This reviewer has long been of the opinion that some of the best B/W cinematography was done during the format’s dying days, and the naturalist textures of The Hustler lends support to that theory.

The track has been remastered in 5.1, an effort usually of questionable value, but here there’s sufficient motivation and the sonic space created is highly effective. The sharp clack of the cue balls, the rumble against the felt, the satisfying bounce as a ball drops into the pocket, all become tactile as well as audible. The bluesy jazz score by Don Terry, while used with restraint, shines in this new mix; the brasses cutting through with goose bump producing power and clarity.

The release of this 50th Anniversary edition has been timed to appeal to shoppers seeking Father’s Day and Graduation gifts, and features deluxe packaging and a cornucopia of bonus material.

Commentary by Paul Newman, Carol Rossen (Robert Rossen’s Daughter), Dede Allen (Editor), Stefan Gierasch (Actor), Ulu Grosbard (Assistant Director), Richard Schickel (Film Critic, Time Magazine) and Jeff Young (Film Historian)

The film’s commentary track is unconventional. The bulk of it has been culled from on camera interviews that appear later in the extras, so there is no sense of watching the movie along with the interviewees, and their comments rarely relate to what’s happening that moment on the screen. I suppose it’s a credible solution, considering how few cast and crew members survive. The late DeDe Allen’s recollections are the most enlightening in terms of the nuts and bolts of the production, and of particular interest is the pressure she received from 20th Century Fox to recut the film into a typical gangster pic, pressure she and Rossen had to resist on a daily basis.

Paul Newman at Fox
A brand-centric review of the Newman filmography, this short focuses mainly on the films he did for Fox while still under contract at Warner Brothers. Clips from The Long, Hot Summer, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Verdict document Newman’s range and artistic growth.

Jackie Gleason: The Big Man
This 8 minute profile offers perspective on the role of Minnesota Fats in relation to the wide variety of characters Gleason created throughout his career. We see how Gleason put his impoverished Brooklyn childhood to good use in bringing the iconic pool shark to life.

The Real Hustler: Walter Tevis
A fascinating featurette on the author of The Hustler novel tells how a sickly kid from Oakland went on to fame both as a writer and an academic. Then, in Fast Eddie style, Tevis risked it all in pursuit of a beautiful woman and one last chance at bliss. It’s an intriguing true story of life imitating art.

Life in the Fast Lane: Fast Eddie Felson and The Search for Greatness
This piece focuses on Newman’s development of the character of Fast Eddie, with a revealing emphasis on the two men’s similarities. Both were talented, but undisciplined individuals driven by a hunger to be taken seriously in their chosen fields.

Milestones in Cinema History: The Making of The Hustler
Weighing in at 27 minutes, this doc consists mainly of behind-the-scenes recollections of Newman, Piper Laurie and actor Michael Constantine. Professor Drew Casper from USC offers analysis of the film’s place in cinema history, along with theories on the game of pool as a metaphor, signifying the ability of individuals to transcend class struggle.

Swimming with Sharks: The Art of the Hustle
An interesting piece on the history and evolution of the game of pool, and how this former Sport of Kings became popular with gamblers and associated with shady dealings. A variety of experts describe the techniques and protocols of professional pool hustling, and former champ Mark Eberle discusses the origins of the Minnesota Fats character who, despite popular legend, was a fictional creation.

The Hustler: The Inside Story
Much of the commentary track was pulled from this lengthy documentary. We hear more detail about Robert Rossen and his struggles during the Red Scare days, and the intense learning curve Newman, who had never even held a cue stick prior to getting the role of Fast Eddie, endured to master the game of pool.

Paul Newman: Hollywood’s Cool Hand Documentary
This episode from The History Channel’s Biography series is a thorough tutelage in the life and times of Paul Newman; from his childhood in Ohio to Hollywood success to his passionate interest in racing and philanthropy. While most of the material will be familiar to fans of the actor, there are some very entertaining moments when Newman recounts the many inventive and elaborate practical jokes he and Robert Redford used to play on each other.

Trick Shot Analysis of Five Scenes
Legendary pool shot artist Mike Massey offers his analysis of some of the film’s most complex game sequences. He appears in an inset mortise, while the scenes he describes play in the background. This is one of my favorite items among the bonus material, for along with technical appraisals of the shot-making, Massey also points out a number of continuity errors that are unnoticeable to the casual viewer.

How to Make the Shot Featuring Five Scenes
Here Massey demonstrates the proper techniques to execute a selection of shots from the film.

Theatrical Trailer
The Hustler’s trailer was as sharp and lean as the film. Using no narration and only a few animated titles, the scenes were simply allowed to speak for themselves. The trailer showed a trust and respect for audiences’ intelligence that was unusual for 1961. It’s unusual for 2011, for that matter.

Spanish Theatrical Trailer
This inclusion is not as superfluous as it may seem. While its basic structure in identical to the American version, this trailer for El Audaz has one key and fascinating difference. Here, the close-up kissing shot packs a bit more steam, as Newman and Laurie are shown with bare shoulders. In the American trailer, and in the film, they are both dressed.

14 Page Collectable Book
The disc is packaged inside a hard bound booklet that features a synopsis of the film and biographies of the principle actors interspersed with a generous selection of stills. The paper and binding are of high quality, and the book is an attractive alternative to the traditional DVD case.

A hit when first released and nominated for 9 Oscars, The Hustler still has much to offer on its 50th birthday. One of the most striking aspects of this sports movie for grown-ups is its sheer timelessness. The archetypal characters presented here could have been freshly minted from the pages of today’s news. The world still has its share of talented but self destructive individuals, along with lonely, tragic souls who turn to substance abuse to succor their painful wounds. And there are still plenty of manipulative parasites who will stop at nothing to take advantage of them. The film has not only held up, but has obtained deeper richness with time, taking on the lustrous patina that comes from hand made quality and skillful execution. In only one way does The Hustler resemble an antique; its example of filmmaking excellence is becoming rarer and more valuable every day.

Reviewed By David Anderson

Movie rating – 4.5

Disc Rating – 4