One man's search for character

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2006)

"The Hustler" and "The Color of Money" are movies for two different generations and ought not to be considered as a movie and its sequel. The only person who can carry from one movie to the other is Paul Newman, and his "Hustler" performance, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, is far above the performance in "Color" for which he got an Oscar for Best Actor! There simply is no comparison. Rent (or buy) both and see for yourself. No question the first movie had the better acting in it: George C. Scott, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, Murray Hamilton, Myron McCormack, etc. We want to see Eddie redeemed in "Color"  hinting that it might not have yet come for him in spite of what he experienced through the loss of Sarah (Piper Laurie) and the betrayal by Bert (George C. Scott). He seems to have survived in "Color" but it is unfortunate he did not allude to anyone who was in the first movie, particularly Sarah. I first saw "The Hustler" when it came out in 1961, and now that I own the DVD, I plan to enjoy it many times. It depicted a very small world, but it was a world made up of people like you and I. The ending was classic. In spite of Eddie's defeat of Fats, life seems to go on. Fats goes home, Bert goes back to his chair, the spectators of the game shuffle off into the nothingness from which they came, and Eddie moves out into his new life, but with hope. It is a good movie if you want to come out with a good feeling about the spirit of life itself.