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The Hustler

1961

Robert Rossen

Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott, Piper Laurie ...

8.2

30,932

Drama "Fast" Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is a self-assured upstart pool shark who frequents the local halls to get a crack at bringing down the legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Under the wing of corrupt manager Bert Gordon (George C. Scott), Eddie begins to struggle to the top. But when he starts to have real feelings for a woman (Piper Laurie), hes faced with a dilemma. This acclaimed drama was nominated for 9 Academy Awards ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"There are only a handful of movie characters so real that the audience refers to them as touchstones. Fast Eddie Felson is one of them (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"
		Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"Under Robert Rossen's strong direction, its ruthless and odorous account of one young hustler's eventual emancipation is positive and alive. It crackles with credible passions."
		Arthur Ryel-Lindsey Slant	"This is the purest examination of an athlete’s internal struggle ever mounted for the screen (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"
		Philip French The Guardian	"All three [actors] are superb and were Oscar-nominated (...) A film that has grown in stature over the years."
		Keith Phipps AV Club	"Like the best sports films, 'The Hustler' makes the game look exciting even to outsiders, but Rossen's film is ultimately about a more universal subject than impossible breaks and the heavy spin of masse shots"
		Rob Fraser Empire	"There's a huge amount of style in this picture, but also a huge amount of substance underpinning it (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Chris Peachment Time Out	"A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance"
		Stella Papamichael BBC	"So indelible was his performance [Newman's] (...) that Martin Scorsese asked him to reprise the role in 'The Color Of Money' (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Variety	"'The Hustler' belongs to that school of screen realism that allows impressive performances but defeats the basic goal of pure entertainment."

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