I'm an avid pool player and not that bad, I might add. But I say this as a kid along with all the other Paul Newman flicks and this movie is what got me interested in pool to begin with. Come on folks, can anybody say there's a better pool movie than this?
shareThis and its sequel TCOM are the two best pool movies by far. This was a better movie, but it was less about pool then TCOM was.
What competition is there?
The Baltimore Bullet? Pretty fake movie, awesome flashback of the late 70's pro's though.
Pool Hall Junkies? Royal crap, nothing like the real pool scene. Nothing like the real game, totally crap for anyone who knows anything about the game.
Stickmen? As bad as PHJ, maybe even worse and that is saying alot.
Any others are so unknown and rare even I have not seen them and I see every pool movie I can. What someone needs to do is write a script about a pool players life through the 20th century, starting in the 20's and being told as flashbacks of the players life through the 80 years of the game. Think McGoorty, only a film instead of a book.
have not seen The Huster. Will make it a priority. Kiss Shot with Whoopi Goldberg is entertaining.
shareSo sad, there aren't really any good pool movies out there other than the two Paul Newman classics. When I go to Hollywood to be a director I'll just have to pitch the idea to my producers.
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of course it is.
there are only two good pool movies and its the hustler and the color of money. i rented them both when i was 16 and watched them for the first times back to back. i must have seen the hustler 100x and tcom 1000x. i am a religious pool player for the past ten years because of this film, and i think that as far as films go these are a pretty good pair to have in our sport. The hustler is no doubt 4 stars, and maybe the best acted movie of its decade. the color of money was newmans best performance in my opinion, directed by scorsese (the best of all time, imho) and extremely entertaining as well. the only thing holding it back from four star status is the script. and maybe cruises acting, but thats arguable. how about gleason in the hustler? HOW ABOUT SCOTT IN THE HUSTLER??? even piper laurie was amazing. as close to ideal as any pool movie could be, bar none.
favorite quote (haven't seen it in a year, excuse my mistakes...)
"...Cuz when im goin, i mean when im REALLY goin i feel like... a jockey must feel, i mean hes got all this speed and power under him. comin into the stretch, and he knows. just feels. when to let it go and how much. cuz hes got everything going for him, timing touch. and its a great feelin, boy its a REAL great feelin, when you're right...and you know you're right. (pause) its like all of a sudden i got oil in my arm. pool cues PART of me. pool cues got nerves, its a piece of wood, and its got nerves in it. you can make shots that nobodys ever made before, and play that game the way... nobodys ever played it before."
"youre not a loser, eddie, youre a winner...(and on and on and on...)"
when i first heard that line, i was paralyzed by chills. i knew what he meant, and i wanted to feel it right then. i have been feeling it ever since, probably because i saw that film.
Nick
I second that virbilkint.
I really love 'tcom' because it makes you feel that feeling like when your unbeatable. It's viral in that respect. How about a special edition tcom?
The hustler for me has more depth in it, explaining more about what makes the player etc. I love the whole 'character' thing.
These two films make you want to go out and play pool which can only be a good thing.
I also have watched Poolhall Junkies and in my humble opinion it is deffinately not as good. I had high hopes as the movie started off great with when he was younger and that. I just wish that the shots were better and the film showed a little more tension, perhaps a change in camera work may have been a fix. I just did not get the poolroom feeling when I watched it. I loved the christopher Walken scenes, brilliant!
The other movies/TV I know about are: (please excuse my spelling and my lack of knowledge about these films)
The Baltimore bullet
The Baron and the kid
Stickmen
Shooting Gallery
Up against the eight ball
Also an episode of the twilight zone apparently had one programme featuring pool?? Dontknow for sure though. In fact I can't be sure of these last ones, can anyone verify, or indeed ad more?
The Twilight Zone episode featured Jack Klugman.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734540/
It was quite good and he made a strong performance.
If you've seen The Color of Money and The Hustler, you owe it to yourself to see Rounders. Although, it is about poker and not pool, it had the same feel to me as The Hustler and I thought it basically told the same story.
sharePool Sharks (1915)
Bad Boy (1935)
The Hustler (1961)
The Player (1971)
The Baltimore Bullet (1980)
The Baron and the Kid (1984)
The Color of Money (1986)
Kiss Shot (1989)
Chalk (1996)
Stickmen (2001)
Poolhall Junkies (2002)
Behind the Nine (2003)
Up Against the Eight Ball (2004)
The Shooting Gallery (2005)
Kisses and Caroms (2006)
Turn The River (2007)
Possible up coming "9-Ball" with top female players (supposed to have been out a long time again, IMDB says 2013 now.
There aren't many pool movies to choose from, but The Hustler has got to be number one. When this movie was released, the game of pool sustained a surge in popularity.
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Stripping under the name Malcolm Sex, I pleased the ladies by any means necessary.
With the right script, casting, and director, a future biopic about the life of Willie Mosconi based on his autobiography Willie's Game and R.A. Dyer's The Hustler And The Champ has potential greatness, both as a great film about the games of pocket billiards and also the gamers who either elevated pool or were elevated by it. Who could portray Willie any better than Tom Cruise, both in appearance as well as stature, and possibly his playing ability achieved in TCOM? Having been a teenager (living in his hometown) during the latter half of Mosconi's pro career in the 50s, hopefully I will be around to enjoy such a film; we've already lost the best actor for the role of MN Fats, James Gandolfini...
shareim sorry but i cant really think of any other pool themed movies out there. they dont seem to make that many of them in hollywood. but i really liked this movie anyway. paul newman was great in this.
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Funny thing, it is not really a film about pool. Great screenplay.
shareEasily. Kind of like "Jaws" is the best shark movie ever!
I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! [slurp!] I DRINK IT UP! - Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood