The Color of Money (1986)

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Walter Tevis (novel), Richard Price (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Fast Eddie Felson
Tom Cruise	...	Vincent Lauria
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Carmen
Helen Shaver	...	Janelle
John Turturro	...	Julian
Bill Cobbs	...	Orvis
Robert Agins	...	Earl at Chalkie's
Alvin Anastasia	...	Kennedy
Randall Arney	...	Child World Customer #1
Elizabeth Bracco	...	Diane at Bar
Vito D'Ambrosio	...	Lou at Child World
Ron Dean	...	Guy in Crowd
Lisa Dodson	...	Child World Customer #2
Donald A. Feeney	...	Referee #1
Paul Geier	...	Two Brothers / Stranger Player

Storyline

Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson finds the young, promising pool player Vincent in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. To try and make it as in the old days, Eddie offers to teach Vincent how to be a hustler. After some hesitations Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent's girlfriend Carmen on a tour through the country to work the pool halls. However, Vincent's tendency to show off his talent and by doing so warning off the players and losing money, soon leads to a confrontation with Eddie.

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Plot Keywords:

pool | pool player | hustler | comeback | bar | 

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Taglines:

The hustler isn't what he used to be, but he has the next best thing: a kid who is

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

El color del dinero

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,800,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$52,293,982 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the film, Eddie comments that it has been "25 years" since he last played. In real life, it had been 25 years (1961 - 1986) since The Hustler, where Newman had first played Fast Eddie.

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Goofs

When Vince is letting Eddie know he dumped the match between the two he refers to his banked 5-ball but it's actually the 3-ball he banked and missed.

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Quotes

Eddie Felson: You know what this is turning into?
Vincent Lauria: What?
Eddie Felson: A waste of my time, and a waste of my money.
[Slams car door]
Vincent Lauria: What? You're just gonna' leave me here?
[Eddie drives off]
Vincent Lauria: I don't believe this guy!

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Crazy Credits

Dog Walkby (Zoe)

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.96 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"One More Night"
Written and Performed by Phil Collins
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp. / WEA International
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

He's back alright !

25 years after casting his magic in The Hustler, Paul Newman returns again as Fast Eddie Felson, and the results are almost as good as the 1961 offering. Here he is older and wiser and carrying around a cue case full of cynicism, tho no longer involved in the game of pool he has his hunger for the game and the money it makes, rekindled by a meeting with dynamite hot shot Vincent and his beautiful girlfriend Carmen.

The story involves the three of them going on the road hustling and aiming for the big pay off that Vincent's talent can ultimately bring them, naturally it's not all sweetness and light tho.

It's a fine film when looking at it now, and I was amazed that it didn't feel like an 80s film as such, and this is down to the cracking direction of Martin Scorsese, it may be one of his most mainstream commercial offerings but his fine work is there for all to see. The camera glides around as if on air to create joyous results, shots that put the pool action right into the conscious of the viewer, it's a great effort. The film is further boosted by two wonderful performances from the leading men, Newman deserved his Oscar for putting such verve and honesty into the now grizzled Felson, there is a scene with Forest Whitaker that is Newman gold without him hardly having to say anything . Then there is Cruise, all big hair and a ball of adrenaline, a great ebullient show that is great fun to watch. I read somewhere that Newman praised Cruise for capturing the essence of a young Eddie Felson, well you can't say fairer than that. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio more than holds her own with the boys and fleshes out a smart and entertaining film that seems to get better with age, just like Felson funnily enough.

Oh he's back alright, 9/10.