The Color of Money (1986)
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A seasoned pool hustler mentors a talented but impulsive young man as they travel to a major tournament.
The story
Former pro-pool player "Fast Eddie" Felson has given up the game and is now a successful liquor salesman in Chicago. However, he partners with pool players, including a hustler named Julian, who is outmatched at nine-ball by the young and charismatic Vincent Lauria. Recognizing Vincent's skill, and his girlfriend Carmen's inexperience at luring players to lose money, Eddie tells the couple of their excellent potential for hustling. Carmen visits Eddie alone to inquire about his interest in Vincent. Finding him working at Child World, Eddie invites Vincent to leave the next day for six weeks of hustling on the road, culminating in a nine-ball tournament in Atlantic City.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Eddie convinces Vincent and Carmen to join him on the road, the trio travels in a Cadillac, where Eddie attempts to teach Vincent the art of hustling. Tensions arise over Vincent's arrogance and showboating. During the journey, they encounter various players, including Orvis and the formidable Grady Seasons. Eddie eventually leaves Vincent and Carmen to head toward Atlantic City alone. In the tournament, Eddie triumphs against Vincent, only to discover Vincent had bet on him and shared the winnings. In a final move to reclaim his integrity, Eddie forfeits a match and faces Vincent in a private match to win legitimately.
- First release year
- 1986
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish
- Directors
- Martin Scorsese
- Writers
- Richard Price · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Paul Newman · Eddie "Fast Eddie" Felson; Tom Cruise · Vincent Lauria; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio · Carmen; Helen Shaver · Janelle; John Turturro · Julian; Bill Cobbs · Orvis; Forest Whitaker · Amos; Keith McCready · Grady
- Themes
- mentorship; ego; gambling
- Tone and mood
- jazzy; boisterous
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; drama; sequel
- Source material / true-story basis
- novel by Walter Tevis
- Franchise connections
- The Hustler
- Reception
- The film received generally positive critical response, though some critics considered it inferior as a sequel to The Hustler.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88% · scale: approval rating · review count: 48; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.10 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Actor · win
- Production trivia
- Tom Cruise practiced for hours to perform his own pool shots.; The film's title inspired the name of the 1993 video game, Doom.; The 1996 nine-ball challenge match between Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland was named "The Color of Money".
Genres
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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