The hustler
(DVD)

Based on the novel by Walter S. Tevis.

Special features include: The hustler: the inside story (25 min.) ; How to make the shot (3 min.) ; Trick shot analysis by world champion trick shot artist, Mike Massey (14 min.) ; Commentary (by Paul Newman, Carol Rossen, Dede Allen, Stefan Gierasch, Ulu Grosbard, Richard Schickel, and Jeff Young) ; Behind the scenes still gallery ; Trailers (7 min.) ; THX optimizer.-- Trick shot analysis [interactive featurette(s)] (14 min.).

Director of photography, Eugene Shuftan ; film editor, Dede Allen ; music by Kenyon Hopkins ; production designer, Harry Horner ; technical advisor, Willie Mosconi ; costume designer, Ruth Morley.

Paul Newman (Eddie Felson), Piper Laurie (Sarah Packard), George C. Scott (Bert Gordon), Jackie Gleason (Minnesota Fats), Myron McCormick (Charlie Burns), Murray Hamilton (Findley), Michael Constantine (Big John), Stefan Gierasch (Preacher), Cliff Pellow (Turk), Jake LaMotta (Bartender), Gordon B. Clarke (Cashier), Alexander Rose (Score keeper), Carolyn Coates (Waitress), Carl York (Young hustler), Vincent Gardenia (Bartender).

Originally produced as an American motion picture in 1961.

New York. Ames Billiards, with high ceilings and air of hushed concentration, is a church of pool. "Fast" Eddie Felson enters as an innocent con man and leaves with a taste of what the world can do, that talent alone will only get him so far, and that a man's search for "character," that hard-to-define quality that is simultaneously elusive and essential, could last a lifetime. Having come to take on pool legend Minnesota Fats, Eddie is soundly beaten because he doesn't know how to control his impulses. He finds comfort with down-and-out Sarah, a lonely part-time student with a drinking problem, and plans a comeback. Eddie makes a deal with Bert Gordon, a big-time gambler, to act as his manager and stake horse. Under Gordon's tutelage, Eddie learns hard lessons fast. In his rematch with Fats, Eddie wins a bittersweet victory, but can he regain his self-respect?

No MPAA rating; Canadian Home Video Rating: PG.

DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby digital stereo (English only), Dolby digital mono.; anamorphic widescreen presentation, 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

In English, dubbed French, or dubbed Spanish with optional subtitles in English or Spanish; closed-captioned.

Winner, 1962 Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White--Harry Horner, Gene Callahan; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White--Eugen Schüfftan; 1962 BAFTA Film Awards for Best Film from any Source; Best Foreign Actor--Paul Newman.

Named to the National Film Registry in 1997 by the Library of Congress.