In a nutshell, The Hustler, and its sequel – The Color of Money – twenty-odd years later, are films about the relationships among a talented but immature young man, his love interest, and the seasoned veteran who exploits / trains the young man’s talent.

Of course, this is a serious over-generalization; still, it would be interesting to compare the two films, a quarter of a century apart, not the least because of Paul Newman, who stars in the same role in both films.

What to me was most impressive about The Hustler was the opening. The charismatic Mr. Newman – and boy does he appear so young! – captures the audience effortlessly, with that big and almost childish (but nonetheless potently charming) smile. If I were female I would probably have fallen for Mr. Newman at that instant – and by saying so I am probably already revealing too much of my fondness for this actor.

But of course, the film would not be a classic if it were simply a stage for Mr. Newman’s sex appeal. And the light humor of the film’s opening is deceptive, in that the rest of this 135 minute film is decidedly somber.

Mr. Newman, who plays “Fast” Eddie Felson, is a talented young pool hustler – that is, he makes money by playing and gambling at the pool table. When he losses an opportunity to beat Minnesota Fats, who is “the best player” in the country, he is determined to stick around until he has enough money to challenge Fats again. In the process, he hooks up with a mysterious young girl named Sarah (Piper Laurie, in an Oscar-nominated role), and seeks out a sly gambler / bookmaker (Bert, played by George C. Scott) to help him raise money.

Eddie’s relationship with Sarah is a fragile one – both do not talk about their respective histories, and at face value their relationship seems to be blank besides the physical pleasures. However underneath the silence is their obvious and straightforward affection for each other, and you get the sense that, despite their past pains, and the uncertainties ahead, this young couple is willing to risk their hearts for love.

The film is clever in setting up this fragile relationship first, and then insert Bert the semi-antagonist into the picture, thus changing the dynamics. Sarah appears to see through Bert, and vice versa; Eddie, on the other hand, is desperate enough to be willingly exploited. The film’s climax is presented when Eddie is forced to make a choice.

As someone else commented, the brilliance of The Hustler is how it directs the audience. For almost two whole hours, the audience eagerly awaits the rematch between Eddie and Fats, and all the while we have probably already developed various scenarios of how it would look like in our heads – but by the time it does happen, the film has already turned in another direction, and while the rematch is as we had expected, we have been taught a bigger lesson – that there are more things to life than winning and losing.

8/10

http://www.dani19.com/2009/03/16/the-hustler-1961/

艾迪是遊走於撞球界玩世不恭的撞球高手兼老千，自視甚高的艾迪最大目標是在撞球界稱王，首先他要挑戰的便是傳奇人物明尼蘇達胖子，太急於求勝而心浮氣躁的艾迪，終究失敗了。頹喪落魄的他在此時遇見了患有小兒麻痺的奇女子莎拉，兩人在低潮中陷入熱戀，但艾迪一直被撞球界的名利所蒙蔽，仍欲東山再起，殊不知這卻是他即將身陷的另一個危機。

咖啡店的早晨，落魄的艾迪和美丽神秘的女子莎拉相遇了，两个人很快住在了一起，两个人的背后都有着一些故事。两个人住在廉价的房间里 一段时间整天就是喝酒做爱，不谈任何感情，也不谈各自的故事，彼此像陌生人一样住在一起。终有一天，莎拉表达了自己对艾迪的爱意，并希望能够激励艾迪。但艾迪始终没有说出那三个字。关于最后面女人的死我的看法是女人希望通过自己的死来让男人看清楚一些事情，然后真正成熟起来。。

  
 “江湖浪子” 影评渺渺。

   我最不忍明珠蒙尘。即便是六十年代初的黑白胶片。

   正如保罗·纽曼饰演的“快手艾迪”在台球厅里的表现让围观者惊呼又无语一样。

  这部仅仅揽获奥斯卡九项提名的黑白故事，一定是评委们对它的精彩措
手不及之后，发现没有合适它的奖项。

  女角“萨拉” 是跛足嗜酒却掩遮不住感性双眼的女子、她手里的打字机平庸中散发绝望。

   两人在酒吧相识、落魄环境中的有趣对话。

   艾迪对胜利的执着，其实正是对于他自我的“感觉”执着。

   这不仅仅是生硬的落袋技术、这是和球杆有关的精湛的灵魂艺术。

       

  当这“感觉”来时，战无不胜、精彩频频、

  而纽曼的出色演技很好的诠释了什么叫台球桌上的金鸡独舞。
 
  当感觉去时、他自信峻减、醉败潦倒。。。。

     这一切多么自然。而试图让这一切僵硬如“明尼苏达胖子”
的，是资本家们。当然，实际上是整个资本环境。

    伯特·戈登是这一影片的黑色代表，他告诉艾迪：你是一个天生的输家，因为你没有赢的性格，

    我觉得暗语便是“你缺乏适合资本社会的性格”。


 艾迪最终不得不接受了资本家代表伯特·戈登75%提成的苛刻压榨。

  这是对精神胜利的执着所引发，也导致了剧情悲剧化的发展。


  “这里的人表面衣冠楚楚，其实都是伪君子，你难道要像他们一样吗” 莎拉这些话最终代表了精神和资本物质的对立和决裂。


   莎拉的结局是极具现实主义的悲情，当我意味到剧中女角可能悲剧时，悲剧就在那几个刹那发生了。麻醉、颓性与自杀的确是没有希望的代表性黑暗之一。（遗憾的是每个“现代化国度”都没有改变这一现象）


   如很多人以为影片中女性角色是附庸的见解不同，我认为莎拉始终是独立的。（这和后来终于斩获奥斯卡的《金钱本色》有很大不同。）

   当艾迪终究自嘲似的拥有了所谓的“性格”之后，他的确是战无不胜的。 是的，也许是战无不胜的机器人。

   最后的剧情对话引人深省，

“你可以走出去，但你永远不许进高级桌球室”


  我觉得可以如下理解



   “如果想要精神的畅快胜利，那就接受资本压榨、控制、阉割吧。”


   但艾迪因为莎拉而选择离开这一切。并且不再和资本家妥协。

  
  警告语：


  “千万为了资本和欲望而过分攫取，精神泯灭之后，你还真实拥有着什么？”

    

       好吧瞌睡昏沉、不知所云。这并不妨碍我对这部矛盾纷呈、表演出色、剧情难忘的电影赞不绝口。 不是么，黑白片的质量果然要上乘一些。