Reviews

I bought this 2 disc collector's edition used which includes the flick and lots of extras for about $7 plus a few dollars for shipping. I'm adding it to my small film library which includes two other Paul Newman movies: Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy. Hustler has a great story and theme and wonderful acting. Paul Newman, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie have never been better. Jackie Gleason is suberb in this dramatic role as well. The B&W photorgaphy shot primarily on locations around New York is top notch. The DVD version is worth it just for the audio commentary alone which includes some of Paul Newman's thoughts. What I really liked about the commentary was Dede Allen's thoughts (editor) and Carol Rossen's (director's daughter) thoughts. Both add so much insight to the making of this great movie. I hope that Carol would consider writing a book about her memories of her dad. After all these years (movie was released in 1961) it still holds up because its main theme is still so important. How important is winning? What are we willing to give up in order to win? This was not a movie about pool but about life. Hollywood Howie

WITHOUT A DOUBT, 'THE HUSTLER' RANKS AS AMONG THE BEST AMERICAN FILMS OF ALL TIME. A GREAT CHARACTER DRIVEN STORY WITH SMOKEY POOLHALLS AND HUSHED GAMBLING DENS FOR BACKDROP AND ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON. JACKIE GLEASON WAS TERRIFIC IN THIS MOVIE, AS WAS GEORGE C. SCOOT, PIPER LAURIE AND MYRON McCORMICK, WHO PLAYED NEWMAN'S POOL MENTOR IN THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY. THE BONUS DVD THAT CAME WITH THE MAIN DVD REVEALED THE BEHIND THE SCENES INFO OF THE MAKING OF THIS CLASSIC FILM AND THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING TOO. EVEN THE ACTORS WHO PLAYED MINOR PARTS IN 'THE HUSTLER' ADDED SO MUCH REALISM TO THE FILM. THE DIRECTION, SCREENWRITING AND CINEMAPHOTOGRAPHY WERE EXCELLENT, AS WAS THE EDITING AND JAZZY MUSIC SCORE. A PERFECT MOVIE IN MY OPINION.

Paul Newman channels hubris and hurt all at the same time as a cocky pool shark, or hustler, that finds love in a woman almost as damaged as himself. Jackie Gleason and Newman are on the cover, but the surprise performance comes from George C. Scott who is electrifying & menacing as the man who controls the big-time pool halls and has his own demons to face. The 2-disc special edition of this DVD is absolutely fantastic. Great commentary, several min-documentaries covering everything from the novel the film was base don to the legacy it's left in the pool world. And my favorite feature is the option to have a pool champion do video commentary for all the pool-hall scenes. Recommended purchase.

The movie was rather slow, but I still enjoyed watching it, especially knowing that there was as sequal that was filmed and took place 30 or 40 years later. The DVD was of good quality.

YOU HAVE TO ADD THIS TO YOUR COLLECTION. Classic all the way!!!!!!!!! Newman at his best!

Reviews

A veritable Jambolaya of entertaining road stories, incredible bank shots,and of course easy to follow, demonstrated instruction from the world's formost bank pool authority, Freddy the Beard. I enjoyed it, and learned plenty too.

Reviews

The plot was great, better than I expected. It was an old movie but I did enjoy it I was skeptical at first.

We already had this film for along time on vcr but this wasn't good anymore. We like this type of movie en in perticular performances of Whoopy Goldberg. It's a nice film to watch and inspires you to go uot and play some 9-ball yourself.

A 1989 made for TV movie features a pre-Ghost Whoopi Goldberg playing a single mother who is about to lose her house if she doesn't come up with $7500 in four months. She has a cloyingly cute and precocious teenage daughter (Tasha Scott) and she works in a diner for two very nice people. On a visit to her estranged parents, she stops in an old hangout---a billiard parlor and decides the best way to come up with the money is to become a professional billiard player. She is encouraged in this by a wily promoter, played with his usual aplomb by Dennis Franz. During one tournament, she meets a handsome playboy, played with regal blandness by Dorian Harewood. Of course, she falls for the guy but he's not the most loyal of partners, and daughter Tasha doesn't like him too much. Meanwhile, Franz reveals his feelings for Whoopi which gets him nowhere, and we have the obligatory ten thousand dollar championship in San Francisco where Whoopi is in the finals against loverboy Harewood. Realizing how hard it is to make a billiard game breathtakingly exciting, the director uses gimmicky multi-image camera shots to try and heighten the non-existent suspense. You know from the start where this movie will end up and Goldberg's final scene comes out of nowhere, and she ends up with Harewood and not Franz. Might be an okay family film, but you can do better.

Reviews

Ray and Rosser know their stuff and they explain the key techniques very well. There is a "fundamentals" section at the beginning of the book (how to stand, how to bridge, etc) but then you get the heart of the matter - the 99 shots of the title. These are all situations that will come up in games, and you are told precisely how to shoot each one. Work through this book with a practice table trying each shot, and I guarantee you will significantly improve your game. I come back to this book again and again.

Great book for learning the basic and not-so-basic shots for the interested pool player. 99 shots in 99 days.

gift for husband...didn't used it much, but he said it was very informative and helpful with learning about making angled and trick shots

This is an essential read for anyone who is serious about the game. It helps you become proficient at shots that come up thousands of times in play.

Ray martins book is one of the more valuable pool instruction books out there. the shots he describes will work in the situations that are described but Ray's explanation of why they work are lacking in pool science. Ray is off not as badly as Minnesota fats book on pool( about as good as his cues and tables) but off by a difference of degree. Ray for instance thinks english affects the path of a ball during aiming. Bob Byrne in his excellent instruction books gets it right in that the path of the ball is not affected by side spin until it hits a cushion but may be affected by "squirt" ( a whipping action of the cue deflecting off the ball causing an untrue line) Rays "school of misspent youth" wisdom is valuable but Robert Byrn's dead on science helps you correctly apply principles of pool mechanics when your stuck in an awkward situation that is not diagramed in any book. i recommend Robert Byrnes "Complete book of pool shots" as a companion book to this one. There are nuggets of knowledge in "99 critical shots" and it will improve your game. Byrnes book will help you master it .

Reviews

I can't get through the book. A little heavy. A video on You tube is easier to understand.

This book is great because of it's content but it gets 5 stars because it's an anywhere-everywhere read! You can peruse the many interesting diagrams while sitting on the John or before bed yet it's still meaty enough to warrant sitting down at the kitchen table an digging in to the theory of playing great pockets Billiards. I don't think there's really anyone who couldn't get something out of this book.

In reading only a 3rd of this book, I have made some shots on league night that have blown everyone away. I feel a great respect from others that my skill level has soared. Thanks to Robert Byrne for your astute observations and obvious talent of communication! Ron Graff

Great Book!!!!!! I have reread parts of this book many times already. Great reference Book. Best explanation on bank shots Ive ever read.

Bought this book used from amazon. It is an exceelent and easy read that will improve your game immediately. I am still plowing through it but already I see improvement. Some of the photos could be a little sharper but none are so bad that you can't determine what it depicts. Highly recommend it.

Reviews

This is an excellent book. The section on foul shots is invaluable to a 9 ball player. This knowledge in this section can save your tournaments and games. This information is not well known. I personally practice several of these prescribed shots routinely and have gone from being an average player to being someone that is considered top 5 in my small town (50K). I have a couple of Mr. Byrnes other works on pool and im continually amazed at his insight and tips on playing better. I reccomend reading three cushion strategies as well that Mr. Byrne presents because it will educate you on important carom shots and how to prepare better safeties and or find better angles on problem clusters. Robert also has a fantastic old world style (salty) sense of humor that makes me want to read his work again and again! Bravo to the author of this fantastic book! Bravo,Bravo,Bravo!!!

As usual a great job and a must have for any true student of this insane game. better than "99 critical shots" (by 251 shots by my count)

This is a great book!!!!!!!!! If you like pool you will learn and enjoy the witty narrative at the same time

Excellent reference to have around. We just had our pool table installed and plan on using this a lot in practicing shots.

I am a beginner/intermediate level player and this review is for those who consider themselves falling into this category. Byrne is one of the better authors on pool out there and has some very good books. His "Standard book of pool and billiards" is outstanding. This book, however, is an advanced book for people who seek to find hidden secrets. Most of the 350 shots illustrated in this book are esoteric and would rarely be encountered in practice. Also, quite a few of these shots are impractical; they can be used when playing/practicing alone to see how the balls behave under weird conditions but cannot be applied in a real game as they are low percentage shots. These are not shots that every player "must" know. The title is a misnomer. Also a good number of shots illustrated are useful for three cushion and straight pool which are not popular these days. On the whole, this is not a very useful book for beginner/intermediate players seeking to improve their shots and hence their game. It's a terrific book for enthusiasts who would love to discover unusual shots which are rare and low percentage, which obviously precludes their use in a real game. If you're an advanced player with a decade or more of experience under your belt and feel that you have a good grip on a lot of "regular" shots and want to find out more, this is the book for you. If you're a beginner/intermediate player who is seeking to improve his/her game with a view to notch up more victories, look elsewhere.

Reviews

Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book, by the Billiard Congress of America is a better choice.