Reviews

Most people who see this in my house comment on how much it looks like a Van Gogh and then , to their surprise, I point out that in fact it is. It also has an amusing story- Van Gogh had pissed of the owner (man in white) of this cafe and to make amends he painted this.

Reviews

Delivery took seemingly forever. I don't buy that notion it takes twenty-one business days to get delivered. I take the word "review' in this context to mean review the shipping and delivery of a company and not a review of the movie itself.

...much. But "The Color of Money" is directed by Martin Scorsese, the most exciting American director now working, and it is not an exciting film. It doesn't have the electricity, the wound-up tension, of his best work, and as a result I was too aware of the story marching by. Scorsese may have thought of this film as a deliberately mainstream work, a conventional film with big names and a popular subject matter; perhaps he did it for that reason. But I believe he has the stubborn soul of an artist, and cannot put his heart where his heart will not go. And his heart, I believe, inclines toward creating new and completely personal stories about characters who have come to life in his imagination - not in finishing someone else's story, begun 25 years ago. "The Color of Money" is not a sequel, exactly, but it didn't start with someone's fresh inspiration. It continues the story of "Fast Eddie" Felson, the character played by Paul Newman in Robert Rossen's "The Hustler" (1961). Now 25 years have passed. Eddie still plays pool, but not for money and not with the high-stakes, dangerous kinds of players who drove him from the game. He is a liquor salesman, a successful one, judging by the long, white Cadillac he takes so much pride in. One night, he sees a kid playing pool, and the kid is so good that Eddie's memories are stirred. This kid is not simply good, however. He is also, Eddie observes, a "flake," and that gives him an idea: With Eddie as his coach, this kid could be steered into the world of big-money pool, where his flakiness would throw off the other players. They wouldn't be inclined to think he was for real. The challenge, obviously, is to train the kid so he can turn his flakiness on and off at will - so he can put the making of money above every other consideration, every other lure and temptation, in the pool hall. The kid is named Vincent (Tom Cruise), and Eddie approaches him through Vincent's girlfriend, Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). She is a few years older than Vince and a lot tougher. She likes the excitement of being around Vince and around pool hustling, but Eddie sees she's getting bored. He figures he can make a deal with the girl; together, they'll control Vince and steer him in the direction of money. A lot of the early scenes setting up this situation are very well handled, especially the moments when Eddie uses Carmen to make Vince jealous and undermine his self-confidence. But of course these scenes work well, because they are the part of the story that is closest to Scorsese's own sensibility. In all of his best movies, we can see this same ambiguity about the role of women, who are viewed as objects of comfort and fear, creatures that his heroes desire and despise themselves for desiring. Think of the heroes of "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" and their relationships with women, and you sense where the energy is coming from that makes Vincent love Carmen, and distrust her. The movie seems less at home with the Newman character, perhaps because this character is largely complete when the movie begins. "Fast Eddie" Felson knows who he is, what he thinks, what his values are. There will be some moments of crisis in the story, as when he allows himself, to his shame, to be hustled at pool. But he is not going to change much during the story, and maybe he's not even free to change much, since his experiences are largely dictated by the requirements of the plot. Here we come to the big weakness of "The Color of Money": It exists in a couple of timeworn genres, and its story is generated out of standard Hollywood situations. First we have the basic story of the old pro and the talented youngster. Then we have the story of the kid who wants to knock the master off the throne. Many of the scenes in this movie are almost formula, despite the energy of Scorsese's direction and the good performances. They come in the same places we would expect them to come in a movie by anybody else, and they contain the same events. Eventually, everything points to the ending of the film, which we know will have to be a showdown between Eddie and Vince, between Newman and Cruise. The fact that the movie does not provide that payoff scene is a disappointment. Perhaps Scorsese thought the movie was "really" about the personalities of his two heroes, and that it was unnecessary to show who would win in a showdown. Perhaps, but then why plot the whole story with genre formulas, and only bail out at the end? If you bring a gun onstage in the first act, somebody will have been shot by the third. The side stories are where the movie really lives. There is a warm, bittersweet relationship between Newman and his long-time girlfriend, a bartender wonderfully played by Helen Shaver. And the greatest energy in the story is generated between Cruise and Mastrantonio - who, with her hard edge and her inbred cynicism, keeps the kid from ever feeling really sure of her. (Mastrantonio, an Oak Park River Forest High graduate, will be in town this weekend for a reunion.) It's a shame that even the tension of their relationship is allowed to evaporate in the closing scenes, where Cruise and the girl stand side by side and seem to speak from the same mind, as if she were a standard movie girlfriend and not a real original. Watching Newman is always interesting in this movie. He has been a true star for many years, but sometimes that star quality has been thrown away. Scorsese has always been the kind of director who lets his camera stay on an actor's face, who looks deeply into them and tries to find the shadings that reveal their originality. In many of Newman's closeups in this movie, he shows an enormous power, a concentration and focus of his essence as an actor. Newman, of course, had veto power over who would make this movie (because how could they make it without him?), and his instincts were sound in choosing Scorsese. Maybe the problems started with the story, when Newman or somebody decided that there had to be a young man in the picture; the introduction of the Cruise character opens the door for all of the preordained teacher-pupil cliches, when perhaps they should have just stayed with Newman and let him be at the center of the story. Then Newman's character would have been free (as the Robert De Niro characters have been free in other Scorsese films) to follow his passions, hungers, fears and desires wherever they led him - instead of simply following the story down a well-traveled path.

Martin Scorsese's "The Color Of Money" is a solid film though not as good as it being the unofficial sequel to "The Hustler". On its own merits it's not a bad film but doesn't achieve the greatness of the former film. It is, for what it is, an '80s retelling of the tale of a young upstart taken under the wing of a wizened mentor who, in the process, winds up regaining his passion for his former trade. In this case Fast Eddie Felson becomes Vince's mentor and comes out of his retirement from the sport of billiards through poohhall hustling and professional billiards. It's a standard story and the performances by the three leads is quite good. The fetishistic photography of the billiard games in play as well as the music score help to add a bit of atmosphere to this movie. While "The Hustler" had its smoky poolhalls and film noir cinematography this film has more of an '80s optimism and cockiness about it. It's by far more lighthearted and such differences can fuel the many detractors who view this, by and large, a lesser film. Unfortunately, Touchstone Pictures has not given this film a better DVD release. The film is presented on a dual-layer DVD with no real features to speak of in a non-anamorphic letterboxed 4:3 interlaced digital transfer from its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio. The second-layer of the DVD is barely touched by the film and certainly a digital remaster employing more of that unused spaced offered by the format would be welcome.

I'm a huge Tom Cruise Fan, but this movie was a little boring. I think the actors were great, it's just the story seemed to take forever.

I think that in this film Paul Newman taught very well how acting to Tom Cruise. It is the sequel of "The Hustler" staring by Paul Newman too.

Reviews

One of the greatest pool hall movies! It will inspire you to hit the tables to shoot stick for recreation or to challenge yourself or others to a new level of pool playing.

This movie blew my mind. I was a little hesitant in buying, but figured what the heck I might as well it's like six bucks, That was one of the best decisions of my life. This movie has made it's way into my top ten for sure. It's so good the story the right amount of humor, drama, and action make it an instant classic in my book. It's like the hustler on steroids. If you have ever played pool, like Christopher Walken, or just in the need of a few laughs then this movie is for you.

In my opinion, specially if you're a billiards player, this is a MUST for your movie collection. Acting all round is great, there are a couple iffy parts from the lesser known actors but for the most part the movie is put together great. Great plot lines, aesthetically pleasing throughout the whole movie, like I said, great acting, and of course an amazing cast. I'd most definitely recommend this movie!

This is a good one for pool enthusiasts, I bought it for my brothers birthday and he liked it.

The game is the vehicle by which the characters are developed and their selfish, greedy approach to life is demonstrated by the level of their desire to succeed; even at the cost of the future of a youthful key player. Walken is superb as the instigator of a big money game, however, his role is not the focus of the story. Great billiard shots and dialogue consistent with that found around most pool halls. Fun to watch, this movie will send you to your local pool hall.

Reviews

My husband really likes this movie, but he doesn't like the widescreen version of it, which is what we ordered. We had to send it back, but I'm sure we will find one that is the regular screen version, and order that one.

This film is absolutely frightening. Pools or billiards seem to be civilized games. But to play them you have to go to special pool rooms and there if you want to play for money you better have your manager. Then you become a hustler and the manager is the pimp. Unprotected you will get your thumbs or your fingers, or your arms, as for that, broken. If protected you better bring in the profit that is expected. But then how can everyone be protected? There must be a loser somewhere to pay for the winners, and then the loser's manager is going to lose money and he will not like that. So they have little arrangements and the loss is shared or the loss is never too much or the loss is that of the stray amateurs of one evening. But when a real good player appears and he wants to win big, he has to have his manager and he has to pay his percentage. But if he is very good he will never understand he must lose from time to time and he will jeopardize the local winner who is the famous chap in these here pool rooms and who knows exactly what to do and who to make lose or win. The young good one who wants to win at any cost and alone will be a danger to the balance of the trade, if not the racket. So he will have to be eliminated. Morally by calling him a loser or by having his own girl friend destroyed in a way or another, it will never succeed. He will even become more aggressive in his winning. Then you have to rig some game to bring him in a corner. He has to be authorized to win much one night in order to bring him either to accepting the authority of his manager and pay his share, or be brutalized into not being able to play again. There are two more solutions but that's the end of the film. Let him go or just plain kill him? In a world that this one a dead body can always be camouflaged. Have a good film. But I find it typical of his time, very early 1960s and it sounds like a sound stage and it is quite slow in rhythm in many ways. But the story is good and the acting is promising especially for Paul Newman. Jackie Gleason on the other side is by far too static to be impressive. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

The film opens with a typical scene in a day of the lives of 'Fast Eddie' (Newman) and Charlie (McCormick). Another small town stop pretending to be salesman with car trouble on their way to a sales award convention so they need to spend a few hours at the local pool hall while their car is being worked on. They go into their routine to 'setup' the locals for the big hustle and at the end of the day the locals are a few hundred dollars lighter. The ultimate goal is to 'hustle' the mighty one, Minnesota Fats (Gleason) who hasn't been beaten in 15 years. The big match lasts 36 grueling hours and several bottles of booze. The cocky, swaggering Eddie has met his match but it wasn't the pool skills that did him in. Can he recover or is he the 'born loser' that Bert Gordon (Scott), the 'Fat Man's manager and professional gambler, accuses him of being? Sarah (Laurie) enters the picture and can two 'born losers' rehabilitate each other? The acting is outstanding by all five main characters and the settings in seedy bars, bus stations and pool halls genuinely gives the feeling of life in another world where day to day survival is fueled by alcohol and nicotine and petty pursuits. Can anyone pull themselves out of this environment or are they destined to be 'born losers'? Human nature at its most raw and vulnerable. One of Newman's great performances along with Gleason, Scott and Laurie. A classic!!!

If you play and enjoy pool this is one of the best! Newman is great as Fast Eddie, Gleason as Fats and Willie Mosconi racking the balls , a real pool player not an actor. Excellant Special features about the movie. Piper Laurie what can I say BEAUTIFUL! Great dramatic tragedy.

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

Reviews

Bought it because of Johnny Cash. Would not give it as a gift to my worst enemy....

I have looked high and low for this movie for years. I'm the little kid writing on the chalkboard in the beginning of the movie. No one anywhere had this movie but anyway the movie with the CD is a great combo. If you haven't seen any of Johnny Cash's films you got to see this one. June Carter Cash and Claud Aikens is in it also. This film was a memorable moment in my life. Johnny, June and Claude were all very down to earth nice people. Thanks Amazon!

I am biased as i am a big Johnny Cash Fan but I enjoyed this show. The acting isn't all that bad.It is a light movie you don't have to think too hard to enjoy it.If you don't like Johnny you will not like this movie.

Because I'm such a pool freak, I can get into any billiards movie. Although this movie had a decent plot, it didn't show as much pool playing footage as I expected. Definitely NOT a "Pool Hall Junkies" type movie.

Great film. Johnny Cash as the Baron. Great story and great acting by Cash. If you love Cash buy this

Reviews

the sticks don't line up correct and the window can't see the tv at all.I threw them in the garbage.

I bought this product to be used in my classroom as part of a lesson involving trig and pool. I bought two sets, they don't work. I get the concept, but the sensor cannot pick up on where its supposed to go and it truly doesn't work. I do not recommend this product at ALL!

It is hard sometimes to figure out how to move the cue ball but my husband and grandson finally figured it out and played all weekend and had fun, they mostly used the controllers and not the cue sticks but eventually started using the pool sticks, they had fun

Bad design - the "stick" portion actually keeps the controller from being able to send the information to the wii! What a waste of money.

This product dose not Work. Please do not buy. Senser is covered and will not transmit signal to game. Total waste of money. I should have read reveiws before purchase.

Reviews

Have you ever wanted to leave your corporeal body, to watch the withering shell without worrying about the physical limitations mortality brings? Or, perhaps, you are simply searching for a way to further delve into your consciousness, further than simple thought and rumination allow. In any case, Outcry, a psychological point-and-click adventure title, may just satiate that wanderlust and desire. Taking cues from old flim and those sepia photos often plastered over your grandmother's house, the game is shot through an old 20's grain filter; colors are warped and diluted, with the deep beige color washing over most else. That's not to say that it isn't vibrant. Quite the opposite, actually. However, it rightfully sets the mood throughout this faltering journey. All of the photo-quality graphics help convey the dedicated feel of this game: depression and futility. Everything seems imposing and alien, yet the graphics draw you in and don't let go. Excellent, in my book. As for the story itself, you are the brother of a scientist who generally kept to himself throughout his life. Yet one day, he sends you an enigmatic message begging your immediate arrival. Taking the train, you arrive and are informed of his strange, surprising disappearance. Wanting answers, you visit his house only to find this... machine--what it truly is is part of the enigma--and begin to piece it together; this is against your brother's wishes, as he wants nothing more than you to destroy his work and leave the metallic beast behind, as a solemn monolith to the unknown. As you get it running, you start to experience strange memories and visions as you further press back into your mind. As for your own inner machinations, who is to truly say? In this regard, the game is truly haunting, beautifully so, and it quickly becomes an emotional, mature journey. As an adventure game, puzzles surely come your way. For the most part, if you pay attention to the wonderfully, if a bit skeptic narration in the notes, you will find most solutions with only moderate trouble. They do grow in challenge as the game progresses, and some are frustrating, but they are only slightly esoteric. And there are walkthroughs if you just can't set your mettle to them. Mentioned previously, the game's sound is wonderful. The general ambient sounds all are accurate and realistic, and the musical pieces are sweeping, somber, yet beckoning and intriguing. Again, haunting and thought-provoking are the best words to describe the wonderful music. And it is never so overt as to take you out of the immersion. As well, they have that stereotypical "Russian" sound to them. Fitting, as the game takes place in the same country in the early 20th century, thus further adding to the rustic, decrepit feel of a poverished world. Outcry does a wonderful job of being a engrossing, gripping adventure game. It lives up to the moniker of psychological, too. I have never been so captivated by the downward (or upward?) spiral of a man driven by the disappearance of his brother. It acts insightfully on human nature, as well as the fears and demons of the past, coming together in an enigma. While not the best game of all time, Outcry sets itself apart from the rest by delving into the psyche. Grim, mature, and emotional, Outcry remains one of the most unique adventure titles out there.

This is the worst game I have ever played. First, there was no resolution to the plot in the end. I realize that the game involved a change of consciousness; but, all the game was really about was walking around the same rooms, which changed, fixing gadgets and pulling levers. And, there was no introduction of characters from the professor's past.--The professor's relations in the past were supposed to be part of the plot. Second, the box shows a character that looks like a Borg from Star Trek, but that character never appears in the game--Why was it affixed to the introductory box label? Third, I was appalled that the rating of Mild Violence was based on the beating of a helpless animal with a lead pipe! What does it take to warn a parent that something like that appears in a game a young teenager may be playing! About the only thing I liked was the music. No thanks on this one. If you feel fulfilled walking around a water plant or boiler room, this game will amuse you.

This game is similar to most adventure games that are out there and if you are into these games, like I am, it is well worth it. Some of the puzzles were a little hard for me so I had to cheat and use the walkthru. The game was fun to play and had a good story line (but confusing at times) to it.

Dealer was excellent, delivering right product in a timely manner. Game itself was a disappointment, as the story line was not what I was hoping for. Live and learn. I would order from this dealer again in the future.

This game starts out well and falls flat on its face. The darkness of the early scenes is unrelieved throughout. And darkness, in the physical sense anyway, adds an extra layer of frustration to what soon amounts to a mindless pixel hunt. Worse, the game is linear. Haven't turned the correct wheel yet? Then the area next to the phonograph you pass on the way to that wheel won't contain anything useful, no matter how hard you search. Can't ever find the screwdriver you need? It's right where you'd never again look for it -- next to the phonograph, where it wasn't when you searched for it on your way to the wheel. Can't mix the right solution for the aerosol? Then you added the ingredients out of sequence, although there is nothing about those ingredients as described that would dictate they be mixed in any particular order. Those are but two of several forced but needless linearities you'll encounter. Worst, the game plot falls apart at the end. The relationship between the protagonist and his brother becomes patently impossible when the supposed history of the two is finally revealed. In short, you can predict nothing that happens in this game and must rely on luck and unthinking perseverance (or an online walkthrough) to complete it. Along the way, expect nothing but grim artwork and stilted dialogue.

Reviews

Pinball? Strange word grouping. I don't really see how a pin can be a ball, but I am just one little guy trying to think this out. No matter, Keynote told me all about the pinball arcades and games of this nature. And he bought me this terrific book. Now I know a whole lot about all kinds of balls made out of pins and the way you can play games with them. This was very cool. I like this book very very much. And you will too.

Having been a Pinball addict since my teens (too many years ago), I bought this book to re-live some of those memories. I was not disappointed. It is full of information on all types of machines together with excellent colour pictures. Many of my favourite pinballs of the sixties and seventies (but also modern ones if you prefer those) are featured together with explanations of what made them special.The only problem is that it brought back my enthusiasm to such an extent that I went out an bought my own machine, so this book cost me a lot of money!

Well layed out, informative, impressive amount of detail. The author's love of every part of the game shines through on every page. A truly great pinball book.

I own over 10 different pinball books which I've bought over the years but none of them comes REMOTELY close to this one. This is an exhaustive book which has over 300 jam-packed pages of information. Every imaginable feature that has ever been in a pinball machine is documented in great detail throughout the book. There is even a chapter which talks about and lists every video pinball game ever made for home video game systems and PCs! If you have even a passing interest in pinball machines, you must have this book. Period. The price seems a little steep, but when you hold the actual book in your hands, you'll know where that money went...Stunning!

If you like pinball, you'll LOVE this book. I own several bookson my favourite hobby and this one is by far the best. It covers allaspects of the silver ball and has a great many beautiful colour photos.