Given how much Tom Cruise has his 80s hits with sequels as accepted Top Gun: Maverick and the recently announced Days of Thunder Follow-up with Anne HathawayA defining film from earlier in his career has not yet received this honor: the 1986 Pool Hustler classic The color of money. Similar to the original Top Gun And Days of Thunder, The color of money has captured Cruise at his most rebellious, fearful and purely charismatic. Unlike the other two films he directed Tony Scott, Color of money just had to be content with being guided by him Martin Scorsesewho was tasked with making an edgier 1980s sports film in an arena he knew well: smoky urban pool halls where complex relationships between father and son figures could be explored.
The film itself was already something of a sequel to 1961 The Hustlerwith Paul Newman He reprises his role as “Fast Eddie” Felson as an older and theoretically wiser man. In 1986, there wasn’t much precedent for a sequel that was several decades removed from the original and gave audiences a new look at the old character. Similar to like Top Gun: Maverick Cruise, who gave his cast of younger stars the Tom Cruise stamp of approval, was practically blessed by classic Hollywood with his cast. As if seriously trying to distance himself from the Brat Pack band of ’80s upstarts, Cruise jumped into the role and got the chance to star alongside one of the greats and star in a film by another great.
The Color of Money was a legacy sequel to The Hustler
A far cry from the colorful pop song montage style of ’80s sports movies, the original Hustlers was a quiet and sprawling character study of addiction and tortured masculinity, as exciting as it was hard to watch. It was a good fit for the producer and director Robert Rossenis a collection of morally cruel working-class tales and became one of Paul Newman’s most popular roles. While the Walter you The novel it was based on had a sequel titled The color of moneyThe general narrative wasn’t exactly what Newman had envisioned for a new “Fast Eddie” Felson story. That led to him, the director Martin Scorsese and the writer Richard Price The narrative was radically restructured, ultimately creating something completely new under the same title. The most important takeover from the book was the inclusion of 9-Ball, the pool variant, which was thematically linked to the core of the film.
Legacy sequels weren’t exactly a thing in the ’80s. Sequels were generally viewed as trash and cheap, with rare exceptions like The Empire strikes back or The Godfather Part II This shows that big hits deserve a remake with sequels that could be even better than the original. By giving Eddie an electric sparring partner like Vince, The color of money immediately vindicated itself, turning the story of an old man looking back on his life into a hard-hitting character study The Hustler Was. Not content with making the film a Tom Cruise vehicle, Price and Scorsese focus on the chemistry between him and Newman and the toxic surrogate father-son relationship, with Eddie trying to transform Vince into the young man he can no longer be.
Tom Cruise made The Color of Money what it was
Similar to Scorsese’s later films Goodfellas or The deceased, The color of money deals with the theme of a young man who is effectively persuaded to throw his life away by a charismatic older figure. Vince’s girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) also fits into Eddie’s plans: to teach both of them the art of hustling, with 80s soft rock PhilCollins And Eric Clapton As Eddie complements the soundtrack, he relives his youth in a slightly pathetic manner. Although the film doesn’t plumb the depths of male psychology like its predecessor The Hustler (or Scorsese’s Angry bull), it is familiar with complexity and three-dimensional characters. For commercial success, it was far from mainstream 80s cinema.
The best part of the film is its ending. After two hours of baiting, deceit and intimidation, the two men are ready for an honest fight. Whoever wins is less important than Eddie getting the blood pumping in his veins again. Since the film is an excellent example of the old sequel, it is definitely worth revisiting. Vince and Carmen are both such interesting and impressive characters, and it’s easy to wonder where they are now. While Newman’s death means Fast Eddie cannot be part of the film, his absence could also allow for a sequel. And most importantly, the door is open for the baton to be passed to the next Vince.
