The Color of Money
Martin Scorcese. Paul Newman. Tom Cruise. Sounds like the recipe for a legendary blockbuster, right? Surprisingly it’s instead the stellar line-up for a film about pool hustlers that sits awkwardly between Scorcese’s Taxi Driver/Raging Bull era and his Goodfellas/Casino era. It’s most remembered for being the film that earnt Paul Newman a very belated Oscar for Best Actor. Nonetheless, it’s a fantastic film worthy of the filmographies of the accomplished people who made it. Also there’s few films with as A-list a cast that focus so heavily on pool & billiards – besides the 1961 film ‘The Hustler‘ of which this is a sequel.
About The Film
Pool shark and former pro-pool player, Fast Eddie (Paul Newman), returns after The Hustler (1961). He takes interest in the young, talented Vince (Tom Cruise) for his promising skills at pool and his girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) for her potential in luring ‘marks’.
The three journey across pool halls as they try to mold the skilled, but arrogant, young player into a streetwise con. Like ‘The Hustler’ the film is more interested in using the sport for metaphor than a dissection of it. This time it’s about the relationship between work, sport/art, and money. The emotional core being how Eddie’s passion and hunger are reignited. He returns to the felt instead of just coaching other players on how to maximise profits.
The message of the film feels personal to Martin Scorcese and his career at the time – The Color Of Money came after a string of duds he made ‘for them’ and a general consensus he was past his prime and didn’t have another Taxi Driver in him. In hindsight, although The Color Of Money wasn’t the smash return to that status, he undoubtedly would go on to do so. Testament to that is the fact that nearly 40 years later he’s putting out films of the insane calibre of The Irishman and Killers Of The Flower Moon. As the film freeze frames as Fast Eddie goes to break and delivers his last line Scorcese might as well speak through him – ‘Hey – I’m back.’
Did You Know?
Tom Cruise made all the shots in the film bar one. A jump shot over two balls to pot another. He purchased a pool table (likely from a reputable store akin to Home Pool Tables) and practiced himself. They reckon he could have made the shot but it would take too long so Mike ‘Captain Hook’ Sigel – the pool professional and consultant for the film – took that one for him.
There’s something very funny about the fact that Tom Cruise – who famously does all his own stunts – will dangle himself out of planes, scale skyscrapers, skydive but needed a stand in for an admittedly tricky shot.
The Pool Table
Most of the pool tables we see are in the pool hall of the tournament in Atlanta. These are Murrey 6400 Pro Series American Pool Tables with a walnut laminate finish. The frame shape is iconic and very commonly seen in American pool tables to this day. However nowadays you can get a similar looking table with some problems ironed out. The Murrey’s had a famously very loud drop when pocketing the ball. This is to do with how the table was constructed and the internals of the table. Cinematic for sure but maybe not what you want in your home. They aren’t manufactured anymore anyways so let’s suggest an alternative.
Buffalo Eliminator II
The Buffalo Eliminator II in Walnut is probably the closest approximation to the pool tables featured in The Color Of Money available today and in the UK. It’s got the look of the iconic 1980s table but built today with modern ingenuity. We’d recommend the Atlas Green or Hainsworth Elite Pro American Green for a cloth colour and style close to that of the film. When you buy a pool table from us we include all the accessories you need to play (and more!) as well as free delivery and installation by our team of expert fitters.
We stock plenty more American pool tables though if the film just made you crave playing and you want a more modern or different design.
