Would it be possible for a Remake of The Hustler to be good?

A

animatedvmaker

Banned
I see that Hollywood has been doing remakes of some really old classic movies in recent years, so I wonder if a remake of the classic pool movie, The Hustler, could possibly be good?

I think probably not, but I am curious to read some other opinions about it.

If not, then I would be happy to see any really good pool movie with good actors, that is not cheesy in any way, and one that any serious pool player or fan would really enjoy.

I think it would need to show real world situations, like nits arguing over spots that they probably do not need, and maybe a gritty movie with Mafia type people involved, like in The Rounders for example.

Just good actors, an interesting story that any real pool player could relate to, and no over the top cheese. Is that too much to ask?

I have seen the previews of the movies that a few members posted about, and they look horrible, and I have no interest in watching them.

I want another great pool movie, like The Hustler, if that is even possible.
 
C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
animatedvmaker said:
I see that Hollywood has been doing remakes of some really old classic movies in recent years, so I wonder if a remake of the classic pool movie, The Hustler, could possibly be good?

I think probably not, but I am curious to read some other opinions about it.

If not, then I would be happy to see any really good pool movie with good actors, that is not cheesy in any way, and one that any serious pool player or fan would really enjoy.

I think it would need to show real world situations, like nits arguing over spots that they probably do not need, and maybe a gritty movie with Mafia type people involved, like in The Rounders for example.

Just good actors, an interesting story that any real pool player could relate to, and no over the top cheese. Is that too much to ask?

I have seen the previews of the movies that a few members posted about, and they look horrible, and I have no interest in watching them.

I want another great pool movie, like The Hustler, if that is even possible.
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In my opinion, it would be absolutely impossible to improve or even come close to matching the original Hustler movie, or of the actors that starred in it.
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
I think it could be done effectively, as long as most of the original story is adhered to.

What makes "The Hustler" great is that it is NOT a pool movie. Pool is merely the vehicle used to navigate some of the darker realities of life as some must experience it, such as loneliness, soul-searching, gambling, forced reliance on unscrupulous people, deception, harassment, heartbreak, being taken advantage of, etc.

If somebody tries to transform "The Hustler" into a pool movie, then they'll ruin it, but if they try to remake it and are vigilantly attentive to the core values, themes and messages of "The Hustler," a great remake is possible.

You may be on to something here.
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
99.9% of all remakes SUCK. The Hustler is a classic American piece of film-making. Don't f^&k with it. Please.
 
Brookeland Bill

Brookeland Bill

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
animatedvmaker said:
I see that Hollywood has been doing remakes of some really old classic movies in recent years, so I wonder if a remake of the classic pool movie, The Hustler, could possibly be good?

I think probably not, but I am curious to read some other opinions about it.

If not, then I would be happy to see any really good pool movie with good actors, that is not cheesy in any way, and one that any serious pool player or fan would really enjoy.

I think it would need to show real world situations, like nits arguing over spots that they probably do not need, and maybe a gritty movie with Mafia type people involved, like in The Rounders for example.

Just good actors, an interesting story that any real pool player could relate to, and no over the top cheese. Is that too much to ask?

I have seen the previews of the movies that a few members posted about, and they look horrible, and I have no interest in watching them.

I want another great pool movie, like The Hustler, if that is even possible.
Click to expand...

It’s not a “pool” movie. Forgetaboutit.
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
garczar said:
99.9% of all remakes SUCK. The Hustler is a classic American piece of film-making. Don't f^&k with it. Please.
Click to expand...

In general, you're right. Most remakes are disappointments, but ….


I prefer the remake of King Kong to the original.

I prefer the remake of Father of the Bride to the original

I prefer the remake of True Grit to the original


What each of these remakes have in common is close adherence to the original story. It's when filmmakers insist on tweaking the plot or themes of the original that it all seems to go wrong.
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
sjm said:
In general, you're right. Most remakes are disappointments, but ….


I prefer the remake of King Kong to the original.

I prefer the remake of Father of the Bride to the original

I prefer the remake of True Grit to the original


What each of these remakes have in common is close adherence to the original story. It's when filmmakers insist on tweaking the plot or themes of the original that it all seems to go wrong.
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VERY few of today's filmmakers have the sense of history or the discipline to stay close to an original. True Grit was a RARE exception. My fear is they'd do something like what happened with the "Magnificent Seven" re-make. Absolute s^*t. Why risk it? Is there SO little talent/imagination in Hollywood that all they can come up with is re-makes? Apparently so.
 
A

animatedvmaker

Banned
sjm said:
I think it could be done effectively, as long as most of the original story is adhered to.

What makes "The Hustler" great is that it is NOT a pool movie. Pool is merely the vehicle used to navigate some of the darker realities of life as some must experience it, such as loneliness, soul-searching, gambling, forced reliance on unscrupulous people, deception, harassment, heartbreak, being taken advantage of, etc.

If somebody tries to transform "The Hustler" into a pool movie, then they'll ruin it, but if they try to remake it and are vigilantly attentive to the core values, themes and messages of "The Hustler," a great remake is possible.

You may be on to something here.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree that most of the movie is not about pool playing, and there is very little actual pool playing in the movie, but the movie is about a pool player.

I imagine that a pool movie that just had pool playing in 75% or more of it would be boring. I feel that what goes on behind the scenes is so much more interesting.

The life of the pool player is what is interesting. The stuff that the pool player has to deal with and go through.

I could sit in the action room at the DCC all day long, and never get bored, even if most of what I seen was not pool playing. It is the conversations and all of the talk among the players and nits that I find so interesting.

I really loved every single part of The Hustler, and would not want to change any of it. The ending was really sad though.
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
animatedvmaker said:
Yeah, I agree that most of the movie is not about pool playing, and there is very little actual pool playing in the movie, but the movie is about a pool player.
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I think the point is that it could have been a pool player or anybody else with a unique talent down on their luck searching for an avenue of sustainable livelihood and living through the struggles that go with the territory.

As an example, an interesting remake that was probably better than the original was "Heaven Can Wait" in 1978. The original, called "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" in 1941, was also an excellent movie and its main character was a pro boxer. Remarkably, the remake, "Heaven Can Wait" follows almost the exact same script, but the main character was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. The original wasn't a boxing movie and the remake wasn't a football movie, but both dealt with the exact same situations and were thematically identical.

Again, "The Hustler" features a pool player, but it's about life, not about pool.
 
F

fjk

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The original had generational actors in a time when hustlers still existed. That made the movie believable.

I couldn't imagine a remake anyplace close to as good as the original.
 
A

animatedvmaker

Banned
sjm said:
I think the point is that it could have been a pool player or anybody else with a unique talent down on their luck searching for an avenue of sustainable livelihood and living through the struggles that go with the territory.

As an example, an interesting remake that was probably better than the original was "Heaven Can Wait" in 1978. The original, called "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" in 1941, was also an excellent movie and its main character was a pro boxer. Remarkably, the remake, "Heaven Can Wait" follows almost the exact same script, but the main character was a quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. The original wasn't a boxing movie and the remake wasn't a football movie, but both dealt with the exact same situations and were thematically identical.

Again, "The Hustler" features a pool player, but it's about life, not about pool.
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Yeah, great post.

The 4 or 5(?) pool segments that were in the movie were the best pool movie segments in mainstream film history though, in my opinion.

Really loved the movie, and you are right, the movie could have been about anyone. I would have still really enjoyed it. Loved the story, and loved the actors and characters in it.
 
Buzzard II

Buzzard II

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Maybe this requires another thread but how about a "remake" of Color of Money? But not the movie. If you read the book and saw the movie you would recognize, nothing. They are totally different. It's really a Hustler part two. Fat's is fat and happy photographing birds in the Florida Keys. Fast Eddie hunts him down to talk about hitting the road doing matches for TV and money. I won't say anything more but like the Hustler it's not really about pool. Pool is the vehicle that carries the storyline. I think the real Color of Money with serious actors could be smash hit. No kids involved, Eddie has to be middle-aged and worn. His various career changes will be a surprise to those who have only seen the movie.
 
G

Geosnooker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There is a different type of filmmaking today.

The movie is about a character and less so about a particular setting. Like many ‘Thoughtful’ movies of the time it is more akin to a stage play that is filmed. Long scenes with few camera cuts and is more dependent on dialogue. Similar to Casablanca, On the Waterfront, etc. The ‘action’ is sparse and well done but not the focus.

There is nothing wrong with today’s movies however I haven’t watched a full movie made in the last 20 years or so. just not my cup of tea...too loud, too many scene cuts, too many special effects, etc. I can’t see a remake of the Hustler appealing to more than a small niche market....if it appealed to the box office market then it would be a different movie altogether.
 
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P

Petros Andrikop

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Although I can't come up at the moment with which actors could perform well in a remake of "The Hustler", I believe yes, it could be possible to make a good remake of the film.
The film industry is powerful, with highly capable professionals and the capacity to do "miracles".
If there will ever be enough interest, will, money sources and motivation (not necessarily in that order) in a such a project then why not..
 
B

brigeton

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As a side note we we in Chicago probably 15 years ago and there was an artist on the street that had a color version of the picture of Fats & Eddie lagging. We bought it for our pool room. The artist had no idea where the picture was from or that there was ever a movie The Hustler.
 
alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Color of Money was the perfect sequel. No way a remake could be as good as either of those movies.
 
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