Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, The Color of Money is the sequel to another Tevis novel in The Hustler in which “Fast” Eddie Felson has retired from the world of pool-hustling as he catches the eye of a young hustler in whom he wants to support only to be coaxed back into the game. Directed by Martin Scorsese and screenplay by Richard Price, the film plays into a man who tries to disconnect himself from the world that made him famous only to come back after seeing a young man with talent as Paul Newman reprises his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson. Also starring Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro, Forest Whitaker, and Bill Cobbs. The Color of Money is a compelling and rapturous film from Martin Scorsese.
Set more than twenty years after “Fast” Eddie Felson had become the greatest pool hustler in the streets, the film revolves around a retired Felson who has now become a successful liquor salesman while making money on other hustlers. Yet, he catches the eye of a young hustler whom he sees as someone with the potential to be great as he takes the young man and his girlfriend on the road to teach him the trade of hustling. Along the way, Felson teaches Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise) about how to make money and how to lose below his abilities in order to win big. By traveling to famous pool halls around the country before taking part of a big 9-ball tournament in Atlantic City, Felson finds himself getting the urge to return but has to contend with aging as well as the fact that there are those who are younger and know the trade of hustling just as good as he did.
Richard Price’s screenplay explores the world of hustling as Felson is someone who is a master at it but hasn’t played in more than 20 years while his eyesight has sort of deteriorated. Though he tries to live a normal life while watching pool hustling from afar, he finds something in Vincent that makes him want to come back. While Vincent is talented, he is immature as Felson would take him under his wing along with Vincent’s girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who has managed Vincent’s dealings as she would pay close attention to Felson’s methods. Even as she would help Felson in playing the role of hustler as it would cause some issues with the very immature Vincent who realizes that part of the art of hustling is to act the part of being someone who isn’t good and then hustle that player. Through Vincent, Felson would live through him but would eventually become selfish once Vincent improves as its third act would have both men attend the tournament against each other.
Martin Scorsese’s direction is very stylish not just in his presentation of the world of 9-ball pool and hustling but also in a world where it’s about survival and making money anyway a person can. Shot largely in parts of Chicago as well as bits of Atlantic City, the film plays like a world that is changing where the valor and classiness of the pool halls is now nothing more than an urban decay of sorts. While Scorsese does bring in some stylish usage of close-ups and medium shots along with some simpler moments, it is all about the sense of atmosphere in these pool halls as well as the need to play and hustle someone. Scorsese’s approach to the games are presented with a sense of rhythm as well as a bit of psychology into what will take for that person to win and win big but also how to lose and then make that person feel like shit.
Scorsese would also go into extreme close-ups to showcase a pool ball being hit by a pool cue as well as other elements that definitely play into a sense of style. Notably in his approach to tracking shots where he would go from a medium to wide or vice-versa as it plays into Felson’s love-hate relationship with hustling. There’s also some unique crane shots that Scorsese would use as it would be prominent in the film’s third act in the 9-ball tournament in Atlantic City. Many of the images that Scorsese would create are very unconventional as it strays from what is expected in films like this but it also plays into how intense these games are where it is about strategy and see how one can lose. Overall, Scorsese creates a very engaging and riveting film about a former pool hustler teaching a young hustler the trick of the trade.
Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from its usage of natural lights for some of the exteriors and daytime interiors to the lighting in some of the pool halls as well as the lightings for the tournament. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does incredible work with the editing with her stylish approach to montages, jump-cuts, and dissolves to play into the world of pool and hustling. Production designer Boris Leven and set decorator Karen O’Hara do fantastic work with the design of the pool halls from the richness of the one in Atlantic City to the more decayed, street look of the ones Vincent and Felson go to.
Costume designer Richard Bruno does nice work with the costumes to play into the youthful look of Vince as well as the suits that Felson wears to represent his sense of the old school. Sound editor Skip Lievsay does superb work with the sound as it plays into the atmosphere of the bars and pool halls the characters go to as it has a sense of atmosphere that is very street and has its own sense of rules. The film’s music by Robbie Robertson is great as it is largely blues-based music to play into the world of the pool halls while compiling a soundtrack that features music from Phil Collins, Warren Zevon, Robert Palmer, Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Don Henley, and Eric Clapton.
The casting by Gretchen Rennell is brilliant as it features some notable appearances and small roles from punk rock legend Iggy Pop as an opponent Vince hustles on the road, professional pool players Grady Mathews, Steve Mizerak, Keith McCready, and Jimmy Mataya as themselves, and Bill Cobbs as an old friend of Felson who runs a pool hall. John Turturro is terrific as a friend of Felson who gets beaten by Vince as he thinks he can take him. Forest Whitaker as a young hustler Felson faces off with where the result would have serious consequences for Felson. Helen Shaver is wonderful as Felson’s girlfriend Janelle who tries to keep Felson grounded while being aware of his past as a hustler as she wonders if he’ll lose it all over again.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is amazing as Carmen as Vince’s girlfriend who joins Vince and Felson on the road while learning about Felson’s methods very closely as she realizes there is more than what is going on as she tries to make sure that Vince is well-paid and succeeds. Tom Cruise is excellent as Vincent Lauria as a young pool hustler who is great at pool but lacks the knowledge to make serious money as he copes with his immaturity and what Felson wants from him. Finally, there’s Paul Newman in a remarkable performance as “Fast” Eddie Felson as a former pool hustler who is fascinated by the young Vince as he wants to mentor him only to find himself back in the world that he’s been detached from for so many years as it’s a performance full of energy but also one of humility as Newman brings a lot of gravitas to the role as it’s one of his best performances.
The Color of Money is a phenomenal film from Martin Scorsese that features a great performance from Paul Newman as “Fast” Eddie Nelson. Along with amazing performances from Tom Cruise and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and a killer soundtrack. The film isn’t just one of Scorsese’s most entertaining films but also a key study into the world of hustling and an old veteran trying to teach a young hustler the trades of making big money in a cruel world. In the end, The Color of Money is a sensational film from Martin Scorsese.
Related: The Hustler
Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) - (Street Scenes) - Boxcar Bertha - (Mean Streets) - Italianamerican - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) - Raging Bull - The King of Comedy - After Hours - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lessons - Goodfellas - Cape Fear (1991 film) - The Age of Innocence - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) - (Casino) - (Kundun) - (My Voyage to Italy) - Bringing Out the Dead - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) - Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) - No Direction Home - The Departed - Shine a Light - Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) - (Public Speaking) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The 50 Year Argument) - Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman) - Killers of the Flower Moon - (An Afternoon with SCTV)
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks and screenplay by Ben Hecht from a novel by Armitage Trail, Scarface is the story of a Cuban refugee who arrives to Miami in 1980 where he works his way to the top to become a drug kingpin and later fall. Directed by Brian De Palma and screenplay by Oliver Stone, the film is a wild look into the burgeoning drug culture of the 1980s in Miami as it chronicles a man who is eager to own the world and everything else in it. Playing the role of Tony Montana is Al Pacino in one of his most defining performances of his career. Also starring Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, F. Murray Abraham, Harris Yulin, and Paul Shenar. Scarface is a fucking wild and operatic film from Brian De Palma.
The film is a rise-and-fall tale in which a Cuban exile in Tony Montana as he arrives in Miami as part of the Mariel boatlift of 1980 with some of his friends as he starts off as a small hood for the drug dealer Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) to becoming the top drug dealer of Miami as he yearns to own the world and everything else in it. The film takes place in a period where the cocaine trade in the early 80s was starting to rise involving Latin American drug dealers as they rose to the top where Tony Montana is part of that world as he decides to go for something much bigger as he kills, schemes, and does everything to get to the top. Along the way, there’s sacrifices and such where he would have allies and later enemies that would play to his downfall as well as his growing addiction to cocaine.
Oliver Stone’s screenplay definitely takes the idea of the rise-and-fall of a drug dealer to showcase a world in which a man starts off at the bottom and work his way to the top. While his journey doesn’t make Montana a honest man, it does give him some ounce of respect in the way he does things as well as making deals and such. The people around Montana like his best friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer), Lopez’s mistress Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer), and his young sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) would all play part in Montana’s rise-and-fall as they would help in his journey but also would experience downfalls of their own. There is a complexity to Stone’s script as he explores this man’s sense of ambition where Montana is given a set of rules by Lopez of how to do things but Montana would go way overboard as it would lead to his downfall.
It’s not just the structure of Stone’s script that helps flesh out the formula of the rise-and-fall but also the dialogue which is very confrontational and very frank as it features 187 uses of the word “fuck”. It’s all very stylized as it plays to a world where it’s very seedy and unforgiving as Montana is very upfront that he’s not a nice guy and he can admit that he lies. Yet, it’s part of his flaws as he would take credit for his own rise as he would be his own undoing through a series of bad decisions, paranoia, and selfishness that would also be driven by his own escalating addiction to cocaine.
The direction of Brian de Palma is very grand and operatic as it plays to a period of decadence where people go to discos, do cocaine, have sex in bathrooms, and do all sorts of crazy shit. While de Palma does create some interesting compositions including Montana’s interrogation scene where there’s an eerie intimacy to that scene as well as a few other scenes. There’s also an element of suspense where de Palma just build things up very slowly where it will have some kind of violent conclusion. It is all part of de Palma wanting to create something that is gritty and realistic but also not be afraid to exaggerate things. Notably some very gruesome moments where Montana is forced to watch one of his friends be killed by a chainsaw.
It’s not just the film’s violence that is excessive and operatic that includes the film’s climatic showdown between Montana and a Colombian cartel. It’s also the world that de Palma sets up as he uses some very stylish crane shots and other camera tricks to play up this world of decadence. Even in a montage to establish Tony’s rise where it is quite excessive from the clothes the characters wear to the cars that they drive as well as the fact that Montana has two tigers as pets. Still, there is that sense of intrigue and danger in the third act where de Palma goes all out and more as it includes some very chilling moments where Montana is clearly hitting his bottom as well as the fate that is set for him. Overall, de Palma creates an outrageous and confrontational film about greed and ambition in the eyes of a man named Tony Montana.
Cinematographer John A. Alonzo does amazing work with the film’s colorful cinematography from the very sunny, colorful look of Miami’s exteriors and beaches to some scenes set in Los Angeles as part of South America as well as some of the dark interiors to set the chilling mood for the film. Editors Jerry Greenberg and David Ray do excellent work with the editing to create a very stylish approach to the cutting from the rhythm of the violence and some montages to some slower cuts in the film’s suspenseful moments. Production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, with set decorator Bruce Weintraub and art director Edward Richardson, does fantastic work with the look of the mansions the characters stay in to the Babylon club that definitely has an air of excess.
Costume designer Patricia Norris does wonderful work with the costumes from the stylish dresses the women wear to the colorful suits the guys wear to play up that decade of decadence. Sound editor Edward Beyer does superb work with the sound from the way the gunfire sounds to some of the chilling moments in the film. The film’s score by Giorgio Moroder is brilliant for its eerie, electronic-driven score filled with some ominous themes and arrangements to play up the sense of coldness in the world as well as some pieces to play up the world of decadence. The film’s soundtrack consists largely of music from pulsating synth-pop and disco from Elizabeth Daily, Paul Engemann, Beth Anderson, and Debbie Harry to a Latin-pop song from Maria Conchita Alonso.
The casting by Alixe Gordon is just phenomenal for the ensemble that was created for the film that would include a lot of memorable appearances for the actors that appeared in this film. Among these notable small roles include Pepe Serna and Angel Salazar as a couple of Tony’s friends in Angel Fernandez and Chi Chi, Mark Margolis as Sosa’s devious henchman Alberto, Geno Silva as Sosa’s assassin the Skull, Richard Belzer as a comedian at the Babylon Club, Miriam Colon as Tony’s mother who despises Tony, Michael Alldredge as Tony’s banker George Sheffield, Harris Yulin as the corrupt detective Mel Bernstein, and Paul Shenar as the Colombian drug lord Alejandro Sosa who becomes an ally of Tony’s until an assignment gone wrong leads to trouble.
F. Murray Abraham is terrific as Lopez’s henchman Omar Suarez who is wary about Montana as he is uneasy about Montana’s ambition. Robert Loggia is great as the crime boss Frank Lopez as a man who is full of wisdom as well as being a fun guy who later feels threatened by Tony’s ambition as he tries to warn him about what will happen. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is wonderful as Tony’s sister Gina who is intrigued by the world of excess as she becomes an object of affection for Manny despite Tony’s over protectiveness towards her. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing as Lopez’s mistress Elvira who later becomes Tony’s wife as a woman who knows a lot more than everyone else as she later succumbs to her own drug addiction. Steven Bauer is superb as Tony’s friend Manny who is a man that wants to have fun and enjoy the good life while wanting to do things to help out as he later becomes alienated by Tony’s ambition and paranoia.
Finally, there’s Al Pacino in one of his most iconic performances of his career as Tony Montana. The film has Pacino go all out and more as a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. It’s a performance that is full of swagger, bravado, humor, and extremely confrontational. Pacino not only is given some of the best one-liners of all-time but he really means it when he says those things. It’s also him just commanding the moment including the film’s final shootout with Sosa’s men as he utters out some of the best one-liners ever as it’s a role that only he can play.
Scarface is a magnificent film from Brian de Palma featuring an outstanding performance from Al Pacino. Along with a great supporting cast, a cool soundtrack, and a wild script by Oliver Stone. It’s a film that is still wild nearly 30 years since its release as it still holds up and more. Filled with lots of dead bodies, mountains of cocaine, 187 “fucks”, and lots of more crazy shit. It’s a film that is very unapologetic in being excessive and extravagant. In the end, Scarface is a triumphant achievement from Brian de Palma.
Related: Scarface (1932 film)
Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film)
© thevoid99 2013
