The Hustler

In this 1961 film, Paul Newman is cocky poolroom hustler "Fast" Eddie Felson, a swaggering pool-shark punk who works his trade in dingy bars and seedy poolrooms, in Robert Rossen's atmospheric adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel. Crashing into a pit of self-pity after losing big to king of the poolroom Minnesota Fats (a cool, graceful Jackie Gleason at his most effortlessly confident), he pulls himself back with the help of an alcoholic debutante on the skids (a delicate Piper Laurie) and a shifty, calculating promoter (an icy George C. Scott in a career-making performance). The film rarely leaves the shadowy world of smoky poolroom caves — it seems to be lit by the spill of overhead pool-table lights and bar lamps — and it won well-deserved Oscars for the deceptively austere art direction and Eugen Schüfftan's smoky black-and-white cinematography. Newman returned as an older, wiser, cagier Felson 25 years later in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money."

Three original featurettes debut in this new two-disc edition: "Life in the Fast Lane: Fast Eddie Felson and the Search for Greatness," "Milestones in Cinema History: The Hustler" and "Swimming With Sharks: The Art of the Hustle." It also features the supplements from the previous DVD release, including two more featurettes, trick-shot demonstrations and the veritable audio essay of a commentary track hosted by film historian Jeff Young, who introduces and interviews Paul Newman, Carol Rossen (director Robert Rossen's daughter), editor Dede Allen (editor), co-star Stefan Gierasch ("Preacher"), assistant director Ulu Grosbard and Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel. Also out this week is a new collector's edition of "The Verdict" (1982), which stars Newman as a threadbare alcoholic lawyer handed a case he's supposed to lose.