Is it important to watch The Hustler before watching this?

You don't need to see The Hustler first. The 2 films have the same main character, and that's about it. It's not like the Lord of the Rings trilogy where you had to see all 3 films.

Personally, I liked The Hustler better, even though I saw The Color of Money first.

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So my question is how important is it to have seen The Hustler first?

i don't think it's absolutely critical. but... i would recommend seeing The Hustler (1961) first since it i think it will get you even more into Newman's 'Fast Eddie Felson' character as you will care even more about him and how times have changed for him from the original film to the sequel etc and how he's basically changed himself and yet remains similar like in the original he was the young/loud mouth character and Minnesota Fats was the more cool/calm veteran and now, in the sequel, Fast Eddie Felson (Newman) is the veteran but yet you can still see traces of his old character in him and he's basically more of a guide for the young person (i.e. Tom Cruise character) on the block and sort of wants to pass some of his knowledge down to Cruise's character etc.

hell... i am pretty sure i have seen bits and pieces of The Color of Money years ago and at that time i never even heard of The Hustler. either way, even if you do decide to watch The Color of Money first and then watch The Hustler later i don't think it will effect your overall enjoyment too much either way on both films although i would still recommend seeing The Hustler first and then The Color of Money for reasons i already talked about above which is basically more of a back story and to know more about Paul Newman's character as if it where not for that you would not for that you could watch either in any order you want.

p.s. The Color of Money (8/10, maybe a 8.5) is Scorsese's 4th best film behind Goodfellas(10/10)/The Departed(10/10)/Casino(9/10). those four films are Martin Scorsese's most memorable films if you ask me.

side note: The Hustler came out on bluray last year and The Color of Money is due out on bluray June 5th 2012. ;)

another side note: i was just checking to make sure i was spelling the 'Minnesota Fats' name right on google and apparently that guy was a person in real life ;)

The Hustler is awful. Believe me. Just watch the Color of Money.

seriously?

The Hustler is great as Paul Newman (Fast Eddie Felson) and Jackie Gleason (Minnesota Fats) etc are quite interesting to watch as Paul Newman carries that film as you really get into the passion of his character. i am surprised you don't like that but like The Color of Money as they both basically focus more around Newman's character and he does it really well.

because even if the 'black and white' is one of the reasons you don't like The Hustler... it's easy to overlook with how interesting the characters are and overall film plays out. i understand The Hustler might slow down a bit in some parts, as it's at it's best when it's focusing on the drama between Newman/Gleason, but the more romance type parts when Newman is away from playing billiards never gets bad or anything and it's still solid overall.

because i can't really see too many people that like The Color of Money to any larger degree not at least liking The Hustler given that the core of both films revolve around Newman's character. because for how interesting Newman is to watch in both films that easily brings the films to life and makes them memorable.

p.s. i am not even that old either myself as i was born in 1979 so 'The Hustler' is a old film to me as i think the vast majority of 'the best' films have been made from around 1990 (probably back into the 1980's a fair amount though) to date as the bulk of my TOP films have been made in roughly those times frames. but The Hustler is the oldest film i like a lot (i doubt i could find a older film than The Hustler that i would like about the same).

but i imagine for those younger people who can't sit still for more than a few minutes at a time and generally need action etc to be entertained (i know i am stereotyping a bit there) instead of getting into interesting characters might not care for this film too much. plus i think there is many of the younger generations that automatically write a film off if it's not in color even though i think The Hustler wipes the floor with many modern films as it's the oldest film i like a lot to where it can hold up well against some of my top films in general.

You don't need to see The Hustler first. The 2 films have the same main character, and that's about it. It's not like the Lord of the Rings trilogy where you had to see all 3 films.

i basically agree with your point although, like i was saying, it helps get more back story on Newman's character (i.e. 'the same main character') which i think can further boost your enjoyment of The Color of Money.

so while it's not critical to see it like your example of LOTR which is critical, i would still recommend seeing The Hustler first before The Color of Money.

Personally, I liked The Hustler better, even though I saw The Color of Money first.

same here. but it's close...

-The Hustler - 9/10 (it's the oldest film i like a lot)
-The Color of Money - 8/10 (maybe a 8.5)


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My Vote History ... http://imdb.to/rb1gYH
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Not knowing the history of either film, I did end up watching The Color of Money first. IMNSHO I thought it wasn't all that. But then I saw The Hustler, and it just blew me away. But I'll cut Scorsese some slack. He'd made "Mean Streets" and "Raging Bull" before this one, so perhaps he was just worn out artisticly.

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Either way, it won't save this film. It's just not very good.




Remember When Movies Didn't Have To Be Politically Correct?

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I also watched this before The Hustler and I'm glad I did. As a matter of fact, I would say that it's cool to watch this first - and then think of The Hustler as a prequel to this. It works perfectly when you think about it. Eddie's past is only hinted at in this, and so it makes that line even more interesting if you haven't seen The Hustler yet.

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In my humble view, these both movies are like 2 (two) parts of a novel. First watch The Hustler (at least twice as I did!) then watch The colour of money, third time, that is, as I did!

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actually wouldn't be a bad idea to see all of Paul Newman's so called "H" movies(Hustler,Hombre,Hud,Harper)just an idea.

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You may not agree, and a I see a few responses to the contrary here, but in my opinion The Hustler was far and away the better movie. I'll even go so far as to say that I think as a movie, The Color of Money stinks. Bad writing, bad acting, bad directing. On the other hand, The Hustler was a masterpiece. The Color tries to take some of the character from the Hustler but fails miserably. Newman does not come through as a tough guy manager as did George C. Scott. Cruise does all right as a brash kid. His girl friend is nothing to get excited about. Watch the Hustler, see some great acting by Gleason, Newman, Scott and Piper Laurie.

Life is for lovers, and lovers are for life.

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