Film

The Color of Money

Name: The Color of Money
Genre: Drama
Released: 1986
Cast: Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro

Twenty-five years after The Hustler, Fast Eddie Felson comes out of retirement to bankroll and groom a flashy young pool player, and Scorsese turns the game into pure velvet menace — smoke, neon, sliding cue balls, Newman's Oscar-winning swagger. It's less about pool than about ego, mentorship, and the particular vanity of watching your younger self screw everything up.

TMDb rating

6.9

If you liked this

The Hustler1961

The film this one is quietly answering. Newman as young Eddie, hungrier and crueller, in a black-and-white noir about talent, pride, and getting your thumbs broken for it.

But Slower, bleaker, and much less interested in giving you a good time than its sequel is.

The Sting1973

Newman again, this time as a con man rather than a pool shark, in a warm, ragtime-scored heist that's all about the pleasure of watching a professional work a mark.

But Lighter and more caper-ish — nobody's soul is really at stake here.

Rounders1998

Same DNA transplanted into underground poker: a mentor with dirty hands, a protégé who can't resist the game, and the queasy thrill of watching talent get corrupted.

But Matt Damon's narration can feel a little pleased with itself, and the poker scenes haven't aged as slickly as the movie thinks.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Whiplash2014

Same engine as Eddie and Vincent — a manipulative mentor grooming raw talent, and a young man who has to decide what he'll sacrifice to be great — just swapped from pool halls to a jazz conservatory.

A ferocious, claustrophobic two-hander about an older master pushing a gifted young protégé to the edge of collapse, all in the name of greatness.

But Intense to the point of being exhausting — this is not a relaxing watch, and the ending will split rooms.

Wall Street1987

Another older shark teaching a hungry kid how to win dirty, except the pool table is the trading floor and Gordon Gekko is even less sentimental than Eddie Felson.

But It's a blunter, angrier morality tale — less interested in nuance than in making its point about greed.

Croupier1998

A cool, controlled British thriller about someone who understands a game's mechanics so well he stops being able to just enjoy it — a very Fast Eddie problem.

But Deliberately chilly and detached; if you want warmth or a redemption arc, this isn't it.

Molly's Game2017

A modern spin on the same world of high-stakes games and the people who run them, told with Sorkin's motormouth energy and a real sense of what it costs to stay at the table.

But Talky and fast — Sorkin's dialogue style is an acquired taste if you haven't had it before.

Top Gun1986

Same year, same Cruise, same electric young-hotshot cockiness that made Vincent Lauria so much fun to watch — see where that energy came from and where else it went.

But Pure eighties spectacle with none of Scorsese's interest in consequence or self-destruction.

Raging Bull1980

Scorsese's earlier study of a man who can't separate his identity from his sport, shot in ferocious black and white — the darker cousin of the ego problem Eddie has.

But Brutal and punishing rather than stylish; this is Scorsese with none of the cool restraint.

Boiler Room2000

A young man gets pulled into a seductive, morally rotten mentorship exactly like Vincent's, minus the pool cues and plus penny stocks and cocaine.

But Rougher edges and lower production polish than the glossier films on this list.

The Queen's Gambit2020

Trade the cue for a chessboard and you get the same story: a mesmerizing young talent, a string of older figures trying to shape or exploit her, and an addiction that threatens to undo everything — just told as a miniseries instead of a movie.

A prodigy claws her way up through a male-dominated game while battling addiction and her own self-sabotage, shot with the same smoky, stylish confidence as any good pool hall.

But Seven episodes is a bigger commitment than a two-hour film, and the chess itself demands a little patience if you don't already care about it.

Sweet Smell of Success1957

Nearly thirty years before Fast Eddie taught Vincent to hustle, this film was already asking the same question — what does an older man's guidance cost the young man he's shaping — just set among gossip columnists instead of pool sharks.

A viciously sharp noir about a powerful, corrupt older man manipulating an ambitious young protégé for his own ends, dripping with some of the best dialogue American film ever produced.

But Cynical almost to the point of nihilism, with a rat-a-tat verbal style that takes a scene or two to adjust to.