The Color of Money (1986)
83%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
3 wins & 10 nominations total
That it’s inferior to the original goes without saying, but Paul Newman and Tom Cruise are a joy to watch, and Martin Scorsese’s direction is typically superb
The Color of Money” may not be Scorsese’s best work, but it’s still a fun ride. The pool scenes are intense and the chemistry between Newman and Cruise is electric. Plus, who doesn’t love a good ’80s soundtrack? It may not be a classic, but it’s definitely worth a watch for fans of the genre.
Production Company(ies)
Eye Steel Film Téléfilm Canada Rogers Group of Fund,s
Distributor
Touchstone Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 59m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 1986 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro, Bill Cobbs, directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Walter Tevis, Richard Price, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gene Siskel, Dave Kehr, Jay Boyar, Richard Schickel, Tom Hutchinson, Sean Axmaker, Matt Brunson, MPAA rating R, Touchstone Pictures, Irving Axelrod, Barbara De Fina, pool hustler, pool halls, scamming, mentor, pupil, opponent, sequel, The Hustler, pool-room culture, gamesmanship, split decision, soundtrack, Warren Zevon, pool tables, lounge lizard, pool shark, girlfriend, male ego, seedy, tension, witty dialogue, resolution, character development
Worldwide gross: $52,293,982
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $144,890,321
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 851
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,800,471
US/Canada gross: $52,293,982
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $144,890,321
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 533
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,357,877
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,615,695
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 721
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $14,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $40,174,979
Production budget ranking: 954
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $21,634,226
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $83,081,115
ROI to date (est.): 134%
ROI ranking: 814
Tom Cruise – Vincent
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – Carmen
Helen Shaver – Janelle
John Turturro – Julian
Bill Cobbs – Orvis
Director(s)
Martin Scorsese
Writer(s)
Walter Tevis, Richard Price
Producer(s)
Irving Axelrod, Barbara De Fina
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
3 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (5)
Yes, sure, this is mid-level Scorsese. But it says something about the director that his mid-level work still beats the hell out of just about anyone else’s best.
April 8, 2017
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
The premise might sound interesting, but the plotting is so utterly predictable that The Color of Money turns into a pool-room variation of The Karate Kid.
February 6, 2017 | Rating: 2.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
It is a surprise, and a disappointment.
February 6, 2017 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Though this is clearly Newman’s picture, Tom Cruise also is a joy to watch.
February 6, 2017
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
A joy to see two masters (Scorsese and Newman) at ease with their work, and one, Cruise, in the making.
August 6, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
We are not on Rocky’s side of the street, but in Martin Scorsese country, where bent character, not sentiment, shapes destiny, and the best the struggling human spirit can hope for is a split decision.
August 1, 2008
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Everything, including a splendid cast, works like a clockwork mechanism in which Scorsese faces youth with experience. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 27, 2019
Alberto Abuín
Espinof
The confrontational climax never quite convinces, but Richard Price’s knockout script is one to treasure and director Martin Scorsese brings his trademark visual style to bear on the production.
February 6, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Tom Hutchinson
Radio Times
[Scorsese] delivers the cinematic charge of the pool room culture of hustle and gamesmanship along with the education of a young protg lacking self and a mentor who has yet to face his own conflicted feelings about the game.
December 15, 2016
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
There’s nothing [Martin Scorsese] made so achingly generic and impersonal as this.
October 25, 2014 | Rating: 5/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
It’s entertaining and at times even insightful, but nowhere near as powerful-or memorable-as “The Hustler.”
June 30, 2012 | Rating: 7/10
James Plath
Movie Metropolis
Working with his crack technical team, Scorsese turns the film into a high-wire act, using everything from the crack of the balls to the soundtrack (best bit: Cruise playing and preening to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”) to pump up the action.
June 14, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing…
Plot
Pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson finds the young, promising pool player Vincent in a local bar and he sees in him a younger version of himself. To try and make it as in the old days, Eddie offers to teach Vincent how to be a hustler. After some hesitations Vincent accepts and Eddie takes him and Vincent’s girlfriend Carmen on a tour through the country to work the pool halls. However, Vincent’s tendency to show off his talent and by doing so warning off the players and losing money, soon leads to a confrontation with Eddie.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tom Cruise’s performance in The Color of Money is described as “obnoxious overacting and toothy grinning” by one audience reviewer.
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