Week 8 (Part 1): America(n) Hustle[r]

I've learned in this project that Best Picture nominees in the 1960's were somewhat dominated by in-depth, deeply masculine, single-character studies. Lawrence of Arabia (and its treatment of the titular T.E. Lawrence) is the most obvious example, but here are two others:

• America, America (Nominated 1963)
• The Hustler (Nominated 1961)

America, America is a three-hour epic about a young Greek boy who flees oppression in Turkish Anatolia in the late 19th century. His goal is to eventually reach the United States and send back for his family. It is based on the book of the same title by Elia Kazan, who also directed several much more well known movies, such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and Gentleman's Agreement. I found it to be educational on the rarely covered topic of the Hamidian massacres, and a very impressive performance by the main lead, Stathis Giallelis, who was basically never heard from again. The film is strongest in its final act, when the main character, Stavros, finally finds passage on a ship to the United States (in "third class") and develops a bond with a young Armenian who eventually makes a sacrifice in order for Stavros to secure admission to Ellis Island. 

America, America - Stavros comforts his friend

The film is beautifully shot, partly on location in Greece and Turkey. On the downside, it was much longer and more sprawling than necessary. The story is partially Barry Lyndon (never quite finding one's place among higher society) and partially The Godfather Part II (leaving a violent situation to reinvent oneself in the U.S.), but I'm not sure if those two things married here as harmoniously as they could have. It smacks of  being intensely personal to Kazan, and so I suspect that made it harder to edit down.

It's a fine film, though it didn't really stand any real chance to win Best Picture against the incredible and timeless West Side Story in 1961. I gave America, America a 6.1.

Our next film is The Hustler, which features one of Paul Newman's most famous roles. He plays a pool shark named "Fast" Eddie Felson, who follows the familiar, masculine trope of being both immensely talented and deeply flawed/self-destructive. For a movie about pool, it takes a surprisingly dark turn in the third act when Felson's love interest is driven to suicide. Only after that (for some reason) does Felson have the wherewithal to beat his arch-nemesis Minnesota Fats in a rematch of many, many, many hours of Nine Ball. Newman and Piper Laurie are great in the starring roles, and Jackie Gleason absolutely dominates his limited screen time as Minnesota Fats. Not to be outdone, George C. Scott works very well as the ruthless and manipulating professional gambler who bankrolls Felson for part of the film.

The movie would be too overly melodramatic if not for its utterly captivating treatment and depiction of the game of billiards. Unlike other games/sports, there really hasn't been any other notable movie since The Hustler (and The Color of Money does not count) to try covering the same subject. That says something.

Movies about bar games, and that star Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, are immensely rewatchable. Tom Jones was the 1963 Best Picture winner, and I'll be interested to see if it's better. I gave The Hustler a score of 8.2.