Newman’s Own: ‘Hustler,’ ‘Verdict’

It’s hard to believe that when Paul Newman made his film debut in 1954’s “The Silver Chalice” he was described as a Marlon Brando clone. No one now would ever accuse the superstar, sex symbol and salad dressing king of being a Brando wannabe. Over the past 48 years, he’s been nominated for eight Academy Awards, finally winning for 1986’s “The Color of Money.” Newman’s still going strong at 77; his newest film, “The Road to Perdition,” is set for release next month.

Newman gave two of his greatest performances in 1961’s “The Hustler” and 1982’s “The Verdict”-- both of which are being released on DVD this week (Fox Video, $20 each). Directed and co-written by Robert Rossen, “The Hustler” is a searing character study of a cocky pool hustler, “Fast Eddie” Felson (Newman), who takes on the greatest pool player, Minnesota Fats (a marvelous Jackie Gleason). George C. Scott plays a conniving promoter, and Piper Laurie is an alcoholic who falls in love with Fast Eddie.

Shot primarily in location at a real pool hall in New York City, the film won Oscars for Eugen Shufftan’s brilliant black-and-white cinematography and Harry Horner and Gene Callahan’s set design.

The provocative, intelligent DVD features an informative documentary, “The Hustler: The Inside Story,” picture-in-picture commentary with a champion trick pool player; a crisp wide-screen transfer of the film; a photo gallery and the theatrical trailer. The high point of the DVD is the audio track, which features informative, thoughtful and heartfelt commentary from Newman, assistant director Ulu Grosbard, Rossen’s daughter, Carol, Time magazine movie critic Richard Schickel and editor Dede Allen.

Allen says that “The Hustler’s” lengthy prologue, which comes before the title sequence, was a rarity in its day. Fox executives were worried the prologue would confuse audiences and wanted her to cut the scene, but she and Rossen held firm.

Carol Rossen discusses her father’s experience with being blacklisted and why he eventually cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Newman talks about how he got involved in the project. He and Elizabeth Taylor were set to star in “Two for the Seesaw,” but she got sick and pulled out. Newman had approval for her replacement but didn’t like any of the actresses on the list. So he pulled out. Suddenly, he had an open slot in his schedule when the script of “The Hustler” came his way.

Though Newman lost the best actor Oscar that year, he won for playing “Fast Eddie” 25 years later in the inferior sequel “The Color of Money.”

Though Newman is listed as a commentator along with director Sidney Lumet on the audio track of “The Verdict,” he doesn’t show up until the 20th of 22 chapters. Why did he even bother? Thankfully, the veteran Lumet is a mesmerizing guide through this superior drama, written by David Mamet. The Oscar-nominated Newman plays a washed-up, alcoholic attorney who gets his shot at redemption. Charlotte Rampling, a dazzling James Mason and Jack Warden also star. The DVD includes a vintage featurette and photo gallery.

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David Lynch remains an enigmatic presence on the digital editions of his feature films. For the special edition DVD of his 1986 classic “Blue Velvet” (MGM, $25) he, yet again, fails to supply commentary. And in the one-hour-plus retrospective documentary on the movie, “Mysteries of Love,” he is seen only in interviews conducted when the film was released.

Lynch, who received an Academy Award nomination for best director, did supervise the lush new digital anamorphic transfer of the mystery thriller starring Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern and Isabella Rossellini. The original cut of the film was four hours, and though the two hours of excised footage are missing, a photo montage on the DVD attempts to piece together several deleted sequences. There is also an excerpt from a 1986 edition of “Siskel & Ebert,” a photo gallery and a trailer.

The documentary is filled with behind-the-scenes tidbits, including Hopper’s revelations on acting for the first time in years without being drunk and stoned, and Rossellini’s confession that she felt she brought too much baggage to the film because she was Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini’s daughter.

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John Ford’s lyrical 1949 western “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” entered the Digital Age this week (Warner, $20). John Wayne, in one of his best roles as a retiring military man, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson and the always wonderful Victor McLaglen star in this sagebrush saga set right after the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. The real star of the film is Winton C. Hoch’s breathtaking Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography that captures the majesty and beauty of Arizona’s Monument Valley.

The DVD includes a beautiful new transfer of the restored film, four minutes of home movies featuring Ford and Wayne and the re-release trailer.

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Vilmos Zsigmond supplied the dark, muted cinematography for Robert Altman’s demanding 1971 western “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (Warner, $20). Warren Beatty stars as a small-time hustler who arrives in a small mountain town and becomes an entrepreneur. Julie Christie, then Beatty’s lover, received an Oscar nomination for her gritty turn as the town’s madam, who has a fondness for her opium pipe. The DVD features a vintage behind-the-scenes documentary, trailer, a nice wide-screen transfer of the film and perceptive commentary from Altman, who remains very much the outspoken rebel, and producer David Foster.

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Julie Andrews and her director-writer husband, Blake Edwards, team up to provide commentary for the digital edition of their delightful 1982 collaboration, “Victor/Victoria.” Andrews received an Academy Award nomination as a struggling singer living in Paris during the 1930s who becomes a star when she impersonates a man impersonating a woman. The gender-bending comedy with Henry Mancini’s lilting score also stars Robert Preston in his Oscar-nominated turn as a gay performer who befriends and mentors Andrews; James Garner as an American gangster attracted to Victor/Victoria; and Lesley Ann Warren as his dumb moll.

The digital release includes a beautiful new wide-screen edition of the film, the trailer and Andrews and Edwards’ charming insights into this production, which was shot on two connecting soundstages at Pinewood Studios in England.

Warners is also releasing three more Edwards comedies ($20 each) on DVD, but without any commentaries: 1981’s “S.O.B.,” 1965’s “The Great Race” and 1989’s “Skin Deep.”

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“Starship Troopers,” Paul Verhoeven’s outrageous 1997 sci-fi thriller filled to the brim with gore and gratuitous nudity, is now a two-disc special edition (Columbia TriStar, $28). Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer and Neil Patrick Harris star in this over-the-top flick based on Robert Heinlein’s futuristic sci-fi novel in which vicious alien bugs are bent on taking over the world.

The first DVD includes a wide-screen version of the film, commentary with the very dramatic Verhoeven and screenwriter Ed Neumeier and another track also featuring Verhoeven, Van Dien, Meyer and Harris. Highlights of the second disc include deleted scenes with commentary, screen tests, special effects comparisons, featurettes, scene deconstructions with Verhoeven commentary and a documentary on the making of the film.