Watched the Hustler a while ago.

I was sorta "meh" about the whole thing. I expected to be blown away, and I felt it was OK. I enjoyed some of the dialogs, and I really enjoyed Jackie Gleason.

A lot of this movie probably suffers from age. I am guessing some of the stuff was pretty edgy - the whole alcoholic woman/cripple stuff... Eddie hitting rock bottom...

I liked it, and I can see where people consider it "great", but beyond appreciating it for what it is, I was certainly not glued to the screen.

I figure most "great" old movies don't necessarily "watch well". That is, you aren't glued to your seat. I am trying to think of some, and not having a lot of luck.

The one old movie that kept me riveted was the Godfather. I saw it around 93-96 for the first time, and absolutely loved it.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you are Hustler fans or if you have any other older movies you think "watch well".

the hustler and other famous paul newman movies like cool hand luke and butch cassidy and the sundance kid don't really stand up if you're watching them for the first time now, because even though you don't realize how iconic and ingrained into our culture they are, it's all stuff you've already seen. a couple of other good examples are on the waterfront and a streetcar named desire.

also these movies were edgy as hell when they were released, and are now considered to be family fodder by current standards

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Cool Hand Luke is still pretty... cool.

hey i love all the movies i listed as much as the next guy i'm just saying as subversive as they were then is as tame as they are now

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The Hustler/Color of Money are two of my favorites. Admiringly I did see Color of Money before watching/reading The Hustler.

I still like Cool hand Luke but if I am going for another older movie that people will like but wouldn't expect it I'd pick something like Deliverance. Honestly I can think of a ton of movies I would stay at a friends house to watch if he had them and some beer. Maybe one of these nights I'll grab some beer and list them.