Movies are great entertainment, especially when they’re about things we already enjoy. Even the dramatized, sometimes unrealistic versions of our favorite pastimes portrayed on silver screen have a way of making us that much more excited about them!
Pool halls and billiards players appear in plenty of movies, but not always at the front and center. When they do, it’s most often an exciting story of gambling, double crossing, hustling, and all sorts of machismo. While they might not be the best representations of playing pool (or good role models for a pool player) in real life, they are certainly enjoyable to watch!
Check Out these Classic Billiards-themed Movies with your Pool Loving Friends!
The Hustler
Aptly titled, and perhaps the most famous billiards movie of all time, this Paul Newman classic is the tale of an up and coming pool player’s high stakes match against a long time champion – with plenty of other drama to go with it. A black and white, jazz-driven movie from 1961, The Hustler is a gem you don’t want to miss.
The Color of Money
An 80s style follow up to The Hustler, Paul Newman reprises his role as Fast Eddie Felson, this time as the old pool shark training the next up and coming star – Tom Cruise. Full of great 80s music and young Cruise antics, The Color of Money is a fun watch that carries on the story of the the classic pool movie character!
Poolhall Junkies
A bit of a twist on the typical pool movies, Poolhall Junkies is about a masterful pool player trying to leave behind his troublesome past – and the man that trained him to be a hustler. This one is full of action, great trick shots, and a fantastic cast. It’s a fun, almost action movie that will inspire you to step up your own billiards skills – and who doesn’t love Christopher Walken?
There are plenty of other movies out there featuring pool and pool players, but these are some of the best, and show how the themes can carry a common thread across three very different eras of movie making. What are some of your favorites?
To chat about all thing billiards, check out great tables, and find the cue that brings out your inner pool shark, contact us or stop by Emerald Spas and Billiards in Grand Rapids MI today!
