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3 Screenplays: The Color of Money / Sea of Love / Night and the City
Tells the stories of a pool hustler, a lonely police veteran, and a small-time con man in over his head
363 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
84 people want to read
About the author
Richard Price
130 books956 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Also writes under the pen name Harry Brandt
A self-described "middle class Jewish kid," Price grew up in a housing project in the northeast Bronx. Today, he lives in New York City with his family.
Price graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1967 and obtained a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia. He also did graduate work at Stanford. He has taught writing at Columbia, Yale, and New York University. He was one of the first people interviewed on the NPR show Fresh Air when it began airing nationally in 1987. In 1999, he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy. In his review of Lush Life (2008), Walter Kirn compared Price to Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Price's first novel was The Wanderers (1974), a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx in 1962, written when Price was 24 years old. It was adapted into a movie in 1979, with a screenplay by Rose and Philip Kaufman and directed by the latter.
Clockers (1992) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It has been praised for its humor, suspense, dialogue, and characterizations. In 1995, it was made into a movie directed by Spike Lee; Price and Lee shared writing credits for the screenplay.
Price has written numerous screenplays, of which the best known are The Color of Money (1986), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, Life Lessons (the Martin Scorsese segment of New York Stories) (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Mad Dog and Glory (1992), Ransom (1996), and Shaft (2000). He also wrote for the HBO series The Wire. Price was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the fifth season of The Wire. He is often cast in cameo roles in the films he writes.
Price also wrote and conceptualized the 15 minute film surrounding Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.
Additionally, he has published articles in the The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, The New Yorker, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and others.
Also writes under the pen name Harry Brandt
A self-described "middle class Jewish kid," Price grew up in a housing project in the northeast Bronx. Today, he lives in New York City with his family.
Price graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1967 and obtained a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia. He also did graduate work at Stanford. He has taught writing at Columbia, Yale, and New York University. He was one of the first people interviewed on the NPR show Fresh Air when it began airing nationally in 1987. In 1999, he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy. In his review of Lush Life (2008), Walter Kirn compared Price to Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Price's first novel was The Wanderers (1974), a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx in 1962, written when Price was 24 years old. It was adapted into a movie in 1979, with a screenplay by Rose and Philip Kaufman and directed by the latter.
Clockers (1992) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It has been praised for its humor, suspense, dialogue, and characterizations. In 1995, it was made into a movie directed by Spike Lee; Price and Lee shared writing credits for the screenplay.
Price has written numerous screenplays, of which the best known are The Color of Money (1986), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, Life Lessons (the Martin Scorsese segment of New York Stories) (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Mad Dog and Glory (1992), Ransom (1996), and Shaft (2000). He also wrote for the HBO series The Wire. Price was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the fifth season of The Wire. He is often cast in cameo roles in the films he writes.
Price also wrote and conceptualized the 15 minute film surrounding Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.
Additionally, he has published articles in the The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, The New Yorker, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 1, 2020
The Color of Money was a snoozer. The plot twist in Sea of Love was predictable. I didn't realize Night and the City was a remake but I also didn't care for it.
September 28, 2025
The Color of Money based on novel by Walter Tevis, directed by Martin Scorsese, with Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Resilience, talent, money and values
Paul Newman has won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in this excellent motion picture
He was not only a mesmerizing actor, but a wonderful man, as we learn from a classic about the movie industry:
- Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman, winner of two Oscars for his scripts: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men
Paul Newman is Eddie Nelson, a role he has played before, in the movie called The Hustler, and for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.
In The Color of Money, Eddie Nelson is retired, he is not so young any more, but still interested in the pool game.
He discovers Vincent Lauria, a talented young man portrayed by the very good Tom Cruise, who is full of energy and zest.
Fast Eddie Nelson has a proposition for Vincent:
- You come with your girlfriend and play for money on the road
- Why would I do that?
- She is bored and will leave you if you stay around here…
- I don’t think so… words to that effect
Carmen aka Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio sees things pretty much the way Fast Eddie has suggested and helps him along the way.
Vincent is really good at playing pool, but not so keen on following the advice of his older partner, who becomes frustrated:
- “You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. Now, you got too much of one and not enough of the other.”
Vincent is acting like a prima donna and he is interested in putting a show, getting the attention and validation of the others.
Nathaniel Branden, the ultimate expert on self –esteem would say that he lacks confidence and this is why he is so exuberant.
I think…
On the other hand, Vincent might have the right values, at least for some time, while he is interested in winning.
His role is to play the fool, pretend not to know much about the game and then win the trust of the opponent to win his money:
- The Hustler that his partner used to be some decades ago
One night, Vincent takes the Balabushka- a trophy for great players- and challenges a very good adversary.
The reaction of the audience can be one of annoyance and frustration with this rebel who is upsetting Eddie.
- But it could be a case of finding the Calling
- When one does something he or she is very good at, likes a lot and has meaning, the money become less important
- Just like for Vincent in his early stages
Watching his partner and student play has created a spark within Fast Eddie Elson, who wants to play again.
And he does, against a man played by Forest Whitaker, who talks about being the subject of psychological experiments…
- But he is a Hustler playing against…another former Hustler
- And he wins
This is causing a lot of pain fore Eddie, who is very upset for falling prey, when he is in the game of hunting for weak adversaries…
- How could I fall for that?
- The booze, all the signs were there and I still did not see it…not an exact quote
After this, he parts ways with Vincent and Carmen, giving them two thousand dollars for the road to Atlantic City.
That is where the best of the best, the crème de la crème of this game meet to establish who the best is.
- Eddie and his former partner have to play against each other for a place in the competition and there are surprises there
- But the ending is simply fabulous:
- I am back in the game!
Excellent ending
Resilience, talent, money and values
Paul Newman has won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in this excellent motion picture
He was not only a mesmerizing actor, but a wonderful man, as we learn from a classic about the movie industry:
- Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman, winner of two Oscars for his scripts: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men
Paul Newman is Eddie Nelson, a role he has played before, in the movie called The Hustler, and for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.
In The Color of Money, Eddie Nelson is retired, he is not so young any more, but still interested in the pool game.
He discovers Vincent Lauria, a talented young man portrayed by the very good Tom Cruise, who is full of energy and zest.
Fast Eddie Nelson has a proposition for Vincent:
- You come with your girlfriend and play for money on the road
- Why would I do that?
- She is bored and will leave you if you stay around here…
- I don’t think so… words to that effect
Carmen aka Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio sees things pretty much the way Fast Eddie has suggested and helps him along the way.
Vincent is really good at playing pool, but not so keen on following the advice of his older partner, who becomes frustrated:
- “You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. Now, you got too much of one and not enough of the other.”
Vincent is acting like a prima donna and he is interested in putting a show, getting the attention and validation of the others.
Nathaniel Branden, the ultimate expert on self –esteem would say that he lacks confidence and this is why he is so exuberant.
I think…
On the other hand, Vincent might have the right values, at least for some time, while he is interested in winning.
His role is to play the fool, pretend not to know much about the game and then win the trust of the opponent to win his money:
- The Hustler that his partner used to be some decades ago
One night, Vincent takes the Balabushka- a trophy for great players- and challenges a very good adversary.
The reaction of the audience can be one of annoyance and frustration with this rebel who is upsetting Eddie.
- But it could be a case of finding the Calling
- When one does something he or she is very good at, likes a lot and has meaning, the money become less important
- Just like for Vincent in his early stages
Watching his partner and student play has created a spark within Fast Eddie Elson, who wants to play again.
And he does, against a man played by Forest Whitaker, who talks about being the subject of psychological experiments…
- But he is a Hustler playing against…another former Hustler
- And he wins
This is causing a lot of pain fore Eddie, who is very upset for falling prey, when he is in the game of hunting for weak adversaries…
- How could I fall for that?
- The booze, all the signs were there and I still did not see it…not an exact quote
After this, he parts ways with Vincent and Carmen, giving them two thousand dollars for the road to Atlantic City.
That is where the best of the best, the crème de la crème of this game meet to establish who the best is.
- Eddie and his former partner have to play against each other for a place in the competition and there are surprises there
- But the ending is simply fabulous:
- I am back in the game!
Excellent ending
April 22, 2013
The king of dialogue and the New York City vibe.
July 10, 2013
Richard Price is one of the most gifted writers of New York City dialogue and culture out there, period.
June 26, 2009
Awesome. I love reading screenplays and Price's intro was illuminating. Good stuff.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews