With more recently released movies getting most of the special DVD treatments, it is good to know studios are still willing to put out a quality release of a classic film. One such recent release is Fox Entertainment’s special edition of “The Hustler.”

“The Hustler” is the 1961 film starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, which follows the story of “Fast” Eddie Felson, a hustler whose ambition drives him forward regardless of the consequences.

The film is a rather long, deliberately-paced one, but does not drag on or actually feel slow.

Instead, the movie takes its time with its excellent cast and great atmosphere to fully explore the characters, their motives and the film’s themes.

Because of this, “The Hustler” is very enjoyable and so absorbing that it still stands up as well today as it did in 1961.

Although it is over 40 years old now, Fox has done an excellent job bringing “The Hustler” to DVD. The film is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio with an anamorphic format. This offers a very crisp and clean look and helps the subtlety of the black-and-white filming stand out.

The sound has been done equally well, although “The Hustler” is conversation-based, so this is not as important or noticeable. It is still nice to have the quality so that all the extras and background sounds come through clearly.

The extras provided are surprisingly good and do not contain fluff like many other releases of classics. They include such features as the informative “The Hustler: An Inside Look” documentary and an audio commentary that is run much like a question-and-answer session. This gives lots of good insight into the film as well as analysis of it, which is a nice diversion from the usual commentary style.

Fox has also included some nice features about playing billiards. You can either watch a professional make the shots featured in the film, or watch the film with a picture-in-picture setup where in the pool scenes, the professional player discusses the shots. These are both very interesting and excellent features to round out those about the film itself.

Besides being easily affordable at a price of about $15, “The Hustler” is an excellent package overall. The film is indeed a classic and deserves the praise it gets.

The transfer for both video and sound are great and offer the best sight and sound at home for this film yet.

And finally, the extras do a great job expanding the film and offering some good entertainment without the same old same old found on others’ releases.