Cool Hand Luke
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Movie Reviews of Cool Hand Luke
Movie Review: cool hand luke
Summary: 5 Stars
i love this movie, it is an american classic. so many great small actors that get little recignition from the main stream HOLLYWOOD. SO MANY great lines that we remember as kids growing up. this movie was made on a modest budget, but looks very complex on the big screen. you will enjoy this movie if you like a vision of the old south, a big piece of americana.Movie Review: Rebel With A Cause
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't view "Cool Hand Luke" as an indictment of our penal system. Rather, it's an allegory about senseless systemic control over a compliant underclass. Most of the prisoners in the work prison are there for such minor offenses such as passing bad checks or in the case of Luke(Paul Newman) destroying parking meters while in a drunken state. The keepers at the prison resort their charges to demeaning degradation like having them ask permission to swat a fly otherwise it's a night in the sweatbox. Along comes Luke to flaunt the authority and become a folk hero to the other inmates. However, once his mother passes Luke's anti-authoritarian streak developes a purpose and the system becomes more sadistic to set an example to the other inmates about crossing the line. This is one of Newman's many landmark performances. The look on his face when he delivers his final line says volumes. George Kennedy deservedly took home the Oscar as Luke's initial adversary and finally his acolyte. Though his screen time is short Strother Martin as the Captain leaves an indelible impact on the film. His fey delivery of his now renowned failure to communicate line leaves a chill in your bones. Lot's of good actors on hand here though, oddly enough, Dennis Hopper doesn't leave much of a mark. An unqualified classic.Movie Review: Still shakin' the bush, boss.
Summary: 4 Stars
Paul Newman shines (and sweats buckets) in his iconic role as the title character of this 1967 film, a ne'er do well from a southern burg who ends up on a chain gang. He's busted for cutting the "heads" off of parking meters while on a drunken spree, but by the end of this sly allegory, astute viewers will glean what his real crime is: being a non-conformist. Stuart Rosenberg's direction is assured; as is the script by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson ("Dog Day Afternoon") The highlights include Strother Martin's "failure to communicate" speech, Harry Dean Stanton singing "The Midnight Special", the, um, car wash scene and of course George Kennedy's Academy Award-winning supporting role. The cast also includes Ralph Waite, Dennis Hopper, Wayne Rogers, Anthony Zerbe (Dog Boy!), and Joy Harmon as the, um, car wash girl. Did I mention the car wash scene? It's great news to hear about a deluxe edition due in September '08, as the current DVD release is somewhat dodgy.Movie Review: New Deluxe Edition due out on September 9th, 2008!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a new Deluxe Edition of Cool Hand Luke, with new special features. There will be a making-of featurette called "A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke," which the press release describes as "an in-depth look at the creation of an uncompromising classic." There will also be an audio commentary with Paul Newman biographer Eric Lax, and the theatrical trailer. Only the theatrical trailer and some text production notes are on the old DVD. There will also be a Blu-ray version.
Cool Hand Luke is the story of a man (Newman) who, by a minor offense combined with stubborn if at times casually guided will, gets himself into increasingly deep trouble in a tough Southern prison. It's played as part comedy, part gritty drama. Luke's cool, fearless, devil-may-care attitude and escapades make him an icon among his fellow prisoners, until he is brought to abject desperation, ultimately rising again and falling to become a legend.
The film is famous for a hard-boiled egg eating contest and, especially, a quote that has entered the pantheon of movie quotes: "What we have here is a failure to communicate." The title character's nickname comes from another quote, made after he bluffs to win at poker: "sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand," a quote that has ironic punch in the context of the movie as a whole. Newman was nominated for an Oscar, and George Kennedy won one for his supporting role. Strother Martin is unforgettable as the twisted prison captain.
I enjoy this movie, but I've never completely loved it the way many do. Parts of it never seemed quite real to me (not "uncompromising" either), not with the truthful feel the similarly themed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has, for example. But it is a classic, with memorable characters, scenes, and storyline. I'd probably give it four or four and a half stars, but I'll round up for the new special features, which I look forward to.
The Blu-ray edition is here.
Movie Review: Overated and Boring
Summary: 1 Stars
This supposed classic is an absolute bore and features characters that you could really care less about. I wish the studios would get serious about releasing older movies...Cool Hand Luke and Ms. Doubtfire aren't the types of older movies that most of us want to see released in the early years of Blu-Ray. How about Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather?