Hud
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Movie Reviews of Hud
Movie Review: "My Mother Loved Me"
Summary: 5 Stars
The most telling line in "Hud" is when Hud Bannon (Paul Newman) tells his father, Homer Bannon(Melvyn Douglas), that he had to be bad because his father was so good. Therein lies the paradox of "Hud". Do we empathize with the morally flawed Hud or with the overly pious Homer? Or do we just stand back and pity this unfortunate father-son relationship? Credit these two superb actors for creating complex characters that offer the audience no easy answers. Also excellent is Brandon De Wilde as Hud's nephew Lonnie who is drawn into a tug-of-war for his soul by these two polar opposites. Patricia Neal as the frank talking housekeeper, Alma, steals virtually scene she is in. The conflict she has is that she is simultaneously repulsed and aroused by the lecherous Hud. The scenes she shares with Newman have a certain erotic charge to them. Neal won the Oscar for best actress in 1963 for her role here. There's no debating how good she is but her role is most certainly a supporting one. Gorgeous black-and-white cinematography by James Wong Howe. It's best utilized in the film's chilling cattle slaughter scene. The final shot of the film with Hud at the porch door perfectly encapsulates the film. It's ambiguous but it's in synch with the rest of the movie.Movie Review: The Classic Anti-Western; Paul Newman in a great performance
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the great Westerns of all time, and can best be understood as being the classic "anti-Western." The protagonist (Hud, played by the immortal Paul Newman) is neither good nor kind. To the contrary, he is a scoundrel with a troubled, guilt-ridden past who knows how to raise hell and does. In an unforgettable performance, Paul Newman portrays the despicable Hud Bannon. As a counter-point, his father (Melvyn Douglas) denies Hud his love and respect out of disgust and self-righteousness, in a classic father-son conflict. Patricia O'Neil is magnificent as the tired, but still desirable housekeeper who tries to hold the family together.
This powerful film is punctuated with Western Americana. The first scenes introduce the viewer to "Hud" in a brilliant fashion. When Hud's nephew Lonnie (who is as clean-cut as Hud is despicable) goes looking for Hud by searching out the bars, he sees wreckage everywhere, and asks a barkeep "what happened last night?" The answer: "I had Hud in here last night is what I had...!" This, of course, explains everything.
This is a human drama that truly shows off Paul Newman's acting range, and this is perhaps Newman's greatest role. Hud is unforgettable. RJB.
Movie Review: Paul Newman: Actor, Not Just "Leading Man"
Summary: 5 Stars
Amid all of the critical appreciation that has been lavished upon Marlon Brando and James Dean, Paul Newman has largely escaped proper attention as one of the great antihero protagonists of 50's and 60's cinema. One viewing of "Hud" reveals how unfair history has been with that assessment. As the ingrate son of an aging cattleman, Newman is absolutely riveting in a performance all the more notable because, despite his good looks and considerable charisma, he manages to unflinchingly realize the character's unsympathetic nature. The film is a masterpiece on every level, from Martin Ritt's unobtrusive direction, to James Wong Howe's magnificently arid black-and-white cinematography, to the multi-layered moral complexities inside the deceptively simple narrative, to Patricia Neal's moving portrayal of a woman who would rather start over with nothing than deal with the unwanted advances of an egotistical lout.
This was the first film in what can be referred to as Newman's '4H Antihero Quartet,' to be followed by "Harper" in 1966 and "Cool Hand Luke" and "Hombre" in 1967. Treat yourself to all of them. It's time for history to reassess an actor who was a heck of a lot more than just a leading man.
Movie Review: 4.5 stars for a great film
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm surprised the *'57 Caddy* didn't win an Oscar for this film. A classic "Character Study" which can never happen again - a remake would have Alma (Patricia Neal's character) as the one in control and Hud as a conflicted guy battling his "feminine" side.
Actually, Neal's character *is* the strongest in this 1963 black and white masterpiece; her ahead-of-her-time (non-flamboyant) sensuousness underscores her strength here: she flirts, she beats guys at cards, she even admits to Hud that she's not invulnerable to his masculinity - that last one wouldn't be in any imagined remake. Point is, Neal's Oscar-winning performance should be appreciated at the same level as Newman's work (and for my money he over-acts just a tad).
Paul battles with (Oscar-winning) Melvyn Douglas over the future of the ranch - dealing with cattle cannot sustain, especially at the prospect of drilling for oil. The elder Bannon shows his own stubbornness, losing his grip when his cattle have to be removed due to disease.
Not an easy film to embrace; not one to watch once a week with a microwave dinner. But worth collecting.
Movie Review: Hud
Summary: 5 Stars
Portrait of a totally no-good, amoral man, set on a Texas ranch. Paul Newman is the no-account Hud, the man who sleeps with everyone else's wife in town and just doesn't give a damn about anything. Melvyn Douglas is his righteous father, and caught in the middle is Brandon de Wilde (yes, the one who played the boy in SHANE), 17-year-old brother of Hud, who looks up to Hud but also has something of his grandfather in him, too. Patricia Neal is the ranch cook/housekeeper, a tough little cookie who knows the ways of the world - and a standout here. When the cattle contract hoof-and-mouth disease, Hud wants to sell them off quick, but Douglas does the right thing and slaughters them all.
One wishes the conflict between Newman and Douglas was developed more (like that between Newman and Burl Ives in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF), but unfortunately we just get a presentation of Hud the nihilistic crumbum. Newman's performance is terrific, though. Based on Larry McMurtry's novel HORSEMAN, PASS BY (McMurtry sure had good luck with his books being made into unusually fine movies, every one). Neal and Douglas won Oscars.