Hud
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Movie Reviews of Hud
Movie Review: Major Babe......
Summary: 5 Stars
...one of Newman's finest, bless his heart. Paul couldn't do a bad job of acting if he tried. Dang good film.Movie Review: Classic, must see
Summary: 5 Stars
Great classic Newman movie. Bought it for my 34 yr old son(and my grandson, "Hudson") who never heard of it!Movie Review: The classic HUD
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my husband's favorite classic movies, I bought it as a surprise for him, he loves it!Movie Review: The film that crashed Newman into the top echelon..,
Summary: 4 Stars
The title character, a cattleman in contemporary Texas, is the quintessence of Newman's amoral, opportunistic loners: he's arrogant, seething with ambition, incapable of much warmth or affection... He quarrels, drinks heavily, takes women with crude assurance ("The only question I ever ask any woman is 'What time is your husband coming home?' "), and doesn't give a damn about anyone except himself...
Newman brings his familiar characteristics to perfection: the cynical, cold in manner; the nasty, contemptuous voice; the sly, insinuating smile... He's a model of casual defiance and detachment, as he drinks a pint of bourbon or stands insolently, hands on hips, hat down low over his forehead, or roars through the dusty town in his convertible Cadillac, making business deals or picking up loose women...
Hud resembles Ben Quick, which isn't surprising, since director Martin Ritt and writers Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. also did "The Long, Hot Summer." Like Quick, he is considerably sexy and charming, which attracts women and drinking buddies... He's the best example of Newman's idea of the glamorous, captivating, virile, but essentially rotten men we mistakenly admire; according to Newman, the film is meant to expose his underlying corruption...
The drama revolves around the discovery of Hud's amorality by Lon (Brandon de Wilde), his seventeen-year-o1d nephew... Lon admires his uncle, but is ultimately torn between Hud's hedonism and the high moral principles of Hud's father, aging Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas).
When Homer's cattle become diseased, Hud wants to sell them quickly, but Homer refuses to spread an epidemic, and has them destroyed... Hud really becomes despicable as he tries to have his father certified incompetent, so that he can take over the ranch... Like Chance Wayne ("Sweet Bird of Youth"), he's afraid of ending up in poverty: "You don't look out for yourself, the only helping hand you'll ever get is when they lower the box."
Whereas Quick turned out to be a good guy after all, and Fast Eddie and Chance matured through pain and punishment, Hud is untouched and unregenerate to the very end... Refusing to accept his guilt, he says he's only as corrupt as everyone else; before he goes into the house, he angrily yells, "The world's so full of crap a man's going to get into it sooner or later, whether he's careful or not. "
Many people considered Hud a hero... But this is natural, since the film is actually filled with compromises... For instance, Homer, the representative of goodness, is self-righteous, inflexible, full of solemn, pious platitudes, and generally unappealing, while Hud is vital, life-affirming and humorous... Furthermore, Homer's contempt for Hud, which he justifies by Hud's having never given a damn, seems unfair... Apparently he soured on Hud when the latter was in his teens, and thus the boy was denied love when he most needed it... This again brings up the father-son alienation theme, and it makes us sympathetic toward Hud...
Even in his relations with others, Hud is not entirely despicable... He displays some tenderness toward Lon, especially in the scene in which they get drunk together... There's a touching moment as Hud says, somewhat sadly, "Get all the good you can out of seventeen, because it sure wears out in one hell of a hurry." In his cynical conversations with Alma, he has Quick's insolent sexual confidence, but Alma is experienced, earthy and just as cynical, and she even seems to encourage his sly innuendos, making it a match of equals rather than a one-sided sexual pursuit...
Finally, how does an actor play a man whose overpowering charm attracts people, without attracting the audience as well? Of course this is a problem inherent in all of Newman's sexy villains, but at least with Quick and Eddie the charming traits prepare us for their reformations, while with Hud they work against the concept of his worthlessness... At this stage in his career, Newman was so appealing that it was hard to consider him as completely rotten...
"Hud" was nominated for seven Oscars... Awards went to Neal, Douglas and cinematographer James Wong Howe... Newman, up for his third Oscar, said, "I'd like to see Sidney Poitier get it. I'd be proud to win it for a role I really had to reach for." He got his wish: Poitier ("Lilies of the Field") won... In any case, "Hud" found Newman near the top of his form, and it was a culmination of the "seed of corruption" theme... To be sure, subsequent characters would be corrupt, and would coldly reject the world, but never as a result of such intense ambition...
Movie Review: Angst in the Heartland
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't know why anyone would want to live in Texas after the big-screen depictions of it as a place full of nothing but boredom and misery. Surely it can't be that bad.Well, "Hud" certainly makes it seem like it is. This bleak and depressing story shows Hud (Paul Newman), only surviving son of a farm owner (Melvyn Douglas) who has found him to be nothing but a disappointment, selfishly whiling away the hours in Nowheresville, Texas. Newman portrays Hud as almost ridiculously virile and full of annoying machismo. His character doesn't know how to interact with anyone on a genuine level, so he instead uses aggression (physical, verbal, and sexual) as his only means of communication. It's a great performance by Newman, but the character as written isn't fully fleshed out, and it's hard to ever feel anything but dislike for Hud. Also great in the film is Patricia Neal, who dubiously won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as the live-in housekeeper who finds Hud obnoxious and alluring at the same time. Her performance is obviously a supporting one and should in no way be considered a lead (though she really is the only female character in the movie), but she's great in it, and I only wish she was in the film more.
Rounding out the cast of characters if Hud's nephew, son of his dead brother, played by Brandon de Wilde (of "Shane" fame), who's also very good. Every actor has a natural style of delivery that makes this film seem so much more contemporary than other '63 releases.
"Hud" is an incredibly sombre film. Don't go into this expecting to be cheered. Characters continuously reach out for human contact and repeatedly find none. But it's a very solid film, if a bit heavy-handed at times, and the acting is by far its greatest asset.
Grade: B+