Cool Hand Luke

Rating:
Summary: To merit respect
Review: This is my favorite movie. It is one of the ultimate male-defining movies of all time. It has action, humor, tragedy, and drama. It rings true (the writer had actually served time on a chain gang). When, at the age of 12, I first saw this movie [particularly the fight in the yard scene], I realized that life isn't always an "A" or an "F". Often a person rates at least a "C" if not an "A" just for trying. In other words, one who puts forth real effort is deserving of respect whether or not they come out "on top" or "first place". The 50 egg challenge is great. The repeated "fugitive" pursuit scenes are well-done. The different songs played and sung by Harry Dean Stanton are perfect. The story is magnificent as are the many great lines: "Still shakin' it, Boss!" and "What we got here is a failure to communicate." With such a cast too! Joe Don Baker, Ralph Waite, Wayne Rogers, Strother Martin, Dennis Hopper, and, of course, Paul Newman. This movie inspired me and never fails to do so every time I view it again.

Rating:
Summary: Good For A Five-Spot
Review: Paul Newman is not an acting legend for nothing. He has had so many spectacularly great roles and performances to his credit that it's hard to choose just one. And one of his best has to have been COOL HAND LUKE, that classic 1967 prison drama that was one of the defining films of that turbulent time and helped cement Newman's reputation.

Based on the book of the same name by ex-con Don Pierson, who co-wrote the script with Frank Pierson and who has a cameo role here as a prisoner, the film stars Newman as an out-of-work drunk who is arrested in a small southern town for "maliciously destroyin' municipal property while under the influence"--in other words, taking the heads off of dozens of parking meters. This lands him a two-year sentence on a brutal chain gang, whose leader, named Dragline (George Kennedy, in an Oscar-winning performance), takes an almost instant dislike to him until he engages Newman in a boxing match in which Newman's Luke doesn't quit even when he's down.

Newman gains the respect of his fellow prisoners for his "don't give a damn" attitude; but he soon raises the ire of the prison guards, especially after his escape attempts. After the first one, the head prison chief known as the Captain, played by Strother Martin, upbraids him with the line etched into Hollywood immortality: "What we've got here is...failure to communicate."

Just about the finest prison genre movie there has ever been, COOL HAND LUKE is directed in sterling fasion by Stuart Rosenberg, and features a perfect Americana score by Lalo Schifrin. Alongside Newman and Kennedy are such future stars and character actors as Dennis Hopper, Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton, Luke Askew, J.D. Cannon, Robert Donner, and Wayne Rogers. Filmed almost completely on location in Stockton, California, and featuring many memorable scenes, including the famous egg-eating contest in which Newman consumes fifty eggs in 60 minutes, COOL HAND LUKE has lost none of its power in the thirty-seven years since its release, and is vigorously recommended, particularly alongside similar and more recent outings like THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and DEAD MAN WALKING.

Rating:
Summary: Utter waste of time for this re-released, renamed bomb.
Review: Holleywood released this turkey under a different name and received a critical review and poor audience so they renamed it and tried again. I saw this at the Drive In theatre and my now wife and I still laugh about sleeping through this. I'd rate this Class C movie at 0 popcorn bags. Save your money and time folks and watch a sitcom on tv for more thrills.

Rating:
Summary: the best movie i've ever watched
Review: it goes without saying in my family/friends. they all know my favorite. i watched this movie over 25 times before i found the vhs and bought it. i also have it on cd/avi and dvd. i love the whole movie from opening to ending. i get upset when i ask someone if they have seen this movie and they say: "never heard of it" i love the entire cast, and each time i view it, it's like the first for me

Rating:
Summary: The Cooler
Review: Most actors would be lucky enough to have a single career defining role. Actor Paul Newman, one of the best to grace the big screen of any generation has two that proudly stand the test of time. As "Fast" Eddie Felson in 1961's The Hustler, it's follow-up The Color Of Money from '86 and of course Cool Hand Luke.

In this 1967 classic prison drama, set in the south social outcast and nonconformist Lucas "Luke" Jackson (Newman) is sent to prison for a petty crime and sentenced to join a chain gang. Luke is a sullen and laconic young man whose cool defiance of the sadistic warden and bullying inmates earns him the title "Cool Hand Luke." But as the prisoners' respect for Luke grows into hero worship, he finds that he must risk everything in order to live up to their expectations.

The film is brimming with many memorable moments, like Luke eating 50 eggs and quotable lines, "What we have here is a failure to communicate" and so on. Newman owns the role and is the definition of "cool" Donn Pearce, who wrote the novel, on which the movie is based, collaborated with Frank Pierson on the firecracker script. Director Stuart Rosenberg made sure that Newman had a top notch supporting cast of players for him to play off of. George Kennedy as Dragline gives his best preformance, Lou Antonio as Koko, Clifton James as Carr, Morgan Woodward as Godfrey, and early screen appearances by Dennis Hopper and Harry Dean Stanton make for a pretty good bunch. There's not a bad one in the pack. Really superb.

As great as the film is though, the DVD extras are lacking, unlike the disc for the aforementioned Hustler. The theatrical trailer and a few production notes are all you get. The film is a classic and deserves a better DVD edition that's for sure.

Cool Hand Luke is a winner that is a must own. Highly Recommended

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Nothing is a Real Cool Hand
Review: One of my favorite movies of the 1960's is "Cool Hand Luke" which, I believe, is an opinion I share with many others. It was a different sort of a movie at a time when Hollywood specialized in different sorts of movies. It took place in a Southern prison farm and it starred Paul Newman in the title role. If he hadn't had a few other top-notch performances ("The Hustler" quickly jumps to mind) this would easily be the pick as his all-time best. He really is the personification of cool at a time we all thought we knew the real meaning of the term.

The story is a rather simple one; a two-time loser joins a bunch of others on a chain gang. We soon discover the hierarchy of the group which includes the leader; Dragline (played by George Kennedy in an Oscar-winning role). Luke isn't taken all that seriously until he makes an incredible boast and then proceeds to back it up. He becomes king of the hill but, when personal tragedy strikes, he escapes the prison. His noteriety grows in his absence but he is eventually caught and discovers just how hot Hell can be. There's more to the story but the ending is a bittersweet one that needn't be spoiled for the first-time viewer. The story I did relate isn't giving much away because this movie's greatness lies in the characters themselves; the story is just a way for us to get to know them better.

This is a movie that stays with you for a long time. It's one that most of us who saw it once have seen it a number of other times as well. It may seem odd at times to find ourselves endeared to a bunch of petty criminals but that is inescapable when watching "Cool Hand Luke". The big line in the movie is, "What we have here is failure to communicate". However, the movie "Cool Hand Luke" is anything BUT a failure to communicate. Don't miss this one!

Rating:
Summary: PS
Review: PS:

I'M A VERY PREDICTABLE AND MALUABLE PERSON.



YOU'VE KNOWN THAT,


BUT THEN AGAIN,




I'VE KNOWN THAT YOU'VE KNOWN




FOR 10 YEARS NOW (!!!)

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: Goin' 90, I ain't scaried, cuz I got the Virgin Mary...

Paul Newman's greatest film. In my opinion, one of the best films made. You a natural born world shaker, Luke.

Rating:
Summary: Communication is severything!
Review: I love that immortal line in this movie right at the beginning.
Strother Martin as the short, evil, sadistic Chain Gang Captain drawls, "What we've here...is a failure to communicate." Then he starts beating up the prisoners. There is a certain hilarious black humour about this unforgettable scene. Luke is named for his coolness when he wins a cool hand of poker and he sets the standard for all the would-be "Cool" heroes that have come after him. Perhaps only Sean Connery as James Bond 007 can match his never say die attitude against all odds. It always brings to mind my favourite song that dates from 1170 called "Die Gedanken sind frei". It means in German; your thoughts are always free so no matter what happens and what adversity you have to undergo, no one can get inside your head for your thoughts will always be free! By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet