Rating: 
Summary: Confronting authority has never seemed so "cool".
Review: This 1967 film begins when Paul Newman, cast as Luke Jackson, is arrested for cutting the tops off parking meters and sent to a southern chain gang prison for a two-year sentence. Life is harsh for the men who must toil in the sun building roads each day. But Luke is cool, very cool. Soon he gains the respect of his fellow prisoners and becomes a leader himself. He rebels constantly. Nothing can stop him, not even a double set of chains on his legs. He's the lovable maverick that we all admire.Performances are excellent, especially that of George Kennedy, cast as Luke's buddy. A youthful Dennis Hopper has a small part also. Best of all though is the one scene with Jo Van Fleet, cast as Luke's mother, who comes to visit him in prison. She's clearly dying and is lying in the back of a truck, unable to walk. She smokes cigarettes constantly and is full of wisdom and grit and gumption. She talks about how she just can't be like a female dog who don't recognize her pups after they've grown and tells Luke that his old man wasn't much for sticking around but he sure did make her laugh. She laughs then and gets into a fit of coughing. Newman does his usual fine job in a challenging part that has him break down at times but yet never lets him lose his sprit. The reason for Luke's rebellion was always a little murky and that was the strength of the screenplay. He never did anything really wrong; he just confronted authority. And every time he ran away, he kept getting caught. It also seemed that life on the outside wasn't so great for him and he yearned for the camaraderie of his fellow prisoners, who, by the way were all white as this film takes place in the segregated south. Sometime, though, the prison seemed more like an army barracks. There was always plenty of food and they didn't have to work on Sunday. The men played cards and had some slight recreational activity. For example, at one point they all took bets on whether or not Luke would be able to eat 50 hard-boiled eggs in the period of one hour. Guess who won? The story held my interest even though there were no real surprises. Sometimes though I thought that the actors cast as members of the chain gang were just a little too handsome and well muscled to be a typical cross-section of prisoners, but - after all, this is Hollywood. However, it's a good film, with good performances. And I definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Cool Hand Luke-Newman is Superb
Review: Newman really rocked in the 60s with Hud and Cool Hand Luke. Most memorable is the soundtrack which is the guitar piece that plays as the inmates are working out in the blistering southern sun. George Kennedy won a well-deserved oscar for his role as "Dragline". This film is great fun and has some memorable dialouge.("Callin' it you're job don't make it right boss...."). Hud is such a likable character you can't help but root for him as do the other inmates when Hud wins their respect.Egg-eating scene is of course now ingrained in our memory!It is also fun to notice all the bit parts that a lot of familiar faces had in this picture(Wayne Rogers,Dennis Hopper,Harry Dean Stanton,Ralph Waite).This movie is a regular "world shaker..."
Rating:
Summary: A Natural-Born World-Shaker
Review: I personally loved this movie. The story is interesting, with a minimum of twists and turns. This movie is entertainment at its best. Luke, who is arrested for maliciously destroying federal property, (cutting the heads off of parking meters) is sent to jail for two years. He is as his name implies-cool. He has very little to say, but when he speaks, the other cons listen. Suffice it to say that he's a man who can win lots of cigarettes and money in the big house. Many humorous moments can be found in the opening hour, such as Luke's consumption of fifty eggs ('nobody ever 'et fitty eggs before) but are used sparsely in the last half. The viewer, after an hour starts to see, that even though Luke is a messiah to the other inmates, he is essentially flawed. His family life is less than satisfactory, and when his mother dies, he is expected to 'lose it', and if numerous attempts of fleeing jail is 'losing it' Luke is crazier than Hannibal Lecter. Now, what I sincerely love about this movie is that Luke is an excellent guy, he is calm and clear-headed and refuses to be just another prisoner. He is, in the end a human, but a human with a better vision for what he wants his life to be. Expect no happy ending, just watch, please. This movie is superb.
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Summary: Paul NewMan as Cool Hand Luke what a classic
Review: newman (old blue eyes) stars as cool hand luke jackson, a war hero, who gets himself in trouble with the law, and is repeatedly beaten both mentally and physically savagely by the main boss of the prison he is in. the main boss hates luke for several reasons: everyone likes luke. he is the typical rebel , yet he has a certain aura around that people love. even the people working in the prison like luke. the boss also hates luke, because he keeps escaping out of prison, which makes the prison's security and himself look bad. the movie from beginning to end, is one of the entertaining and powerful movies by newman. throughout the movie, we see luke's exploits including his status as "cool hand" which basically says that he can do anything. there is no better scene that shows this that luke's bet that can he eat 50 eggs in one hour. this scene is terrific and humorous to watch, time and time again. george kennedy plays greg dragline, luke's best friend and prison inmante. dragline's love of luke is evident through the whole movie. whenever, luke is mistreated dragline is there to try to pick up his spirits. whenever, luke is beaten severely for trying to escape the prison, dragline is one of the first friends that is there to pick him up and attend to him. then of course, this oscar worthy film has the memorable tunes and lines that all audiences all familiar with: "what we got here is a familiar to communicate" is paul newman, legendary and household line that critics and audiences remember. this line has also been used in over a hundred, movies and tv shows including comedies, crime drama movies and much more. the line is a piece of cult phenomena and america which symobolizes a bad situation. paul newman was nominated for best actor for this film, but didn't win. newman over his career has been nominated over 10 times for this aw ard: "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" , "Malice", "Nobody's Fool", are several of the great movies that NewMan has been nominated for. "Cool Hand Luke" stands as one of the American movies ever made. It represents the abusive and mistreatment that a couple of prisons have. It also represents an intelligent and popular fellow who all through his life had one bad situation after another, yet like Greg points "Ah Luke, always had that great smile." Luke's character in a way is a reflection on individuals like himself, whose life have been filled with pain and aggravation yet people like these never give up. Taken from a novel by Donn Pearce and directed by Stuart Rosenberg this film is a bonified classic.
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Summary: "Sometimes nothing can be a real cool film."
Review: The first time I saw "Cool Hand Luke" I was not overly immpresed with it. I thought he was a "punk" who had desevedly fallen on hard luck.I have since seen the movie ten-twelve times. I think a lot can be learned about "Luke" (Paul Newman)in the scene when his mother goes to visit him. It is clear that he always wanted to please his mother, but he ended up more like his father. Arletta(Luke's mother) makes allusions to Luke's father not being good at sticking around. From the start, there have been many people who have left Luke far behind. The girl from Kentucky, all of his mates, he lost in the War, and finally his mother when she passed on. This was the "final straw" so to speak. Luke was going to run for sure. The true beauty of "Luke's" character was the fact that he was able to give many people, hope without having any of his own. He makes two references to "The Man Upstairs". Once in the rain asking his to just let him know that he is up there, and another time letting him know that he felt cheated. Every man in that camp loved and respected "Luke". "Dragline"(George Kennedy)called Luke "a natural born world shaker". I could not have put it any better myself. I felt this was a top-notch screen play, and the acting was incredible. I have not seen Newman give a better performance. Kennedy was well deserving of the "best supporting actor" Oscar. Look closely for Dennis Hopper, Joe Don Baker, Harry Dean Stanton and many others. This film should be on everyone's must see list.
Rating:
Summary: "He's a Natural Born World Shaker"
Review: It is difficult to find a movie that has all the elements of "Cool Hand Luke," i.e., great screenplay, superb acting, great directing, and a wonderful musical score. The movie is very typical of the 60's genre where rebellion was in, and what we have in Luke is the consummate rebel. But a very lovable rebel at that. We learn of the various psychological complexities of Luke and of the very grim conditions of living on a southern chain gang. There are so many aspects of this movie that make it great that it is hard to isolate just a couple. The friendship that develops between the character "Dragline", beautifully played by George Kennedy, and Luke is wonderful to experience, as is Luke's constant search for God. The movie is full of humor, for example the famous egg-eating contest, tenderness, sadness and just about any emotion you can think of. I think that is what has made it so appealing over the years. I greatly appreciate the efforts of Director Stuart Rosenberg, Actor Paul Newman who gave, what I consider to be, the finest performance of his career, George Kennedy for his Academy Award winning performance, and composer Lalo Schifrin who wrote the beautiful musical score. All who worked on this movie deserve great credit, because they created, what I consider to be, the greatest movie ever made.
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Summary: The movie that made Newman an icon
Review: "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Whoever has seen this film surely remembers that line - and the scene immediately following it. The opening scene is a winner, too: Newman, drunk and still drinking, walks down a street with a pipe cutter, whacking the heads off parking meters. Right there, he's put the audience 100% on his side. Brilliant. So he goes to jail, and the film pits the individual against the institution in a classic power struggle, the outcome of which is rarely in doubt. Oh, and don't forget the hardboiled egg eating contest, and the size and drum-like tenseness of Newman's stomach...
Cool Hand Luke made an icon of Paul Newman and cemented his place in history as an actor who could play a loner, a stubborn rebel. He's played in many times since, always well, but never better than in this movie. Just watch it. Invite your teenagers to watch it with you. They might learn a thing or two about Life.
Rating:
Summary: An essential 60s movie - a touchstone for many
Review: This is the perfect '60s movie. It is anti-authoritarian without being strident, a serious drama with whimsy, gritty and violent with a sexy side (who can forget the car wash scene?). Newman plays the "christ" figure and his prisoners as his disciples and believers (after he wins them over). The guards and the warden are the high priests and the Romans. And of course, they kill him in the end. But we have some great fun along the way. Luke strips the heads off of a street of parking meters and gets a sentence far out of proportion to such a silly crime. To say that Luke chooses not to fit in is an understatement. It isn't that he takes on the system. Rather, his mere presence and indifference to the system causes it to change or to try and eliminate him as if he were some invading virus. There are some wonderful and indelible scenes such as the egg eating, the fight with Dragline (George Kennedy), the race to the end of the road, the failure to communicate scene and the severe punishment Luke receives. It seems like you can sit around talking about scenes from this movie longer than the movie itself. Paul Newman made Luke immortal, but George Kennedy as Dragline and Strother Martin as Captain are also essential to this movie's character and permanence. Today's viewers might fine the pacing of the movie a bit slow and see some seams that those of us who love it might ignore, but so what? It is a classic and enjoyable film that is a touchstone for many who were young when they first saw it in 1967.
Rating:
Summary: My All-Time Favorite
Review: There's just nothing bad to say about this movie. From the opening scene, in which a drunken Lucas Jackson gets busted cutting the heads off of parking meters (and gets two years in prison!), this film grabs you and won't let go. Paul Newman's Luke stands as one of the finest roles ever played. He's easygoing and likable, but has a stubborn streak a mile long. That stubbornness, after creating initial conflict with the other prisoners, endears him to them. And he gets along just fine until his mother dies. After that, he can only think of escaping. Not to get to her funeral, though--just because he was treated unfairly by the warden. This is a powerful, moving film. It's one that you never forget, and will want to watch again and again, if just to see that "Luke smile."
Rating: 
Summary: They botched the DVD
Review: One of the best movies made during my lifetime (born 1952), they botched the DVD. The image quality is average at best and if you factor in that this movie is a classic, the quality is poor. And, the special "features" are an insult to what this movie is, which is brilliance. As had been said before, this movie is brilliant if you like great acting, great cinematography and editing, and wonderful scripting.
Beyond that stuff, it is supremely entertaining. My guess/hope (I guess) is that they are throwing out this mediocre transfer prior to releasing the "quality" version. They should be ashamed.
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