Cool Hand Luke

Rating:
Summary: "All I need is my plastic Jesus"
Review: One of the few truly perfect movies ever made. Great cast, incredible chemistry, amazing flow, Newman in his prime, Strother Martin at his bizarre best. I might have put Joy Harmon in a thong but other than that I got no complaints. Do they still make sling blades? 5 eggs

Rating:
Summary: Classic and classically boring
Review: I have to admit Newman puts up excellent performance in Cool Hand Luke. But the film is really quite boring and Luke just gets annoying after a while. He annoys because he doesn't really want to escape prison and just wants to get caught. Of course this just serves to emphasize his existentialist nature, but it ends up being silly to a skeptic like myself.

Rating:
Summary: acting like an idiot is not "cool"
Review: I was really looking forward to watching this film, but after the first hour I almost turned it off. To say that it develops slowly would be an understatement; nothing much happens during the first half of the movie. I thought it could've easily been reduced to 90 minutes without losing much.

I did enjoy the first escape scene, where Luke brilliantly and mercilessly messes with the bloodhounds, and George Kennedy's performance was deserving of his Oscar. It was mainly the Luke character (figuring out his motivation) I had trouble relating to. Other than his charming smile, I found little else to appreciate about him. Unlike Butch Cassidy, I did not find myself sympathizing with this character.

Let's be honest here - if your teenage kid got drunk and ripped out a bunch of parking meters, wouldn't you think it was a really stupid thing to do ? If he let a bigger kid beat him silly, would you think him heroic, or lacking good judgment ? would you consider your kid praiseworthy for eating 50 eggs ? So why do these absurd actions make Luke (who is supposedly an adult) such a hero in the eyes of this film's fans ??

Overall, I would say Cool Hand Luke is highly overrated, and I'd recommend to anyone to rent it and watch it before buying.

Rating:
Summary: Classic American cinema
Review: A terrific film that gets better with age. There's not a false note or misstep in this movie. It becomes more relevant and rewarding as the years go by, and it's earned it's status as a classic American movie.

So why did I mark this down one star? This film deserves the DVD Special Edition treatment and all we have here is the film and a few brief production notes. This is one of Warners first releases in the DVD format and it's well overdue for a deluxe re-release with interviews, commentary, relevant documentaries and perhaps the screenplay. It's a crime that films like Road Trip get the deluxe treatment and worthy films like this miss out.

Still, this is an okay transfer and the mono sound is clear enough. If you love this film, you won't let the lack of features stop you from making a purchase anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Just About Excellent
Review: I cannot imagine why this film hasn't been more acclaimed. It is without a doubt one of the best of all time. I think the thing that appeals most of all to me is the unbelievable authenticity of all the characters. Except for Newman (because, hey, he's Paul Newman) nobody here appears to be acting. The guards are done just right--tough, good ol' boys who you don't wanna mess with. The prisoners meanwhile are a fairly diverse lot, some educated, some not, some with a whiff of femininity, but all have a refusal to be stripped of their dignity. Luke magnifies that element to the Nth degree.
The second best thing is the dialogue: Like "The Godfather", "Star Trek II", "Resoirovir Dogs", and "Jaws", Cool Hand Luke has several scenes which you'll easily memorize in their entirety.
Other elements: Boss Godfrey, The Man With No Eyes who doesn't say one word during the movie and who is one of the most chilling characters in a movie ever; Luke's mother, the car wash girl, the egg-eating contest, and Luke's excellent final monologue.
Luke's story has been compared to that of Jesus. When you look at it, you see that if Luke is a savior, he's a terribly flawed one, one who can't save himself. He's anti-authority, he's got nerve, and some major cojones, but he's got no aims, no goals, no beliefs. He's a Rebel Without A Clue. If he'd been born about 15-20 years later he could have made a good hippie. But this is still the early '50s and men who fail to conform end up exactly where he does. IMHO, this film accomplishes what One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest tried to do and does it much, much, better.

One final small note: The Lalo Schifrin score is great particularly during the "tarring the road" scene. Anyone who grew up in NYC in the 70s will instantly realize it as the theme to Channel 7 Eyewitness News!

Rating:
Summary: Great Prison Drama!!
Review: Paul Newman is riveting as the title character. George Kennedy deserved his supporting Oscar. And if you remember the opening music from WABC-TV's Eyewitness News, then you'll remember this movie. The screenplay is probably the best thing about this movie. There are so many great lines that come from this movie. ("What we got here is a failure to communicate!!") Overall, this is great movie making!! Buy it or rent it!!

Rating:
Summary: It's sweltering out there, in there, anywhere
Review: This movie is anything but cool. The characters are rough, foul, and awkward. The setting is realistic and harsh. It takes place in the scorching sun and humidity. There's many a scene of sweat and overheating men. Luke, though, is cool. He's the figure of composure; he's classy, smart, proud, and witty, but he rarely talks, keeping aloof. Or he's independent free man who won't let anyone get him down.

There's a scene when he bluffs his way to victory in a poker match, thus his nickname "cool hand Luke". Another scene has him fighting with another inmate until he's nearly unconscious, but he never surrenders. Yet another has him eating 50 eggs in an hour for a bet, and he doesn't give up. And I think this is the metaphor for the rest of the film. You can either see him as a cocky stubborn man, or more appropriately, a man who won't give up his freedom. He's thrown in prison and chain gang labor for a case of petty vandalism during a drunken stupor, yet he never utters a word about it, even during the most humiliating or painful punishment, but his conviction and sentence are hardly a matter in this film. Here is a man who is troubled and dysfunctional (as the story slightly exposes), but is already in an advanced state of personal freedom. Though he'd like to be living a normal life, searches for it, and deserves as much, he doesn't need it. He's spiritually and mentally invincible, and eventually it leads to his ultimate fate.

Cool Hand Luke is a marvelous film. It's one fourth romantic, three fourths gritty reality. Paul Newman and the gorgeous cinematography are the romance. Newman nearly carries the film. Here's this movie star, a charismatic leading man who liberally uses his smile to get himself through scenes, but he immerses himself into his character. I think Luke is one of the greatest, most complex male characters to grace the screen, and Newman is really the only actor who could ever do him justice. But he isn't playing Newman, he's playing Luke, every inch of Luke. He IS Luke, he is this renegade rebel, this charming dapper Dan, and this tragic everyman. Newman's supporting cast is superb, in one of the best acted films I've ever seen. George Kennedy is incredible as the only sizable supporting character, though the rest of the cast do their utmost to fit their roles, especially the various sinister and slimy wardens, and they do it beautifully. No actor wastes his time on screen. They create the atmosphere.

I just have to mention the dialogue. This is one of those films with incredible dialogue. Nothing is sappy or soupy. It embraces wit and logic, a lovely razor sharpness, and a down to earth realism. Every sentence is perfectly placed, there are no superfluous words, every character with they're own style that still allow them to sound like real people. End of dialogue discussion.

This film is simple. It's simply told, simply filmed, and on the outside it's a simple story, but I think it delves a lot deeper than at first appearance. It's unpretentious. Without us knowing it paints an environment, it paints a setting. It's a movie with certain faintly stylized points and flourishes, with a bit of a Southern storytelling air and lilt to it, and a definite love for fun. But it's intense, from the acting, to plot twists and character developements, to minor "action" sequences (a movie populated by inmates and movie stars has to have some excitement), it has incredible depth in it's subtle symbolism and it's layered messages and it's performances with their emotional tapestries. Thus, it has an immense replayability quotient.

This is drama at it's finest. It is a complex intriguing film that can get under your skin in it's rawness, but can still entertain you, and send you into that dreamy mesmerized state of being in awe of a film and the characters portrayed in it.

Rating:
Summary: The indomitable spirit
Review: This movie reminded me a bit of "Papillon" in that it shows us a convict continually trying to be free. Whereas Papillon was looking for freedom from incarceration, Cool Hand Luke is looking for freedom of spirit. He also realizes that he is a symbol to the rest of the inmates.

Luke represents the American spirit. He has had enough of rules and regulations and just wants to be. He feels he has paid his debt by going to war (where he was a decorated hero). Once he is incarcerated, he begins to set an example for the other inmates. He is independent and he will not quit. The other inmates grow to depend on his spirit to hold up their own. When he appears to have failed, they all turn their backs on him. This is a lot like we do famous people whom we idolize. Once they have transgressed, we ignore them.

This is a great movie, and I highly recommend seeing it.

Rating:
Summary: Cool, Tough, and Compassionate...
Review: Luke (Paul Newman) is arrested for a minor incident and ends up in a small prison camp in the southern US. He tries to avoid contact with the other prisoners, which is next to impossible, and this leads to friction between Luke and Dragline (George Kennedy), the inmate leader. The two end up in a fight where Luke refuses to give up and earns the respect of the other inmates for his toughness. However, behind this toughness there is also a very compassionate person who can sing and cheer up others when things are harsh. One day Luke finds out that his mother has died and he suffers immensely from the close loss of his dear mom. Could this be the turning point of Luke's toughness? Cool Hand Luke is a brilliant film experience with some very interesting shots and lines.

Rating:
Summary: great movie
Review: Cool Hand Luke is one of my favorite movies, and the best movie Newman has made to date. Everyone who has seen it seems to love it. This is the role that guys like Newman, Brando, and Dean were born to play. The dvd is a bit of a let down, since there are no extras, but with a movie this good, you don't need extras.