Rating: 
Summary: POWERFUL, POIGNANT and PACKING A WALLOP ON DVD
Review: "Hud" is the story of an embittered, ruthless son (Paul Newman) of cow rancher Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas). Determined to take over his father's prosperous farm, Hud bides his time with sexual conquests and playing big brother to Lonnie (Brandon DeWilde). Lonnie worships Hud as a god, a rabid fascination that will be irreversible shattered when Hud attempts to rape the ranch's cook and housemaid, Alma Brown (Patricia Neal). However, before the disillusionment comes the spoils. The family partake in a county fair in which Hud wins the 'greased pig' contest. He and Lonnie start a victory fight inside a barroom. Hud takes Alma to the movies. There's really nothing extraordinary about the film, and yet it captures, perhaps better than most, the raw emotion of a powerful slice of Americana in the mid-west. However, as the story drags on the tide begins to turn away from Hud's favor. Homer becomes ill and unable to tend the far. The cattle contract an infection, forcing the farm hands to exterminate the entire herd. Alma, realizing that Hud is incapable of any sort of compassion or tenderness, abandons him and the farm in search of a new life somewhere else. The transfer is a bit disappointing. Though the picture is free of many age related artifacts and digital artifacts, the overall presentation is somewhat soft, with blooming around the edges that renders parts of the B&W picture in various rainbow hues - even with the color on one's television set turned to zero. Also edge enhancement is sometimes obvious. Finally, the overall presentation tends to be just a little too soft for the vintage of the camera negative. Close ups and medium shots look fairly sharp but long shots become a blurry mess. The gray scale is reasonably balanced, though during scenes shot at night, fine detail tends to get lost in the shadows. The audio is remastered and well balanced. There are NO extras.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL, POIGNANT and PACKING A WALLOP ON DVD
Review: "Hud" is the story of an embittered, ruthless son of a rancher (Melvyn Douglas), who will stop at nothing to take over his father's cattle farm. In the lead, as Hud is Paul Newman - angry, disturbed and near psychotic in his absence of feeling for anything or anyone but his money and the land. Brandon deWilde costars as the adolescent admirer of what he perceives to initially be Hud's overt masculinity. However, that perspective will change. Patricia Neal is in it too - her usual savvy, world-wise self.
TRANSFER: A bit disappointing. Though the picture is free of many age related artifacts and digital artifacts, the overall presentation is somewhat soft, with blooming around the edges that renders parts of the B&W picture in various rainbow hues - even with the color on one's television set turned to zero. Also, in one scene in particular, edge enhancement is glaringly obvious. Finally, the overall presentation tends to be just a little too soft for the vintage of the camera negative. Close ups and medium shots look fairly sharp but long shots tend to appear blurry at times. The gray scale is reasonably balanced, though during scenes shot at night, fine detail tends to get lost in the shadows. The audio is remastered and well balanced.
EXTRAS: NONE!!! Oh, no - Paramount! Not back to your penny-pinching ways!!!
BOTTOM LINE: An average transfer of a great film. Still worth the money!
Rating: 
Summary: Now this is a five star movie
Review: ... This movie deserves that rating. Paul Newman is great but Patricia Neal is even better. Another thing this movie deserves is to be released on DVD...
Rating:
Summary: Paul Newman Rocks!
Review: A great, great movie. A masterpiece that nobody knows about (except for the other reviewers below me). The black-and-white cinematography is enchanting, the music is wonderful, and every performance is memorable. The ending, with Newman slamming the door, is one of my favorites. By the end of the film, you feel like you really know the characters portrayed in this film. Ranks in my top 20 greatest movies of all time.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest westerns ever made
Review: Along with "The Ox-Bow Incident" and "Once Upon A Time In the West", this is one of the greatest westerns ever made. It is a western allegory, to be certain, with Paul Newman's antihero acting as foil to his high morality father and betwixt and between nephew, who admires both but doesn't know which way to go.
In the end, the antihero outlasts his old man, gets his ranch, sells it off for the oil that bubbles beneath the surface, and goes on his merry way, with no regard for anyone lese. The good guy is dead, the bad guy wins, and the viewer is left with an emptiness because the morality tale is not reconciled properly. It is this final comment -- evil wins -- that makes this one of the greatest films of its type.
Along with "Cool Hand Luke", this role has been the plum of Paul Newman's still ongoing career. Newman scored as a another bad boy against his real-life wife in another flick but never played the bad boy as well as in this movie. Melvyn Douglas, whose screen presence was never less than magnificent, was outstanding as his father and the keeper of all goodwill.
The conflict between titans on opposite sides of the morality spectrum is what sustains the tension throughout this epic and still modern film. Had either of the characters been less real, less of a leonine figure, this movie would easily have wallowed in mediocrity.
As it is, "Hud" is a singular figure in movie history -- the modern cowboy that goes bad, defeats the moralist, and gets his reward in the end. What makes it such a tresurable experience is its grounding in reality, not fantasy. In the fantasy world of Hollywood, the good guy in the white hat usually wins.
This time, the bad guy wore a white hat, drank too much, cheated with married women, tried to rape the cook and forced her to leave, undercut his dad at every turn, aged him beyond his years, portrayed a miserable role model for a younger relative, and got everything. And the repellent portrayal is just as fascinating on screen as it would be in real life.
Rating:
Summary: Hud id great
Review: Bfore I right this review i woould like to say what is with that sherrif from texas and his negative attitudes toward liberals he seems to think that liberals are irrational and don't believe in the constitution our values such as integrity and loyalty. I find that attitude appauling. Now I think Hud is a great movie about morality and Character all the cast does a great job. I don't think Hud id a hero or
anti hero he is a villian because he represents the worst of
humanity.
Rating:
Summary: "Whudya got lined up there junior...sodi pop or something?"
Review: Classic story of a Texas heel. Without question Paul Newman's best work ably supported by a dissaproving Melvin Douglas and evasive Patricia Neal, both showing more wear than we were accustomed too but very effective. This film has something unique that we just don't see anymore, four sympathetic main characters. They are all tortured for their own reasons, and polarized from each other, yet drawn together at the same time. An amazing screenplay, artful direction by Martin Ritt, yet this classic was overlooked by the Academy for Best Picture. Makes you wonder doesn't it? Newman was great in these roles, next to Ben Quick I'd say Hud Bannon is my favorite immoral character of all time. ...
Rating:
Summary: A Great family Drama!
Review: Here is a motion picture that is never written or produced any more. A family drama that is more about relationships between father & son, grandfather & grandson, uncle & nephew, rather than
about who is sleeping with whom with four letter words making up the dialogue. It's about people finding out what they mean to "significant others" and what those "others" mean to them. And, who they are to themselves. What they want from life, what their values are, or in Hud's case aren't. Douglas his father has the value - That money isn't everything. How "dated" is that value, 40 years later? ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE SEEN IN QUITE SOMETIME., of course GREAT ACTING BY NEWMAN, NEAL, DOUGLAS AND DE WILDE adds to the package.
Rating:
Summary: A Great family Drama!
Review: Here is a motion picture that is never written or produced any more. A family drama that is more about relationships between father & son, grandfather & grandson, uncle & nephew, rather than
about who is sleeping with whom with four letter words making up the dialogue. It's about people finding out what they mean to "significant others" and what those "others" mean to them. And, who they are to themselves. What they want from life, what their values are, or in Hud's case aren't. Douglas his father has the value - That money isn't everything. How "dated" is that value, 40 years later? ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE SEEN IN QUITE SOMETIME., of course GREAT ACTING BY NEWMAN, NEAL, DOUGLAS AND DE WILDE adds to the package.
Rating:
Summary: A Great family Drama!
Review: Here is a motion picture that is never written or produced any more. A family drama that is more about relationships between father & son, grandfather & grandson, uncle & nephew, rather than
about who is sleeping with whom with four letter words making up the dialogue. It's about people finding out what they mean to "significant others" and what those "others" mean to them. And, who they are to themselves. What they want from life, what their values are, or in Hud's case aren't. Douglas his father has the value - That money isn't everything. How "dated" is that value, 40 years later? ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I HAVE SEEN IN QUITE SOMETIME., of course GREAT ACTING BY NEWMAN, NEAL, DOUGLAS AND DE WILDE adds to the package.
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