Hud

Rating:
Summary: A Morality Play on the Plains
Review: This is one of Newman's best. "The Verdict" and "The Hustler" are a couple of his other movies that I would rate as being in the same class. But then I like the great majority of his movies. He's really a national treasure.

To me the movie is about the old school morality of the father, Melvyn Douglas, who believes in human decency, responsibility towards others and the community, love of the land, etc. versus Paul Newman (the son) who only believes in looking out for #1 (a truly modern American). Douglas tells Newman to the effect that, "You don't give a damn. You only care about your own appetites and that makes you unfit to live with." Very good writing by McMurtry. Excellent cinemaphotography by Wong.

I thought Patricia Neal was quite good and very sexy. When I first saw it I thought she was a bit "middle-aged." Time does change your perspective. I thought Bryan de Wilde gave a very good performance as a slightly spoiled, sensitive ranch kid. In the end Newman comes up with the prize, but like so many "victories" in our world, you're left questioning as to what he has really won.

A masterful piece of movie art.

Rating:
Summary: A Morality Play on the Plains
Review: This is one of Newman's best. "The Verdict" and "The Hustler" are a couple of his other movies that I would rate as being in the same class. But then I like the great majority of his movies. He's really a national treasure.

To me the movie is about the old school morality of the father, Melvyn Douglas, who believes in human decency, responsibility towards others and the community, love of the land, etc. versus Paul Newman (the son) who only believes in looking out for #1 (a truly modern American). Douglas tells Newman to the effect that, "You don't give a damn. You only care about your own appetites and that makes you unfit to live with." Very good writing by McMurtry. Excellent cinemaphotography by Wong.

I thought Patricia Neal was quite good and very sexy. When I first saw it I thought she was a bit "middle-aged." Time does change your perspective. I thought Bryan de Wilde gave a very good performance as a slightly spoiled, sensitive ranch kid. In the end Newman comes up with the prize, but like so many "victories" in our world, you're left questioning as to what he has really won.

A masterful piece of movie art.

Rating:
Summary: Astonishingly good
Review: This is, and is likely to remain, my favorite movie of all time. Nearly perfect in every way: sensational dialogue (how often does the first couple lines every character utters tell you who and what they are?), acting (Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal all stellar), cinematography, pace, music (limited and spare), I could go on and on. Gorgeous, moving, hard-hitting portrait of a charismatic but self-centered and harsh man in the new west and the effects he has on those in his orbit. No praise can be too high for this film.

Rating:
Summary: A Truly GREAT Movie
Review: This movie was made when Hollywood knew how to make great movies. It isn't full of special effects, violence or sex. It doesn't need these. The story and characters make this movie. I've always been a fan of Paul Newman, but his is by far my favorite of his movies. The first time I saw this movie I was a teenager, but it has remained one of my all time favorite movies. I can't believe it has not been released on DVD yet. Will be waiting to add this one to my DVD collection when it does come out. If you have never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and rush out and rent it. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Hard Hitting Drama......"Newman's Own" Brand
Review: This review refers to the widescreen DVD edition(Paramount) of "HUD"....

Hud Bannon...he's a self centered, cold, bitter,womanizing lout. But hey..what's not to like..I mean after all, Hud is Paul Newman in top form.Newman has given us so many fine performances over the years and this is one his his best.

Martin Ritt directs this moving story and 40 years later it has not lost it's appeal.It's a modern western/drama that will have you hanging on every word.Hud does everything he can to make life miserable for all those around him. His father(Melvyn Douglas)can't seem to reach him, and years of resentment have built a deep rift between them.There seems to be no way to heal the wounds they carry inside themselves.The cattle ranch that Hud plans to take over from his aging father is facing ruin, adding to the tension of the story.The movie will captivate and keep you till the end, and it's one you'll want to watch many times.

Newman and Ritt always work brillantly together and were both nominated for Oscars for their marvelous work. Newman's protrayal of this brooding rebel is stirring, and Ritt's direction superb. Melvyn Douglas took home a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting as did the wonderful Patricia Neal(Best Actress), for her shining work as the overworked and under appreciated housekeepper, who's subtle beauty keeps Hud and his nephew(Brandon de Wilde) longing for her. The wonderful Black and White cinematography garnered a statue for James Wong Howe as well.Elmer Bernstein also contributes his talents with a moving musical score.So many wonderfully talented names attached to this film and it shows!

I waited a long time for this film to finally be released to DVD, and the wait was worth it. I found that overall the transfer was crisp and clear, the sound enhanced in 5.1 was a welcome addition(It may also be viewed in in the original mono which has been restored), and the widescreen captured all the great photography. There were a few scenes which did not seem to be as clear and bright as the rest, but there was nothing about it that would take away from the enjoyment of this film.
There are no special features, but may be viewed in French(mono) and has subtitles in English for anyone who may need them.

Thanks Paramount for adding another of Newman's great 'H' films to my collection("Hombre"/"The Hustler"), and we are still waiting for "Harper" and another great Newman/Ritt collaboration "The Outrage" to be released.

Settle in for a Newman classic and enjoy....Laurie

Rating:
Summary: hud
Review: very good filming, the part when the cows have to be killed is really great. even still, people have missed what the film is really about. This is the classic tale of the son trying to please his father for something that happened a long time ago, and never getting forgiveness. Even though, the death of Hud's older brother doesn't seem to be his fault. Hud says it best, "You know the the whole world is so full of crap , a man's boun' to step in it."

Rating:
Summary: You're an unprincipled man, Hud
Review: Welcome to the last Western. HUD is a chronicle of what killed the western ethos - it was done in by a man with a "barbed wire soul" driving a pink cadillac. Before HUD men raised cattle or plowed the earth, after HUD men ceded the land to the oil drillers.
The movie opens with 17-year-old, wide-eyed Lonnie looking for Hud. The trail leads him past a busted up saloon and ends when he finds a married woman's high heel shoe carelessly flung on her front porch. Hud seems to have a taste for married women and a way with the bottle that the curious Lonnie finds attractive.
When they get home Homer drives them out to a freshly dead heifer. There are no bullet wounds or other signs of injury and Homer decides to call the authorities. Hud disagrees. If the heifer died of a disease it could jeopardize everything, and Hud is too close to inheriting the ranch for that. Homer has more at stake, but burying the cow without an investigation would simply be wrong. The drama proceeds from there as deliberately, and inevitably, as a Greek tragedy.
Like other epics, and HUD deals with epic themes, there are great battles. Hud Bannon battles with his father, Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas) for the heart and mind of his nephew Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde.) Hud and Lonnie battle over their "half-wild" maid Alma (Patricia Neal.)
Hud, a man of little patience, is brutally direct in his approach to Alma. The inexperienced Lonnie admires her from a gentler distance. Director Martin Ritt includes two scenes that highlight this difference. One night Hud tomcats his way into Alma's room asking for a cigarette. The experienced and wary Alma gives - Hud lights the handout and blows out the match just as Alma asks for a light. With his back to her Hud drops the burnt out match into her hands and waits a beat before dropping the matchbook. It's a short throwaway that highlights Hud's loutish behavior. It gains relevance a little later when Lonnie takes a blow to the head and has to take to his bed. Alma brings him a glass of `fresh squeezed lemonade.' Lonnie takes the drink and a worried look beetles his brow. Alma puts her hand under his mouth and urges him to spit. `C'mon, honey,' she says, `they're just lemon pits.'
Lonnie spits his seeds into her hand, Hud a useless, burnt out stick, and Dr. Freud has just left the building. Maybe Ritt put those scenes in to delight louts like me four decades on. HUD is filled with powerful, multi-layered scenes. Another memorable one occurs when Homer Bannon's herd is driven into an enclosure. It is very long, maybe four minutes, and deliberately edited. I don't know if we'd see its like today, but its length and deliberation gives it awesome power.
Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in this movie, and he portrays Homer Bannon as a man about as played out as his over grazed land and about as obsolete as the two longhorn he keeps solely for sentimental reasons. Neal also won an Oscar in this one, and her character is almost as worn out as the elder Bannon. Life has used her hard. Paul Newman was nominated as the title character, and in my opinion would not have made an embarrassing winner. One of the most charming and charismatic actors in movie history, Newman manages to play a man of hollow charm. When he flirts, we see the snake lurking behind his smile. HUD won a third Oscar for photography, and James Wong Howe presents a parched and arid black-and-white landscape.
This is an excellent movie, and well worth the investment of anyone's time.

Rating:
Summary: You're an unprincipled man, Hud
Review: Welcome to the last Western. HUD is a chronicle of what killed the western ethos - it was done in by a man with a "barbed wire soul" driving a pink cadillac. Before HUD men raised cattle or plowed the earth, after HUD men ceded the land to the oil drillers.
The movie opens with 17-year-old, wide-eyed Lonnie looking for Hud. The trail leads him past a busted up saloon and ends when he finds a married woman's high heel shoe carelessly flung on her front porch. Hud seems to have a taste for married women and a way with the bottle that the curious Lonnie finds attractive.
When they get home Homer drives them out to a freshly dead heifer. There are no bullet wounds or other signs of injury and Homer decides to call the authorities. Hud disagrees. If the heifer died of a disease it could jeopardize everything, and Hud is too close to inheriting the ranch for that. Homer has more at stake, but burying the cow without an investigation would simply be wrong. The drama proceeds from there as deliberately, and inevitably, as a Greek tragedy.
Like other epics, and HUD deals with epic themes, there are great battles. Hud Bannon battles with his father, Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas) for the heart and mind of his nephew Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde.) Hud and Lonnie battle over their "half-wild" maid Alma (Patricia Neal.)
Hud, a man of little patience, is brutally direct in his approach to Alma. The inexperienced Lonnie admires her from a gentler distance. Director Martin Ritt includes two scenes that highlight this difference. One night Hud tomcats his way into Alma's room asking for a cigarette. The experienced and wary Alma gives - Hud lights the handout and blows out the match just as Alma asks for a light. With his back to her Hud drops the burnt out match into her hands and waits a beat before dropping the matchbook. It's a short throwaway that highlights Hud's loutish behavior. It gains relevance a little later when Lonnie takes a blow to the head and has to take to his bed. Alma brings him a glass of 'fresh squeezed lemonade.' Lonnie takes the drink and a worried look beetles his brow. Alma puts her hand under his mouth and urges him to spit. 'C'mon, honey,' she says, 'they're just lemon pits.'
Lonnie spits his seeds into her hand, Hud a useless, burnt out stick, and Dr. Freud has just left the building. Maybe Ritt put those scenes in to delight louts like me four decades on. HUD is filled with powerful, multi-layered scenes. Another memorable one occurs when Homer Bannon's herd is driven into an enclosure. It is very long, maybe four minutes, and deliberately edited. I don't know if we'd see its like today, but its length and deliberation gives it awesome power.
Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in this movie, and he portrays Homer Bannon as a man about as played out as his over grazed land and about as obsolete as the two longhorn he keeps solely for sentimental reasons. Neal also won an Oscar in this one, and her character is almost as worn out as the elder Bannon. Life has used her hard. Paul Newman was nominated as the title character, and in my opinion would not have made an embarrassing winner. One of the most charming and charismatic actors in movie history, Newman manages to play a man of hollow charm. When he flirts, we see the snake lurking behind his smile. HUD won a third Oscar for photography, and James Wong Howe presents a parched and arid black-and-white landscape.
This is an excellent movie, and well worth the investment of anyone's time.

Rating:
Summary: Patricia Neal Smolders!
Review: Wow! Patricia Neal has never been sexier than in this film...and the best thing about it is, she ain't even tryin'! And she's dressed in housekeeper clothes to boot! She has this underlying passion that is never seen in the movie, but she keeps dropping hints throughout. Newman is wonderfully contemptable as Hud, Brandon DeWilde is his convincingly naive and inexperienced nephew and Melvyn Douglas is terrific as the head of the clan. Sometimes you don't know whether to root for Hud or wish he'd get the crap beat out of him.....the mark of an excellent acting job by Newman. It has the feel of "The Last Picture Show" and "Dallas" but is far superior to both. Highest recommendation for Paul Newman fans.