When Paul Newman died back in 2008 I realized I had not seen many of his early movies that make him famous. I knew him from Cars, Road to Perdition, his food brands and while growing up had heard many middle age to older women talk about how handsome he was. I decided to see some of his movies, then promptly forgot.
That changed the other night when I realized that Netflix's rights to Cool Hand Luke were going to expire on Jan 01. I sat down with no expectation other than to hear the infamous like "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Since this movie is as old as my parents, I'm not going to try to write the review without giving up the plot.
The movie starts off with a drunk Luke (Newman) cutting the heads off of parking meters. He is sentenced to two years hard labor in a chain gang. I couldn't help but laugh at the though of a vandal getting sentenced to two years hard labor today. We can't even get the jail to keep them for a few hours.
Luke is a decorated war veteran who came out the service the same rank he went in, Private. That revelation kind of sets the stage for the development of Luke's character. Which as it turns out is stubborn. Luke will not quit even when he can't win. Luke's disdain for his fellow prisoners is expressed in his cool attitude toward him. When he bluffs in poker and wins with nothing he says that sometimes nothing is a real cool hand. His nickname was born.
Then came the scene that has to be one of the hottest scenes in movie history; when you consider when the movie was made that is really saying something. While working the chain gang a gorgeous blond, Lucille (Joy Harmon), comes out and starts washing her car. This had to be the original car wash scene because I can not imagine this scene making it into a movie prior to this one. Hot is all I'll say about it. Worth seeing the movie just for this scene. LOL
Luke ends up in a boxing match with Dragline (George Kennedy) in which Luke gets the ass kicking of a lifetime. However every time he is knocked down, he gets right back up. Dragline and the other prisoners keep telling Luke to stay down but he refuses. Dragline eventually grabs Luke and carries him off to the bunkhouse. Despite soundly whooping Luke, Dragline and the other prisoners develop a lot of respect for his resolve. This respect builds throughout the movie. Dragline ends up as Luke's biggest fan. Kind of like a reverse of the old Spike and Chester cartoon.
When Luke's mom dies, the warden puts Luke in solitary confinement to ensure he doesn't escape. I don't believe that Luke would have had the warden tried to prevent it. No one pushes Luke around, so as soon as he is released from solitary "the box" he escapes. When he is caught he is beat and returned. He escapes again, this time for an extended period. While gone he mailed the prisoners a photo of him with two beautiful women. The other prisoners look upon the photo and live vicariously through him. When he is brought back he is beaten and made to dig and fill in a ditch several times and beaten some more. Eventually they break old Cool Hand Luke. He plays the role of being totally broken and subservient, right up until his most daring escape yet. Luke is shot by the guards when they corner him and they intentionally let him die. But Luke, cool and stubborn to the end, just smiles as his life trickles away.
The plot and character development of this movie are superb. The main characters are fleshed out, and relatable. You may not agree with their actions, but you can understand them. Newman and Kennedy deliver great performances. Kennedy won an Oscar for best supporting actor and Newman was nominated for best lead.
I greatly enjoyed this movie. It had to have been extremely controversial and provocative for its time. I wish I had seen it sooner. I would encourage you to rent or buy this movie as it is well worth the money. I give it a 9 / 10.
That changed the other night when I realized that Netflix's rights to Cool Hand Luke were going to expire on Jan 01. I sat down with no expectation other than to hear the infamous like "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Since this movie is as old as my parents, I'm not going to try to write the review without giving up the plot.
The movie starts off with a drunk Luke (Newman) cutting the heads off of parking meters. He is sentenced to two years hard labor in a chain gang. I couldn't help but laugh at the though of a vandal getting sentenced to two years hard labor today. We can't even get the jail to keep them for a few hours.
Luke is a decorated war veteran who came out the service the same rank he went in, Private. That revelation kind of sets the stage for the development of Luke's character. Which as it turns out is stubborn. Luke will not quit even when he can't win. Luke's disdain for his fellow prisoners is expressed in his cool attitude toward him. When he bluffs in poker and wins with nothing he says that sometimes nothing is a real cool hand. His nickname was born.
Then came the scene that has to be one of the hottest scenes in movie history; when you consider when the movie was made that is really saying something. While working the chain gang a gorgeous blond, Lucille (Joy Harmon), comes out and starts washing her car. This had to be the original car wash scene because I can not imagine this scene making it into a movie prior to this one. Hot is all I'll say about it. Worth seeing the movie just for this scene. LOL
Luke ends up in a boxing match with Dragline (George Kennedy) in which Luke gets the ass kicking of a lifetime. However every time he is knocked down, he gets right back up. Dragline and the other prisoners keep telling Luke to stay down but he refuses. Dragline eventually grabs Luke and carries him off to the bunkhouse. Despite soundly whooping Luke, Dragline and the other prisoners develop a lot of respect for his resolve. This respect builds throughout the movie. Dragline ends up as Luke's biggest fan. Kind of like a reverse of the old Spike and Chester cartoon.
When Luke's mom dies, the warden puts Luke in solitary confinement to ensure he doesn't escape. I don't believe that Luke would have had the warden tried to prevent it. No one pushes Luke around, so as soon as he is released from solitary "the box" he escapes. When he is caught he is beat and returned. He escapes again, this time for an extended period. While gone he mailed the prisoners a photo of him with two beautiful women. The other prisoners look upon the photo and live vicariously through him. When he is brought back he is beaten and made to dig and fill in a ditch several times and beaten some more. Eventually they break old Cool Hand Luke. He plays the role of being totally broken and subservient, right up until his most daring escape yet. Luke is shot by the guards when they corner him and they intentionally let him die. But Luke, cool and stubborn to the end, just smiles as his life trickles away.
The plot and character development of this movie are superb. The main characters are fleshed out, and relatable. You may not agree with their actions, but you can understand them. Newman and Kennedy deliver great performances. Kennedy won an Oscar for best supporting actor and Newman was nominated for best lead.
I greatly enjoyed this movie. It had to have been extremely controversial and provocative for its time. I wish I had seen it sooner. I would encourage you to rent or buy this movie as it is well worth the money. I give it a 9 / 10.
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