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Cool Hand Luke

DVD Release

  • Release Date: 1997
  • Languages and subtitles: English, Français, Español
  • Interactive menus
  • Production notes
  • Theatrical trailer
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  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Genre: Drama
  • Movie Type: Prison Film
  • Themes: Prison Life, Escape From Prison
  • Director: Stuart Rosenberg
  • Main Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin
  • Release Year: 1967
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 126 minutes

Plot

Paul Newman was nominated for an Oscar and George Kennedy received one for his work in this allegorical prison drama. Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) is sentenced to a stretch on a southern chain gang after he's arrested for drunkenly decapitating parking meters. While the avowed ambition of the captain (Strother Martin) is for each prisoner to "get their mind right," it soon becomes obvious that Luke is not about to kowtow to anybody. When challenged to a fistfight by fellow inmate Dragline (George Kennedy), Luke simply refuses to give up, even though he's brutally beaten. Luke knows how to win at poker, even with bad cards, by using his smarts and playing it cool. Luke also figures out a way for the men to get their work done in half the usual time, giving them the afternoon off. Finally, when Luke finds out his mother has died, he plots his escape; when he's caught, he simply escapes again. Soon, Luke becomes a symbol of hope and resilience to the other men in the prison camp -- and a symbol of rebelliousness that must be stamped out to the guards and the captain. Along with stellar performances by Newman, Kennedy, and Martin, Cool Hand Luke features a superb supporting cast, including Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Wayne Rogers, and Joe Don Baker as members of the chain gang. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Review

Paul Newman created one of the most indelible anti-authoritarian heroes in movie history with his dynamic portrayal of the title character in 1967's Cool Hand Luke. It's some of the best work of Newman's career, and he's ably backed by the excellent Strother Martin -- whose "What we've got here is a failure to communicate" speech took on a life of its own in popular culture -- and George Kennedy, who won an Oscar for the role of Dragline. Luke creates a rich portrait of prison life and the people on both sides of the corrections department. Co-writer Donn Pearce spent time on a chain gang for safe-cracking, and the work has an unmistakable authenticity. The story is ultimately about the senseless righteousness of authority, and about Luke, a man who manages to win even when he loses. The film would usher in a wave of unconventional heroes, from Bonnie and Clyde that same year to Jack Nicholson's McMurphy in 1975's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide

Cast


Jo Van Fleet - Arletta; Clifton James - Carr; Morgan Woodward - Boss Godfrey; Luke Askew - Boss Paul; Marc Cavell - Rabbitt; Robert Donner - Boss Shorty; Warren Finnerty - Tattoo; John McLiam - Boss Kean; Wayne Rogers - Gambler; Charles Tyner - Boss Higgins; Ralph Waite - Alibi; Anthony Zerbe - Dog Boy; Buck Kartalian - Dynamite; Joy Harmon - The Girl; Joe Don Baker - Fixer; Chuck Hicks - Chief; John Pearce - John, Sr.; Rush Williams - Patrolman; James Jeter - Wickerman; Robert Luster - Jabo; Rance Howard - Sheriff; Dick Davalos - Blind Dick; James Gammon - Sleepy; Harry Dean Stanton - Tramp; Dennis Hopper - Babaludgats; Donn Pearce - Sailor

Credit

Gordon Carroll - Producer; Conrad L. Hall - Cinematographer; Cary O'Dell - Art Director; Sam O'Steen - Editor; Frank Pierson - Screenwriter; Fred R. Price - Set Designer; Stuart Rosenberg - Director; Lalo Schifrin - Composer (Music Score); Howard Shoup - Costume Designer; Gordon Bau - Makeup; Donn Pearce - Screenwriter; Donn Pearce - Book Author

Similar Movies

Brubaker; The Defiant Ones; Escape from Alcatraz; The Great Escape; Hud; I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang; In the Heat of the Night; A Man Escaped; Mean Dog Blues; Midnight Express; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; The Big House; Deathwatch; The Shawshank Redemption; The Green Mile; Animal Factory
 
 
Wikipedia: Cool Hand Luke


Cool Hand "The Cool hand Luke" Luke
Cool_Hand_Luke_Poster.gif
Cool Hand Luke movie poster
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Produced by Gordon Carroll
Written by Donn Pearce
Frank Pierson
Starring Paul Newman
George Kennedy
Strother Martin
Morgan Woodward
Cinematography Conrad Hall
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) November 1 1967 (USA)
Running time 126 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from the novel by Pearce.

Synopsis

Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison camp[1] who refuses to submit to the system. His inability to conform drives the plot of the movie, in the same vein as characters such as Winston from Nineteen Eighty-Four, McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Holman in The Sand Pebbles.

Luke is sent to the prison camp for cutting the heads off parking meters one drunken night, and when asked what kind of thing that is for a man to do, his explanation is "Small town, not much to do in the evenin'. Mostly just settlin' up old scores." His unquenchable spirit makes the other prisoners idolize (and idealize) him, and leads to his Christ-like martyrdom at the hands of the authorities.[2] There is occasional Christian imagery and reference throughout, notably in the closing pullback shot of roads forming a distinct cross and of a bloated Luke laying with outspread arms on the table, abandoned by friends after eating fifty eggs.

Cast and crew


Other members of the cast include George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Morgan Woodward, Wayne Rogers, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Clifton James, Richard Davalos, Ralph Waite, Luke Askew, Anthony Zerbe, Joe Don Baker, and Joy Harmon.

Soundtrack

The original music from Cool Hand Luke was composed by Lalo Schifrin. An edited version of the musical cue from the "Tar Sequence" has been used for many years as the news music package on several television stations' news programs, mostly those owned and operated by ABC. This cue was first used in 1968 on WABC-TV in New York for their Eyewitness News newscast. Nine Network's National Nine News in Australia currently still uses an edited version of the music. Although the music originated from this film, to this day many people associate the tune with television news as opposed to the film itself.

Quotations

What we got here, is ... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week. Which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don't like it anymore than you men.listen

The quotation is frequently read, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Both are correct. This line is heard twice in the film, first in its entirety with no "a" by Warden Martin, and later on the first line with an "a" is said by Luke. The quote also made it onto the American Film Institute's list of most memorable movie lines. This quote was also used in the Guns N' Roses songs "Civil War" and "Madagascar".

Another quote during a punishment scene is

Boss Paul: That ditch is Boss Kean's ditch. And I told him that dirt in it's your dirt. What's your dirt doin' in his ditch?
Luke: I don't know, Boss.
Boss Paul: You better get in there and get it out, boy.

In the scene there was no ditch, and Luke was forced to dig one.

Cool Hand Luke obtained his nickname after winning a five-card stud pot on a stone-cold bluff:

Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.listen

"I'm shaking it, boss!" Luke has left the chain-gang to urinate behind a bush. He has to prove that he hasn't run away by "shaking the bush."

Reception

The movie's anti-establishment message fit well with the mood of 1960s. [3] It became a critical and financial success.

Awards

Cool Hand Luke won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Kennedy), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Newman), Best Music, Original Music Score and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

In 2005, the United States Library of Congress deemed this film " "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Influences

  • On the MTV series Jackass, Johnny Knoxville holds an egg-eating contest in a homage to Cool Hand Luke's infamous scene. His contest, however, ends with all the contestants vomiting.
  • In the pilot episode of Cheers, the movie is named the "Sweatiest Movie Ever" by general consensus of the denizens of the bar.
  • In the movie Serendipity, chief character Jonathan (John Cusack) names Cool Hand Luke his favorite movie.
  • In the movie The Sandlot characters mimic dialogue some of the dialogue by saying: "she don't know what she's doing."

"yeah she does, she knows exactly what she's doing," referring to a pretty girl showing off her sex appeal. This is very similar to the scene in Cool Hand Luke where prisoners on the chain gang watch a woman wash a car in a very sexual manner.

  • Venture Bros.
    • In the episode Fallen Arches the scene where Dr. Venture washes his Walking Eye robot to entice to Guild hopefuls is a direct reference to Cool Hand Luke, in which a busty blonde washes her car to tantalize the members of the chain gang. The final shot of this sequence parallels the final shot of the car wash scene, where the girl's large breasts are rubbing against the window of the car.
  • The Flaming Lips do a cover of the "Plastic Jesus" song on their 1993 album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
  • Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon do a cover of "Plastic Jesus" on their 1994 album Prairie Home Invasion.
  • The Reverend Horton Heat has a song/album entitled "Spend a Night in the Box" referencing punishments for various infractions in the prison camp.
  • In Gilmore Girls, Lorelai watches the movie with her then-boyfriend Luke, and refers to her boyfriend as Cool Hand Luke.
  • In Reality Bites, Michael (Ben Stiller) compliments Troy (Ethan Hawke) for a line he says in Lelaina's movie ("No one can eat fifty eggs") as if it were by him, and Troy explains back that it was a mere quotation from Cool Hand Luke.
  • In the movie 25th Hour starring Edward Norton, the movie poster is on the wall in back of his couch.
  • The Simpsons
    • In The Simpsons episode "The PTA Disbands" the "that's a night in the box" line is spoofed by Jasper.
    • In "Black Widower", Sideshow Bob is seen picking up garbage on the side of the road while a Boss-like figure watches (in a parody of the shot of the reflective sunglasses) and the movie's music is heard.
  • A live version of the theme song "Down here on the Ground", is performed on George Benson's Weekend in L.A. (1977).
  • Guns N' Roses uses the line "What we've got here is failure to communicate," in their songs "Civil War, from the album Use Your Illusion II, and "Madagascar", which is expected to appear on their upcoming album, Chinese Democracy.
  • In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Sheriff Cooley wears very similar reflective glasses as Boss Godfrey and similarly rarely speaks.
  • The music video for Beck's "Where It's At" features a homage to Cool Hand Luke. The video begins with a sweaty prison crew on an empty country road, being watched over by a Boss-like figure wearing reflective sunglasses.
  • Mad Magazine's parody of the film is entitled Blue Eyed Kook. ("Kook" is incarcerated for smashing gumball machines, not beheading parking meters.)
  • Jack Johnson has been known to cover "Plastic Jesus," including performances at Bonnaroo.
  • In the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Traffic Jam," (Season 2, episode 1), Francis is challenged to eat 100 "Quacks," which are a parody of the marshmallow candy known as Peeps.
  • In Lost, Sawyer refers to Jack as "Cool Hand."
  • The Family Guy episode "Holy Crap" parodies the chain gang from the movie.
  • Australian band You Am I have a song called "Cool Hand Luke" on their 1993 "Coprolalia" EP.
  • In The BBC comedy Give My Head Peace the character Red Hand Luke is a play on the words Cool Hand Luke.
  • "La prison de Robertsonville", the sixth volume of the Belgian comic book series "Les Tuniques Blues" borrows some plot lines from the film.
  • The rugrats episode "Cool Hand Angelica" is a parody of the film

References

  1. ^ Florida Department of Corrections 1966-1969 timeline
  2. ^ Matthew McEver: The Journal of Religion and FilmOct. 1998. http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/McEverMessiah.htm
  3. ^ Geoff Pevere: Toronto Star, March 18, 2007. http://www.thestar.com/article/193162

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