He's one odd boy, this Luke. He hardly even seems to care he's in stir for having done this. To him a work farm just seems like another place for him to wait for something interesting to happen -- and when it does (as it always does), there's that big, lazy smile of his. Was he waiting for something? Probably not -- by the time it's all over, he hasn't gotten a single thing he wanted (except for a hilarious out-of-town stint), but he's given a lot of other people more than they could have ever asked.

What makes "Cool Hand Luke" such a wonderful movie is its tone and tenor -- widely imitated but not surpassed by other movies of its stripe. The movie is not about prison or chain gangs, but about the weather of a man's spirit, and how he deals (or chooses not to deal) with what he's been handed. Luke himself says it: "Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand," and he sums himself up in that sentence. Here is a fellow with no particular skills in life, no real direction, no ambition -- in short, something we are ostensibly taught from the git-go to hate. His crime? Parking meters.

The film draws a simple case: Luke as a quietly selfish free spirit vs. the system. But instead of loading it down with symbolic baggage, the movie works by making its case with drama and often great humor. The egg-eating contest, for instance -- it finds just the right balance between humor and drama to make its points, and ends with Luke passed out on the bed in a Christlike pose. (Whether or not that's a deliberate shot is open to speculation; it certainly looks like it was composed, but it's not held too long to force the issue on us.)

The best thing about the movie is the performances. Nobody hits a false note or an unconvincing turn. A big chunk of George Kennedy's reputation comes from this film, and you can see why: he's more or less the direct foil for Paul Newman throughout the movie, commenting on and playing off the man's actions. But look how many others are also in here: Strother Martin (as Captain), Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton... a veritable roll-call of actors who're all independently watchable and fascinating.


My favorite movie of all time.   May 18, 2000
 25 out of 30 found this review helpful

And I really mean it. They used to show this film often on the Superstation. When I was twelve, I watched it; the next time it came on, I taped it, and watched it probably more than 50 times over the next few years (I didn't know for a long time that the TV version has several scenes cut out for length, so getting it on video was a new revelation). What is it about "Cool Hand Luke" that is so moving? Well, it starts with Paul Newman's performance. Lucas Jackson is one of the most psychologically complex characters in the history of cinema, and Newman, criminally denied the Oscar for this film, makes him seem larger-than-life without saying much. Everything that comes out of his mouth is a revelation. The Christ allusions, which are fittingly done, heighten the sense of injustice that Luke is being slowly crucified by the lawmen, simply because he won't bend to their rules. On the surface, Luke seems self-destructive and ignorant, but in repeated watchings of the film, it becomes apparent that Luke is answering to a call that is bigger than the prison, bigger than the bosses, bigger than the law itself. I could go on and on about the myriad other ways in which this film is perfect, but why bother? I only get 1,000 words. Suffice it to say that this is the movie that makes George Kennedy, of all people, seem noble. YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM. The only flaw: I grew up in Georgia, and I can assure you that it is not filmed where it is set. Looks more like the Central Valley of California to me.


If you quote it, quote it correctly :-)   July 31, 2004
 22 out of 37 found this review helpful

"Cool Hand Luke" is a well-done movie about a petty criminal (Paul Newman) who gets a 2-year sentence in a work farm for drunkenly cutting off the heads of parking meters. He ends up bunking with a truly long list of established and upcoming actors, and being bossed around by several more big names. Ultimately, Luke's affable non-conformity gets the best of him after several failed escape attempts, but he is ingrained into the memory of his fellow prisoners (and guards, for that matter).

Well-acted and directed, the movie was oscar-nominated for Best Actor (Newman), writing and music. Part of Lalo Shifrin's score was subsequently used as the intro music to some network TV newscasts. George Kennedy won a best supporting actor as "Dragline", the leader of the prisoners. The photography is great, too.

Some say it is Newman's best role. Could be, though I prefer "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".

The movie has one of the most famous quotes in all cinema history. Unfortunately, very rarely is it accurate - and even the Amazon reviewer got it wrong.

"What we've got here is...failure to communicate."




Sometimes Nothin' is a real Cool Hand   September 26, 2005
 20 out of 25 found this review helpful

Paul Newman portrays Lucas Jackson, an iconic film anti-hero, in this classic film.

Luke seems to have wandered aimlessly after winning several medals in WWII, and in the beginning of the film he's arrested for "maliciously destroying municipal property" - using a pipe cutter to cut the heads off of parking meters.

The film has little exposition and in the next scene plunges our anti-hero in the middle of Division of Corrections, Road Prison 36, in the south. Strother Martin plays the "Cap'n", the warden of this group, and Luke is instructed that all the other guards are to be called "Boss". The bosses are frighteningly sadistic. Morgan Woodward is terrifying as "the man with no eyes". He speaks no words from behind his mirror sunglasses, but has a rifle brought to him every so often so that he can demonstrate his sharp-shooter accuracy.

George Kennedy won Best-Supporting Actor Oscar as "Dragline", bull of the herd of prisoners. Dragline leads the group, running gambling and the small barracks "bank", and all the other prisoners follow his example and look to him as the source of what little self-respect they have.

Luke and Dragline knock heads, figuratively and later on, literally, when Dragline beats Luke nearly unconscious in a brawling boxing match. Dragline and the other prisoners live a pretty vivid fantasy life. They blow-up the smallest slivver of hope into a bright shining ray of hope. In a famous scene the prisoners are working just down the road from a beautiful blonde who stretches and teases and caresses the car she is washing with a soaped up sponge (this scene has been copied many times since in more juvenile films). The other prisoners immediately attach themselves to the fantasy image of "Lucille". She is just some innocent, beautiful girl who "didn't know what she was doin'" while she postured her curvy side for the men. "Oh, she knew what she was doing, and she loved every minute of it", Luke states plainly, bursting the fantasy balloon of the other prisoners. This leads to the famous boxing match with Dragline.

Luke is insolent and rebellious and talks back to the Bosses in a way the other prisoners wouldn't dare. He gradually earns the respect of the other prisoners, and one of the best scenes of the film occurs at a poker game where Dragline finally comes to respect Luke and gives him his nickname.

Luke doesn't want responsibility, even the responsibility of the admiration of the prisoners. The film charms it's way under your skin, though, and it's very easy to lose the perspective that by the end you've spent the entire movie rooting for a man who by almost any other definition would be a loser.

Paul Newman has seldom been better.


It's sweltering out there, in there, anywhere   November 28, 2002
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

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.