Jules Winfield

I'm always playing catch up on older movies. There's been a handful of films I've seen past the year I was born(1979) and I'm always trying to correct that as much as possible. The sad fact is that I watch a ton more recent movies (even if I know they might not be that good because I have to be current)than I do older ones. After seeing Cool Hand Luke, I wanna kick myself in every area I can reach because it's taken me 33 years to see it when it only took me eight years to see fucking Masters of the Universe.

Cool Hand Luke is a great movie. It sort of reminds me of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's in that they both feature leads who resist authority and rules. Paul Newman is fantastic. I like that he doesn't inspire his fellow inmates by some big speech but through his actions. Newman just has that mischievous grin and his smart ass replies just fill me with delight. George Kennedy, who I only really know as the buffoon Captain from The Naked Gun movies, surprised the crap out of me. It's fun to look at a movie like this and see younger faces of older actors you've seen in other stuff throughout the years. The movie is powerful, sad, funny, just an all around solid movie.

Although modern day audiences might find it corny, I love the scenes where Newman talks to "God". The first scene in the rain, he's cool and confident Cool Hand Luke. The second one near the end, he's a little more rattled but at the end, he's still got that grin as if he's in on the joke of it all. One of my favorite first time views in a while and I definitely look forward to seeing it again in the future.

WeylandYutani

Really good movie. I ain't gay but goddamn if Paul Newman didn't look handsome in this.

Sonic

Riiiight

WeylandYutani

Haha. There was a time, not that long ago, when everyone would've fucked Paul Newman.

Sonic

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...ing-actor.html

He got honorable mentions in that thread

Numanoid

Not only does he talk to God, Luke is a Christ figure. Watch it again with this in mind. It's saturated with Christian symbolism.

Ash Ketchum

Kennedy won an Oscar for this film.
Also in it: Joe Don Baker, Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Strother Martin, Wayne Rogers, Clifton James, Ralph Waite, Anthony Zerbe, James Gammon, James Jeter, Luke Askew, Morgan Woodward, etc.

I saw it when it came out, when I was in junior high school.

islandclaws

I saw this for the first time in 2008, when the SE DVD was released. Can't say much more than I thought it was a powerful film, full of great performances, and Newman just owns it.

Side note: I met George Kennedy a couple years back and I'm amazed the guy is still living. Rough shape doesn't begin to cover it.

Bandoman

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

wishbone

Just saw that you added Strother Martin...



You gonna get used to wearin' them chains afer a while, Luke. Don't you never stop listenin' to them clinking. 'Cause they gonna remind you of what I been saying. For your own good.
Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n.

Geofferson

I first saw CHL years ago (and haven't seen it recently). I do remember not picking up on all the symbolism during my first viewing and this was one of the few movies I watched a second time in the same day. There were still several things I missed until I read some reviews/interpretations of the movie after seeing it a couple times.

Anyway, great movie. And Strother Martin

Jaymole

...and Joy Harmon!

wm lopez

Those comments right there just turned off the majority of members here.

wishbone

My Lord, whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes.

Bandoman

Yes, because nonreligious people are incapable of appreciating a story with religious symbolism/themes.

Solid Snake

you're so goddamn ignorant. I'm an atheist..and I don't give a shit about religious symbolism/themes. All I care about is whether it's actually a good movie or not. A good number of films I've seen and like have such material in them. It's not what it's fucking about..it's about how it's fucking done. That is what is important.

Bandoman

Now, now, Solid Snake - you don't like Cool Hand Luke, or Ben Hur. It's about time you face up to it.

Solid Snake

Actually...I saw like probably an hour of Ben Hur as a kid..like age 8. I was bored by that. Correct me if I'm wrong...isn't there a bit where we see Jesus carrying the cross at the beginning? I was so bored cuz nothing was happening. I may have gotten that bit wrong though...maybe another film had that part w/ Jesus doing his thing. I need to see it, it's bothered the hell out of me. I've seen the chariot race many times..but not the whole film.

wishbone

Drink Up Judah Bando-Hur.
You truly are the King of kings.

FRwL

I dont like Newman because he was on Nixon's enemy list.

clckworang

Perhaps you shouldn't judge films that you've only seen part of at age 8. I would like to think your taste has changed at least a little bit since then.

golden_rod

I love Newman. Unlike, say, Nicholson or DeNiro, it's amazing to watch him actually become a better actor over the course of his career. The man was robbed of an Oscar for Nobody's Fool, what a great performance. The chemistry between him and Melanie Griffith is incredible.

Solid Snake

I didn't judge it. Didn't say it was bad or good, I'm heavily assuming that it is amazing though. I was just bored by up to whatever moment my my 8ish year old version could take and beyond that point of whatever ....I've only seen the chariot race, which I'm actually more interested in how they did over actually seeing it cuz it's fucking awesome.

I was just bored by (again whatever time limit I gave) it as kid...except for that chariot race. And since that point..it's in that list of films I want to see...of which there are sooooooo many more that are ahead of it.

mndtrp

Awesome movie.

Numanoid

And her character name was Lucille (analogous to Lucifer). And she tempts everyone in the gang with her car wash, except one man who resists the temptation...Luke. I love interesting stuff like that, that goes over the heads of most viewers.