Cool Hand Luke (1967)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Donn Pearce (screenplay) and
Frank Pierson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 November 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A man refuses to conform to life in a rural prison.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Prisoner | Escape | Authority | Chain

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Luke
George Kennedy	...	Dragline
J.D. Cannon	...	Society Red
Lou Antonio	...	Koko
Robert Drivas	...	Loudmouth Steve
Strother Martin	...	Captain
Jo Van Fleet	...	Arletta
Clifton James	...	Carr
Morgan Woodward	...	Boss Godfrey
Luke Askew	...	Boss Paul
Marc Cavell	...	Rabbitt
Richard Davalos	...	Blind Dick
Robert Donner	...	Boss Shorty
Warren Finnerty	...	Tattoo
Dennis Hopper	...	Babalugats

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Australia:M | Spain:7 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (certificate #21450) | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | USA:GP (re-rating) (1970)

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Jalem Productions

Trivia:

The company that produced the film, Jalem Productions, is owned by Jack Lemmon.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Luke cuts his chains with the axe, he ties the chains to his ankles with a strip off his trousers. He ties his left ankle but not his right, yet as he gets up and runs away both are tied on.

Quotes:

Captain, Road Prison 36: What we got here is... failure to communicate.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Perfect Getaway (2009)

Soundtrack:

Midnight Special

A straight-forward film that has more than meets the eye

Cool Hand Luke is an engaging movie with symbolism, about one of the great characters of cinema. Throughout the whole film there is symbolism, which supports the things that have been said earlier by characters. I like the inventive and fitting camera work that supports the messages and lends more power to the film. I also like the sound design, which especially in the beginning often has a dazzling effect, in combination with the cinematography, like, when the camera closes in on the ventilator.

It's the kind of film with symbolism that doesn't get much appreciation from the art-house crowd (you know you're one of them, don't lie to yourself), since it could be dangerous to acknowledge the symbolism in a film that is easy to understand for everyone, with characters that are emotionally engaging. People could falsely believe that you like it for those reasons, which could lead them to doubt your intellectualism.

In the film things are often told twice in two different ways. Usually within a few minutes, in the same scene or in two successive scenes. Like in the scene when Luke bursts out: "Get out there yourself. Stop feedin' off me. Get out of here. I can't breathe. Give me some air." Oh, how right Luke was when he yelled those words to his fellow inmates. A few minutes later they are literally feeding off of his plate when he has to clear his plate but apparently has no appetite, putting this line into a completely different (more positive) light.

Notably, the initiator for him to yell those lines is that when they show him his picture with the two women, they don't want to believe him when he says it was staged. The movie closes with this very picture. To me this said that we, the audience, have fed off of him. We let the film be our catalyst for our wishes to have the guts to fight for a boundless world, our wishes to have enough of a will to shake the world. Oh, how right the film was with that.

Some folks may wouldn't call this symbolism. Well, I do. Other than some of the art-house stuff it's symbolism with an intention behind it. It's not just thrown in there so that the audience can find some meaning in it, just so that we have something to think about, while the filmmaker failed to do so himself. No, this symbolism supported the story and our understanding of the characters.

Needless to say that the Luke character spoke right out of our hearts. I love the fact that he essentially stayed a loner till his last breath, since films with a main character like that usually end with the guy being very social and as a functioning part of society. Sure, it's depressing that in this world there seems to be no place for good ol' Luke, but then again, I think there ain't a place for good ol' Perception de Ambiguity either.