Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition)

Buy This Item Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition) by Warner Home Video  Available from Amazon  $13.99  on 11-28-2008     Paul Newman gives one of the defining performances of his career, and cemented his place as a beautiful-rebel screen icon playing the stubbornly tough and independent title character in <i>Cool Hand Luke</i>. And before he became familiar as a sidekick in 1970s disaster movies (<i>Earthquake</i> and the <i>Airport</i> movies), George Kennedy won an Oscar for playing Dragline, the brutal chain-gang boss who tries to beat loner Luke's cool out of him. It's a classic rebel-against-the-repressive-institution story in the line of <i>One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest</i> or <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i>. Certain moments have become classics--particularly the hardboiled egg-eating contest, and the immortal line (drooled by Strother Martin, as a sadistic redneck prison officer), "What we have here is a failure to communicate." And don't forget, Luke is also the source of the oft-quoted driving ditty, "I don't care if it rains or freezes, long as I have my plastic Jesus, right here on the dashboard of my car" He is cool, all right. <i>--Jim Emerson</i> Reader Reviews I don't view "Cool Hand Luke" as an indictment of our penal system. Rather, it's an allegory about senseless systemic control over a compliant underclass. Most of the prisoners in the work prison are there for such minor offenses such as passing bad checks or in the case of Luke(Paul Newman) destroying parking meters while in a drunken state. The keepers at the prison resort their charges to demeaning degradation like having them ask permission to swat a fly otherwise it's a night in the sweatbox. Along comes Luke to flaunt the authority and become a folk hero to the other inmates. However, once his mother passes Luke's anti-authoritarian streak developes a purpose and the system becomes more sadistic to set an example to the other inmates about crossing the line. This is one of Newman's many landmark performances. The look on his face when he delivers his final line says volumes. George Kennedy deservedly took home the Oscar as Luke's initial adversary and finally his acolyte. Though his screen time is short Strother Martin as the Captain leaves an indelible impact on the film. His fey delivery of his now renowned failure to communicate line leaves a chill in your bones. Lot's of good actors on hand here though, oddly enough, Dennis Hopper doesn't leave much of a mark. An unqualified classic.

Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition) Available from Amazon Price: $13.99 Updated on 11-28-2008.

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