Cool Hand Luke

Director : Stuart Rosenberg
Starring : Paul Newman, George Kennedy
1967

I looked through the list of movies I have reviewed the other day and realized I have yet to do any of the "classic" genre. Well Cool Hand Luke is a pretty good one to start with. I had never seen it before until recently. I knew it was on the AFI top 100 list and I knew I would like it, I just lacked for whatever reason the motivation. Because my domain name includes jus sayin dude, I'll assume anyone who may stumble upon this will be of a younger age and maybe unfamiliar to this movie or Paul Newman. Maybe you have heard of his salad dressing? Well his acting is even better.

Cool Hand Luke is the story of a man who gets drunk one night, destroys some public property and thrown in jail. Not much is groundbreaking as far as story goes. Luke is the cool new prison who gains the trust and admiration from his fellow inmates by always being in high spirits. The guards see this and want to "break him" but Luke is just way to cool for this to happen. He attempts to escape three times but it caught and welcomed back with escalating penalties each time. He never loses his cool though (until the end).

Rating : 4.5 stars. I know that wasn't much of a synopsis but this movie wasn't so much about the story for me. Sure there are things you never see coming but you should be able to see how the movie is going to end from pretty far out. Cool Hand Luke is about the acting. Newman starts off looking so worry free only to be completely broken and sobbing at the guards feet in a hour and a half. The guy who befriends him beats Luke up in the beginning of the film only to fight/cry out against the guards out of passion (no homo dude love, guys get close in prison, not that way though). The movie has so many good and famous lines. I never knew this was where the failure to communicate line came from. Was this the best prison movie of all time? Maybe. I don't know if The Great Escape counts as a true prison movie because its technically a pow camp. Ok, that was a dumb argument, the first word of that is prisoner. The Great Escape is my favorite and the best in my eyes. I did like this more than The Shawshank Redemption and that was a really good movie. So you know, watch this. I also saw somewhere that Luke Jackson is AFI's 30th ranked movie hero of all time.

Best Scene : I was going to say the church monologue at the very end but that is second to when he comes back into the jail after the whole dig the trench/get the dirt of the yard train wreck. All of his "boys" that used to slurp up every word Luke said now turn their back in disgust after seeing him cry and beg to the guards. Their hero, the unbreakable man, was now crawling in front of their own eyes after probably a good 15 hours of hard labor plus all the beatings you could want. Luke then yells out "WHERE ARE YOU NOW" and passes out. Baller scene. Probably the first time it's been described as baller too.

Quotes : So many
"He's a natural born world-shaker.

"[watching sexy girl wash a car] My Lord, whatever I done, don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes."

"That's my darling Luke. He grins like a baby but bites like a gator."

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.

"Any man playing grabass or fightin' in the building spends a night in the box. "

"Luke: Anybody here? Hey, Old Man. You home tonight? Can You spare a minute. It's about time we had a little talk. I know I'm a pretty evil fellow... killed people in the war and got drunk... and chewed up municipal property and the like. I know I got no call to ask for much... but even so, You've got to admit You ain't dealt me no cards in a long time. It's beginning to look like You got things fixed so I can't never win out. Inside, outside, all of them... rules and regulations and bosses. You made me like I am. Now just where am I supposed to fit in? Old Man, I gotta tell You. I started out pretty strong and fast. But it's beginning to get to me. When does it end? What do You got in mind for me? What do I do now? Right. All right.
[Gets on knees, closes eyes and begins to pray]
Luke: . On my knees, asking.
[Peeks up with one eye, waits. Then opens eyes and crosses arms]
Luke: . Yeah, that's what I thought. I guess I'm pretty tough to deal with, huh? A hard case.
[Clicks tongue]
Luke: . Yeah. I guess I gotta find my own way.
[Headlights shine through windows, backs up]
Dragline: Luke?
Luke: [Shakes head and smiles] Is that Your answer, Old Man? I guess You're a hard case, too."

"What we've 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 any more than you men. "

"You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice you got yourself two sets. You ain't gonna need no third set, 'cause you gonna get your mind right.

Boss: Sorry, Luke. I'm just doing my job. You gotta appreciate that.
Luke: Nah - calling it your job don't make it right, Boss.

Dragline: He ain't in the box because of the joke played on him. He back-sassed a free man. They got their rules. We ain't got nothin' to do with that. Would probably have happened to him sooner or later anyway, a complainer like him. He gotta learn the rules the same as anybody else.
Luke: Yeah, them poor old bosses need all the help they can get.

Dragline: Where'd the road go?
Luke: That's it. That's the end of it.
Convict: Man, there's still daylight.
Dragline: About two hours left.
Convict: What do we do now?
Luke: Nothin'.
Dragline: Oh Luke, you wild, beautiful thing. You crazy handful of nothin'.

[Discussing God and the rain]
Luke: Let him go. Bam, Bam.
Dragline: Knock it off, Luke. You can't talk about Him that way.
Luke: Are you still believin' in that big bearded Boss up there? You think he's watchin' us?
Dragline: Get in here. Ain't ya scared? Ain't ya scared of dyin'?
Luke: Dyin'? Boy, he can have this little life any time he wants to. Do ya hear that? Are ya hearin' it? Come on. You're welcome to it, ol' timer. Let me know you're up there. Come on. Love me, hate me, kill me, anything. Just let me know it.
[He looks around]
Luke: I'm just standin' in the rain talkin' to myself.

"Oh come on. Stop beatin' it. Get out there yourself. Stop feedin' off me. Get out of here. I can't breathe. Give me some air."

Dragline: Why you got to go and say fifty eggs for? Why not thirty-five or thirty-nine?
Luke: I thought it was a nice round number.

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Trailer