Let's face it, if there was no Cool Hand Luke, there would be no Shawshank Redemption. It's as simple as that. For its day, Cool Hand Luke took plenty of risks in its depiction of the brutality of the southern-style work farm (an easier way to say Prison) and of a Chain Gang.
All the men here are rough and tumble, save for Paul Newman's Luke, a loner who was sent there for "busting the heads off of parking meters" as he so eloquently puts it. He is thrown into this pile of self-effacing, self-deprecating men with only his own standards and basic moral code to help him stay aloft, but of course they all want to break him and will use any means by which are available to them to do so. In every prison film that you see, the man (or woman) in prison always believes that he (or she) doesn't belong there. That is also true for Luke, however we never hear him utter one word of contempt towards his captors at all. Instead he tries to show his fellow inmates and "bosses" the human side of a man. But, when all hope appears to be gone, Luke attempts to do the next best thing. I won't tell you what that is, you have to see the film for yourself to understand it.
Cool Hand Luke was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Score) with George Kennedy winning Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of "Dragline", the self-appointed leader of the inmates who shows Luke a thing or two about life in captivity.
My rating: 3 stars
All the men here are rough and tumble, save for Paul Newman's Luke, a loner who was sent there for "busting the heads off of parking meters" as he so eloquently puts it. He is thrown into this pile of self-effacing, self-deprecating men with only his own standards and basic moral code to help him stay aloft, but of course they all want to break him and will use any means by which are available to them to do so. In every prison film that you see, the man (or woman) in prison always believes that he (or she) doesn't belong there. That is also true for Luke, however we never hear him utter one word of contempt towards his captors at all. Instead he tries to show his fellow inmates and "bosses" the human side of a man. But, when all hope appears to be gone, Luke attempts to do the next best thing. I won't tell you what that is, you have to see the film for yourself to understand it.
Cool Hand Luke was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Score) with George Kennedy winning Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of "Dragline", the self-appointed leader of the inmates who shows Luke a thing or two about life in captivity.
My rating: 3 stars