Classic Films on Video and DVD: Cool Hand Luke© Kelcey Woolsten
Aug 25, 2002
There are no outstanding special features or director commentaries, but Cool Hand Luke is a must for anyone's video or DVD collection. It is one of the true classics among prison films, in the same league as The Shawshank Redemption and offers an excellent performance by Paul Newman.
Paul Newman plays Lucas "Cool Hand Luke" Jackson, a former war hero sent to prison for drinking in public and chopping the heads off of parking meters. The nature of his criminal offense, an act of non-conformity and rebellion, foretells the path he takes in prison. At first, he is pegged as a loner, but eventually wins the respect and friendship of fellow prisoners by refusing to quit in a fight against one of the prisoners, Dragline (George Kennedy), and through his ability to play a mean hand of poker. He becomes somewhat revered by his fellow prisoners because of his individuality and daring. Luke starts by pushing the envelope just a little to keep himself entertained although he really does nothing that can get him into trouble. However, things change when his mother dies. The prison bosses crack down on Luke because prisoners often attempt escape when a close family member dies. He is forced to spend time in the box, or solitary confinement, because of fears of what he might do. The prison's suspicions become a self-fulfilling prophecy and Luke embarks on several escape attempts, partly because of his mother's death and partly out of rebellion against an unfair system. With each escape attempt, the prison bosses become increasingly hard on Luke and do what they can to break him. Luke seems to get weaker and weaker, even to his fellow prisoners who lose some respect for him, but ultimately ends up showing that he cannot be broken permanently. Cool Hand Luke offers an interesting picture of the rural prison system as it existed in the late 1960s. The prison setting of this film is not as brutal as the one we see in Shawshank Redemption and the correctional officers, or bosses, do not engage in the type of physical brutality against the prisoners that is so often seen in other prison films. However, they are adept at intimidation and psychological torture, which makes Luke a particularly bad fit for this type of world. Someone who cannot be intimidated does not stand up well in such a place without getting in trouble.
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