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Cool Hand Luke

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For the original novel which the film was based on see Cool Hand Luke (novel)
Cool Hand Luke
Image:Cool Hand Luke Poster.gif
Cool Hand Luke movie poster
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Produced by Gordon Carroll
Written by Donn Pearce
Frank Pierson
Starring Paul Newman
George Kennedy
Strother Martin
Morgan Woodward
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) November 1 1967 (USA)
Running time 126 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from the novel by Pearce.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison camp<ref>Florida Department of Corrections 1966-1969 timeline</ref> who refuses to submit to the system. His inability to conform drives the plot of the movie, in the same vein as characters such as Winston from Nineteen Eighty-Four, McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Holman in The Sand Pebbles.

Luke is sent to the prison camp for cutting the heads off parking meters one drunken night, and when asked what kind of thing that is for a man to do, his explanation is "Small town, not much to do in the evenin'. Mostly just settlin' up old scores."

[edit] Themes

The character of Luke is often interpreted allegorically as a Christ figure[citation needed], and the film plays on many aspects of the story of Jesus[citation needed]. According to imdb.com, Luke's prisoner number, 37, is a reference to Luke 1:37: For with God nothing shall be impossible.

[edit] Cast and Crew

Image:Newmanl.jpg

Other members of the cast include George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Morgan Woodward, Wayne Rogers, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Clifton James, Richard Davalos, Ralph Waite, Luke Askew and Joe Don Baker. Also starring Joy Harmon, best remembered for her sexy car wash scene.

Donn Pearce, the author of the original novel, also had a bit role in the movie. On the set, he also punched out one of the other actors on the last day of filming (Source: Esquire 10/05). Pearce received $80,000 for selling the book rights to Warner Bros. and another $15,000 for writing a draft.

[edit] Soundtrack

The original music from Cool Hand Luke was composed by Lalo Schifrin. An edited version of the musical cue from the "Tar Sequence" has been used for many years as the news music package on several television stations' news programs, mostly those owned and operated by ABC. This cue was first used in 1968 on WABC-TV in New York for their Eyewitness News newscast. Nine Network's National Nine News in Australia currently still uses a modified version of the music. Although the music originated from this film, to this day many people associate the tune with television news as opposed to the film itself.

[edit] Quotations

What we 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 anymore than you men.listen

The quotation is frequently read, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Both are correct. This line is heard twice in the film, first in its entirety with no "a" by Warden Martin, and later on the first line with an "a" is said by Luke.

This quote is used in the opening to the Guns N' Roses song "Civil War," and is also sampled in the Guns N' Roses song "Madagascar" on the upcoming Chinese Democracy album. Part of the previous quote also made it onto the American Film Institute's list of most memorable movie lines.

Another quote during a punishment scene is

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.

In the scene there was no ditch, and Luke was forced to dig one.

Cool Hand Luke obtained his nickname after winning a five-card stud pot on a stone-cold bluff:

Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.listen

"I'm shaking it off, boss!" Luke has left the chain-gang to use the "bathroom." He has to prove that he hasn't run away by "shaking the bush."

[edit] Reception

[edit] Awards

Cool Hand Luke won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Kennedy), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Newman), Best Music, Original Music Score and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

In 2005 it was added to the list of films preserved in the United States National Film Registry. As previously mentioned, the famous "failure to communicate" quote entered the American Film Institute's list of most memorable movie lines.

[edit] Influences

  • In the pilot episode of Cheers, this is named the "Sweatiest Movie Ever" by general consensus of the denizens of the bar.
  • In the movie Serendipity, chief character Jonathan (John Cusack) names Cool Hand Luke his favorite movie.
  • The Flaming Lips do a cover of the "Plastic Jesus" song on their 1993 album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
  • The Reverend Horton Heat has a song/album entitled "A Night in the Box" referencing punishments for various infactions in the prison camp.
  • In Gilmore Girls, Lorelai watches the movie with her then-boyfriend Luke, and references her boyfriend as Cool Hand Luke.
  • In the movie 25th Hour starring Edward Norton, the movie poster is on the wall in back of his couch.

[edit] Notes

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[edit] External links

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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

fr:Luke la main froide it:Nick Mano Fredda ru:Люк-холодная рука (фильм) sv:Rebell i bojor

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