BLU-RAY
REVIEW:
Cool Hand Luke
09/07/08
I
first saw Cool Hand Luke in the late 90s. It was one of
those nights when you just can’t sleep and just start
channel surfing, to cure the boredom. I stubbed upon the
movie when it was just about to start. I heard of it before,
but I never had any interest in seeing it. Ten minutes into
the movie and I was fascinated. Never had the role of a
non-confirming rebel been so wonderfully portrayed.
The movie starts with Luke cutting of the heads of parking
meters. He is arrested and sent to prison, where Captain (Strother
Martin) runs a tight ship. The other prisoners soon begin to
idolize Luke. They see him as something that not even a man
as powerful as the Captain can break. Luke escapes from
prison and is captured and sent back, but not without
becoming a legend in the prison, that is until the Captain
employs tactics that set to break Luke once and for all.
Luke and Dragline’s (George Kennedy) camaraderie is one of
the things that makes the movie so strong. Their friendship
seems genuine. It is very rare to have this type of
chemistry and when it works it’s magic. Luke’s
non-confirming ways are a theme that brings up many ideas in
all of us and makes just which we could be a little more
like him. The delight and joy that he brings to the prison
is something that is not easily achieved especially in a
place of such hopelessness.
This movie is about 40 years old, so don’t expect the
Blu-ray to look as good as some of the latest releases.
However, this is the best looking version of the movie I’ve
ever seen and a whole lot better than the DVD. The Blu-ray
disk also features a commentary by historian and Newman
biographer Eric Lax and a documentary about the making of
Cool Hand Luke.
Review By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Widescreen Version
(2.4:1)(1080P High Definition)
AUDIO:
Dolby Digital
English 1.0, French 1.0, Spanish 1.0 (Castilian and Latin),
German 1.0, Italian 1.0, Japanese 1.0 & Portuguese 1.0
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish,
German, Italian, Japanses, Norwegian, Portuguese, & Swedish
BONUS FEATURES:
Commentary by Historian/Newman
Biographer Eric Lax - Noted writer and Paul Newman
Biographer Eric Lax discusses the film’s importance to
Newman’s career and its place in American cinema history.
New Documentary A Natural-Born-World-Shaker: Making
Cool Hand Luke - An in-depth look at the creation of
an uncompromising classic - (28:46)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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