Cool Hand Luke...what am I missing?
Wife is in Florida for the long weekend, so I loaded up the Netflix queue with movies I knew she wouldn't be into. This usually means older films. For some reason "Cool Hand Luke" has been popping up a lot lately so I thought I'd check that off my list of "movies everyone but me has seen."
The Pros: beautifully shot. Paul Newman's low-key performance is kind of nice. Early screen appearances by Dennis Hopper and Harry Dean Stanton.
The Cons: I don't see the point. If this is supposed to be a Christ allegory, it falls very flat (Luke doesn't save or redeem anyone). As an anti-authoritarian/anti-establishment message it is vague and confused (who is "the man?" the prison system? the prisoners' code of conduct? Luke's own determined nature?). The famous egg eating scene goes on waaaaay too long (for that matter, the whole film could lob off a good 30 minutes), and George Kennedy's accent is a crime against the South.
About the only thing I could come up with is that the movie was celebrated for being under-the-radar, mainstream, gay porn: sweaty shirtless prisoners toiling in unison. George Kennedy referring openly to Newman as his "sweet baby boy."
Anybody see something in this movie that I'm missing?
The Pros: beautifully shot. Paul Newman's low-key performance is kind of nice. Early screen appearances by Dennis Hopper and Harry Dean Stanton.
The Cons: I don't see the point. If this is supposed to be a Christ allegory, it falls very flat (Luke doesn't save or redeem anyone). As an anti-authoritarian/anti-establishment message it is vague and confused (who is "the man?" the prison system? the prisoners' code of conduct? Luke's own determined nature?). The famous egg eating scene goes on waaaaay too long (for that matter, the whole film could lob off a good 30 minutes), and George Kennedy's accent is a crime against the South.
About the only thing I could come up with is that the movie was celebrated for being under-the-radar, mainstream, gay porn: sweaty shirtless prisoners toiling in unison. George Kennedy referring openly to Newman as his "sweet baby boy."
Anybody see something in this movie that I'm missing?