Based on the novel by Don Pearce and now available on Blu-ray Disc, Stuart Rosenberg’s 1967 classic Cool Hand Luke tells the story of former war hero and “natural born world shaker” Luke Jackson (Paul Newman), sentenced to two years in a Florida prison camp for the misdemeanor of cutting the heads off of parking meters one night while intoxicated.
At first, Luke isn’t very well liked, especially by the leader of the camp’s chain gang, Dragline (George Kennedy). Following a boxing match between the two men that exposes Luke’s rebellious nature, the new inmate begins to earn the respect of his fellow prisoners, eventually earning the nickname “Cool Hand” due to his card-playing skills. Luke’s non-conformist attitude earns him something of an idol status among his fellow inmates. The guards and warden of the prison (Strother Martin) see Luke’s manner beginning to affect the other prisoners, which leads to repeated attempts by them to break Luke’s spirit.
As captured by the late, great cinematographer Conrad Hall (Road to Perdition) and directed with great confidence by Rosenberg, Cool Hand Luke is one part update of the Warner Brothers prison flicks made regularly made in the 1930s and 40s and one part “rebel against the system” flick along the lines of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rebel Without A Cause and Bonnie and Clyde, with a terrific performance by an acting legend at its center.
Newman has made a long and impressive career playing the anti-hero in classics such as Hud, The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Nobody’s Fool (among scores of others). Here, he delivers one of his all-time great performances. The actor’s trademark laid-back demeanor, cocky grin and fighting spirit are all in full effect here, with just the right amount of vulnerability to allow the viewer to both empathize with Luke as well as cheer him on. His performance is backed by an excellent ensemble cast that includes standout performances by Kennedy (in his Oscar-winning role), Martin and Jo Van Fleet as Luke’s mom, Arletta (keep an eye out for Harry Dean Stanton and Dennis Hopper in smaller supporting turns).
If there is a downside, albeit small, to be had with the film, it would be in the obvious parallels to Christianity. By and large, the allegories work. Every so often though, they do tend to become a bit heavy-handed, one scene in particular being Luke lay out on the table, crucifix-style, after the infamous egg eating contest. The only thing missing in that scene was choir music. This aside, Cool Hand Luke is a film that holds up remarkably well after four decades, presenting a well-told, involving story brought to life by some fine directing and superb performances by an exemplarily cast.
The Blu-ray edition of Cool Hand Luke uses, according to the back of the disc cover, “a new digital transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements.” The results for the Blu-ray are pretty damn nice. Presented in a fine 1080p/VC-1 encode (2.4:1 aspect ratio) the print is largely free of dirt, nicks and scratches (I did noticed a hair on the print in one scene). Colors are strong, as are black levels and flesh tones. There is an overall softness to the picture that is no doubt the result of the anamorphic lenses used to shoot the movie. Thankfully, Warner Home Video didn’t feel the need to artificially sharpen the image up via edge enhancement. Picture sharpness does appear where allowed, the same going for film grain. Despite being housed on a single-layered BD-25 disc, I saw little to no compression artifacts or video noise.
And… hallelujah! There is no irritating, faux 5.1 Dolby Digital track on this disc ala The Wild Bunch and Dirty Harry! The film’s original 1.0 mono track has been restored and sounds just fine. Dialogue is always clear, never drowned out by the film’s sound effects or music. There are six other mono tracks on the disc as well (Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese) which most likely sounds as good as the English track.
The supplemental section is unfortunately a bit on the lean side with only three to speak of. The first, and best, supplement is a Feature-Length Audio Commentary by historian and Newman biographer Eric Lax. Lax is a very engaging speaker and provides a nice amount of background not only on Newman, but also the film’s plot, production history as well as its cast and crew. Despite the occasional spots of silence from Lax, this commentary track is informative and well worth listening to.
Next up is a half-hour documentary entitled A Natural-Born World Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke. With some segments shot close to two years ago (director Stuart Rosenberg passed away in March of 2007), this short documentary takes a look back at the film’s production and features interviews with Rosenberg, George Kennedy, novelist Don Pearce, screenwriter Frank Pierson and stars Ralph Waite, Clifton James, Anthony Zerbe and others. The doc offers a lot of interesting insights into the production, various scenes and working with Newman. Unfortunately, Newman is not part of the documentary, possibly due to health issues. His presence and input are greatly missed here.
The third and final supplement on the disc is the film’s Theatrical Trailer which runs approximately two minutes or so and is in decent shape.
If you’re a fan of Paul Newman, the movie itself or are just looking for a solidly crafted, superbly acted drama, then Cool Hand Luke is for you. With a really nice transfer and a couple of solid supplements to back it up, there is no “failure to communicate” here: this Blu-ray Disc comes highly recommended.
-Shawn Fitzgerald
