1967 saw the release of such iconic, ground-breaking Hollywood films as The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, The Dirty Dozen, (all of which exploited the screen's new-found acceptance of increasingly frank depictions of sex and violence), while even more "conventional" films such as In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, and To Sir, With Love (importantly, all starring Sidney Poiter), safely incorporated timely topical themes (in these cases, race) into familiar entertainments. Now, escape is on his mind, and just like everything else he's done in prison, he simply will not quit.ġ967 was the year mainstream Hollywood exploded in terms of incorporating on the screen the themes, the energy, and the ideas behind the growing counter-culture and the seismic sociological shifts occurring at that time in the United States. This tips the scales for Luke, who had previously relegated his defiance to mostly psychological games with the other cons and the guards - largely as a way to keep himself amused in the crushing deadness of prison life. But the death of Luke's mother, Arletta (Jo Van Fleet), gives the Captain his first chance to step on Luke, who puts the charismatic, rebellious con in the "box" (a small, narrow, brick sweat house used for punishment) so he can't escape to the funeral. Beaten badly by Drag, Luke still refuses to give up, never quitting the fight, which earns him the respect of Drag and the other cons (and the wary concern of the Captain and the guards), which Luke further solidifies when he successfully bluffs Drag's sidekick Koko (Lou Antonio) in a big poker match.Īdopted by the child-like Drag as his new best buddy (and newly christened with his bull-gang name, "Cool Hand" Luke), Luke begins his ascent as a larger-than-life symbol of individuality and resistence for the cons, goading the guards by getting the prisoners to actually work harder on a miserably tough assignment (tarring a road), as well as achieving superhuman status by winning an impossible eating contest ("Nobody can eat 50 eggs."). Ticking off Dragline one too many times (Luke tells Dragline to shut up, when Drag is tormenting the men with a recap of the sexy woman the men saw on the chain gang), Luke has to box Drag (the camp's method of settling scores, as well as entertainment for the sullen guards). But he sticks to the rules, playing it cool, until his defiant, smart-ass nature won't allow him to stay low anymore. Luke is contemptuous of the rules and regulations laid down by both the Captain and the guards, and Dragline and the other cons - a contempt he makes known with no fear (and with, perhaps, no sense of what's in his own best interest, as another con and Luke states later in the film). And it's not just the Captain who takes notice of the new prisoner Luke Luke's thoughtful yet stubborn loner qualities attract attention among the regulars of the bull-gang, chiefly Dragline (George Kennedy, in an example of actor and role perfectly meshing), the massive, bear-like head of the cons, as well as the camp's bosses, particularly the silent, menacing Boss Godfrey (Morgan Woodward). Arriving with five other "new meat," Luke already stands out with the Captain (Strother Martin), the soft-spoken but sadistic warden of the prison camp, because of the surreal, seemingly nonsensical nature of his crime - one the Captain readily admits he's never seen before. Set in a backwoods Florida chain-gang after the war (the film plays it cool as to which war - WWII or Korea - to keep the film undated), Cool Hand Luke begins with the crime that puts decorated war hero Lucas Jackson (Paul Newman) on a chain gang for a two-spot: cutting the heads off municipal parking meters.
#THE GAME LAX DELUXE EDITION DOPEFILE UPGRADE#
released it way back in 1997) should feel more than comfortable in double-dipping on this quality upgrade ("Buyin' that new disc up here, boss?" "Yeah, buy that new disc, there, Drag.") Fans of the 1967 counter-culture chain-gang picture who already own this title (Warner Bros. in a deluxe edition which includes a sparkling new anamorphic transfer and a handful of extras such as a full-length commentary track and a newly produced documentary on the film.
#THE GAME LAX DELUXE EDITION DOPEFILE FULL#
Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman's most iconic role (in a career full of them), has been re-released on DVD by Warner Bros. A beautiful, cruel, funny, deeply sad film.
0 kommentar(er)
