Review of Cool Hand Luke (1967) by Luke R — 18 Apr 2011

Obviously, all films are sibjective and there are going to be people who don't like this film, but for me it was absolutley superb. The film tells the story of Luke, a buck private who gets drunk and cuts the heads of several parking meters and is taken to the county jail. Given a sentence of two years Luke initially likes upsetting the status quo in the prinson and ina boxing match with his soon to be best friend he earns the short lived nickname 'prizefighter'. However, in a game of cards following on from this, Luke takes the entire pot with a hand worth next to nothing, saying 'sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand' thus getting him the nickname cool hand Luke. Luke is visited by his mother and finds she is dying and that she will be dead by the time he gets out. Luke wins a contest to each fifty eggs in an hour and proves how Luke can survive any challenege. News arrives of his mother death and Luke makes several successful, albeit short lived, escape attempts. The 'bosses' finally believe that Luke is broken but when he escapes again they show him no mercy when they find him. The film ends with the other prisoners listening to tales of him, as he has become a mythic hero in their eyes.

What I Liked: The acting, setting, character development and plotline were all sublime.

What I Didn't Like: ...

Conclusion: A true 100% film if ever there was one in my eyes.