Cool Hand Luke
1967 · Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Paul Newman is a man who refuses to break in a Southern chain gang. What we've got here is failure to communicate.
Why It's Cult
Cool Hand Luke is the 1967 template for every antihero-prison-movie since. Newman's cool is weaponized cool — he's smiling because he knows he's going to lose. The egg-eating scene. The warden's speech. The final shot. A film people haven't seen in a while should revisit — it's meaner than they remember.
The Plot, Officially
Luke Jackson is a cool, gutsy prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who, while refusing to buckle under to authority, keeps escaping and being recaptured. The prisoners admire Luke because, as Dragline explains it, "You're an original, that's what you are!" Nevertheless, the camp staff actively works to crush Luke until he finally breaks.
Starring
Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin
Where to Watch
via JustWatch →
