Big Screen Classics: Cool Hand Luke

Everyone knows the line, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Even if you think it comes from some Guns 'n Roses song and not COOL HAND LUKE, it's burned into your brain. And you may have heard about the hard-boiled egg scene and that George Kennedy won an Oscar. All of those are fine reasons for knowing COOL HAND LUKE, but the real reason to see it again (especially on the big Alamo screen) is because of Paul Newman. Even though he had a career filled with brilliant work in classic films like HUD and THE HUSTLER, this is -- without question -- the definitive Paul Newman movie and performance.

Most Hollywood movies about anti-authority figures often lack authenticity because, well, they're from Hollywood, but COOL HAND LUKE is the real thing because Newman was the real thing, a guy who gladly and purposefully did things his own way, even at the risk of his career. It became one of his defining features and one of the things that endeared him to audiences, especially when LUKE was released in 1967, and it holds up today as a testament to not only a great actor and humanitarian, but also as a terrific piece of entertainment. It's the one we'll always remember him by.

HARD BOILED EGG EATING CONTEST BEFORE THE MOVIE! (Matt Kiernan)

http://drafthouse.com/movies/big_screen_classics_cool_hand_luke/austin