Episode 208 - Cool Hand Luke
This week, we’re taking it off, boss… one button at a time as we head to the chain gang with Cool Hand Luke the ultimate story of rebellion, defiance, and a man who simply refuses to play by the rules.
Chosen by our brilliant Patreon supporter Luke (couldn’t have picked a more perfect film if he tried), this episode dives deep into one of the coolest anti-heroes ever put on screen.
From parking meter carnage to egg-eating madness, we’re breaking down everything that makes this film an enduring classic and uncovering the wild behind-the-scenes stories that make it even better.
A massive thank you to Luke for choosing this week’s film, an absolute belter of a pick. If you want to choose an episode and support the show, read on…
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Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg[3] written by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson, and starring Paul Newman in the title role. The cast also features George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Strother Martin and Jo Van Fleet. Based on Pearce's semi-autobiographical 1965 novel, the film is about a nonconformist convict in an early 1950s Florida prison camp who refuses to submit to the system.
Filming took place within California's San Joaquin River Delta region; the set, imitating a prison farm in the Deep South, was based on photographs and measurements made by a crew the filmmakers sent to a Road Prison in Gainesville, Florida. Lalo Schifrin wrote the film's Oscar-nominated musical score.
Upon its release, Cool Hand Luke received favorable reviews and was a box-office success. It cemented Newman's status as one of the era's top actors, and was called the "touchstone of an era". Roger Ebert called Cool Hand Luke an anti-establishment film shot during emerging popular opposition to the Vietnam War.
The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Newman, with George Kennedy winning for Best Supporting Actor. Both also received Golden Globe nods for their performances. In 2005, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, considering it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4][5] The film also has a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
