tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post3635716382826790580..comments2024-01-27T00:19:36.912-08:00Comments on Coleman's Corner in Cinema...: Cool Hand Luke (1967)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...http://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-7686306450047857492009-03-28T01:57:00.000-07:002009-03-28T01:57:00.000-07:00Thank you very much for the kind words, Buzz. Than...Thank you very much for the kind words, Buzz. Thank you, also, for that information about the famed line of dialogue, as well as letting everyone know that they can find this film in thirteen parts on YouTube. <BR/><BR/>I'm still glad I have my pristine DVD copy from TCM, however!Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-14428633517876201652009-03-27T21:47:00.000-07:002009-03-27T21:47:00.000-07:00Excellent commentary. I read the novel upon which ...Excellent commentary. I read the novel upon which Cool Hand Luke was based; the dialogue was very near verbatim. It is surprising to note that the famous "failure t' communicate" line did not appear in the book; I think it must have been improvised or simply added. One of my top ten US movies. Incidentally: the entire movie is serialized, in 13 parts, on YouTube.Buzznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-57433604882305214932009-01-06T00:43:00.000-08:002009-01-06T00:43:00.000-08:00Thank you so very much for the warm, kind and humb...Thank you so very much for the warm, kind and humbling comment, Tim. There is nothing I can say but thank you.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-52973537263066881462009-01-05T23:05:00.000-08:002009-01-05T23:05:00.000-08:00I'll be perfectly honest. Your piece here moved me...I'll be perfectly honest. Your piece here moved me to tears. I'll always remember the experience of seeing The Verdict opening weekend. Paul Newman was a giant among men. I too must thank you Alexander for showing me so much that is to be found in Cool Hand Luke. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-52639262586514623992008-12-22T23:49:00.000-08:002008-12-22T23:49:00.000-08:00Thank you, Laura. Not sure how I missed your comme...Thank you, Laura. Not sure how I missed your comment until now. Forgive me. Seeing this film a few days after the man's death was indeed a revelatory and therapeutic experience.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-84575369183715866062008-11-07T20:21:00.000-08:002008-11-07T20:21:00.000-08:00I love Paul Newman and I'm still getting over his ...I love Paul Newman and I'm still getting over his death. Reading this was downright therapeutic. Thank you, Mr. Coleman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-70537194210790077762008-10-13T12:12:00.000-07:002008-10-13T12:12:00.000-07:00TCM's 24-hour memorial tribute to Newman was a fan...TCM's 24-hour memorial tribute to Newman was a fantastic bit of continual programming to check in on periodically yesterday, which I did primarily to watch Robert Osborne's comments at the beginning and conclusion of the films played.<BR/><BR/>And, now, thanks to TCM, I finally have this picture on DVD. Yay.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-599871575286430882008-10-04T03:00:00.000-07:002008-10-04T03:00:00.000-07:00Tony, I was sure TCM would do this eventually, and...Tony, I was sure TCM would do this eventually, and I kept looking and looking for this, and just now I come here and you have it for all of us. Thank you!Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-14595329796132034712008-10-03T20:34:00.000-07:002008-10-03T20:34:00.000-07:00In case anyone missed the news, TCM (USA) is suspe...In case anyone missed the news, TCM (USA) is suspending scheduled programming on Sunday, October 12 for a special Paul Newman Tribute movie marathon:<BR/><BR/>6:00AM The Rack<BR/>8:00AM Until They Sail<BR/>10:00AM Torn Curtain<BR/>12:15PM Exodus<BR/>3:45PM Sweet Bird of Youth<BR/>6:00PM Hud<BR/>8:00PM Somebody Up There Likes Me<BR/>10:00PM Cool Hand Luke<BR/>12:15AM Cat on a Hot Tin Roof<BR/>2:15AM Rachel, Rachel<BR/>4:00AM The OutrageTony D'Ambrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359495250856189815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-84298717415301890342008-10-03T15:25:00.000-07:002008-10-03T15:25:00.000-07:00Thank you yet again for your warmly ebullient comm...Thank you yet again for your warmly ebullient comments, Sam, I'm overwhelmed! Thanks, most sincerely.<BR/><BR/>I must confess, your point about Luke being as cold as Hud and Eddie and numerous other Newman characterizations, is very much true, Sam. <I>Cool Hand Luke</I> is the film of Newman's that seems to most properly be termed as a picture that is finally greater than the sum of its parts, but it is those parts that do contribute to its tapestry, which it carries like a dosser. George Kennedy serves as a kind of window through which the audience is allowed to relate to Luke, which is a reversal of most films like this (though I notice that <I>The Shawshank Redemption</I> pivoted its character study in a similar manner with the veteran prisoner representing the audience's eyes with regards to the newcomer).<BR/><BR/>Then, of course, there is that famous line. "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Taken on the level of the spiritually metaphysical, this quotable remark can also be seen as the failure of Luke to communicate with the big bearded Boss, including the scene near the end in the church.<BR/><BR/>Thank you again, greatly, Sam.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-5363573650914935462008-10-03T14:53:00.000-07:002008-10-03T14:53:00.000-07:00I left out further commendation. Now here is sent...I left out further commendation. Now here is sentence that deserves to be printed again:<BR/><BR/>"COOL HAND LUKE is a film of a certain ravishing poignancy, and possesses a deeper sociopolitical message with a portrayal of religious transmorgification without being sententious."<BR/><BR/> Great stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-51720283896727494102008-10-03T14:46:00.000-07:002008-10-03T14:46:00.000-07:00I never got to see BLINDNESS, Alexander, as the th...I never got to see BLINDNESS, Alexander, as the they had serious problems at the theatre with the sound, so I wound up joining my family (eher I should have been in the first place)and saw that terrible BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAWA. LOL!<BR/><BR/> I am convined after reading yet another painstaking analytical thematic essay by Alexander Coleman, that this young man has a serious writing career ahead of him. I continue to be in awe of the sentences he writes, the unified paragraphs he ties together and the use of dazzling vocabulary and construction.<BR/><BR/> The excellent overview of Newman in paragraph one, discussing the varying qualities he exhibited in a variety of roles, is followed by a rightful acknowledgement of Newman's Luke as a "transitional role" in a "transitional film." I never looked at that way, but he's completely right, and it makes sense in the way he frames the actor's career role swings.<BR/> The next three paragraphs of this superlative academic analysis of the seminal film (a film that oddly left me cold initially, but have come to reassess more favorably--truth is Luke is every bit as cold and detached as Hud Bannon and Eddie Felson)examines Luke as a Christ-like figure and brilliantly makes a most persuasive argument to make it seem as if Rosenberg set out deliberately to make this thematic tie-in. Perhaps he did. In any case, it gives the character profound dimension and thus the film a penetrating underercurrent that enables one to interpret it on more than a literal level, a rare attribute for American films at this time apart from Nichols' THE GRADUATE and Penn's BONNIE AND CLYDE. <BR/> The presentation of the "plastic Jesus" lyrics at the end make the thematic examination full circle.<BR/><BR/> This is truly a consumate, alltogether fascinating piece of film criticism. I am simply running out of superlatives for Alexander Coleman. His passion for Paul Newman could not have found a more eloquent and studied voice than it did in this film, which I think edges HUD, BUTCH CASSIDY and THE STING as the actor's most popular.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-58043473122952541462008-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:002008-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00Ah, you're seeing Blindness.Ah, you're seeing <I>Blindness</I>.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-74042311082703527802008-10-03T11:08:00.000-07:002008-10-03T11:08:00.000-07:00Have much fun at your matinee, Sam. (Is this the l...Have much fun at your matinee, Sam. (Is this the little dog movie?)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-84965104319321582962008-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:002008-10-03T10:49:00.000-07:00I do not want to give this spectacular-looking ess...I do not want to give this spectacular-looking essay anything but top-drawer consideration, so when I come home from a matinee film with my wife and kids I will get on the computer, read it through and post an appropriate comment!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-19151959867201838162008-10-03T10:24:00.000-07:002008-10-03T10:24:00.000-07:00Thank you greatly for those very kind and consider...Thank you greatly for those very kind and considerate words, Tony. I'm pleased you found this piece as informative as you did!<BR/><BR/>Thank you also for relating that story. Quite interesting and it makes a great deal of sense. Newman's <I>Cool Hand Luke</I> performance has that intangible quality: a movie star has become something more, he's become part of American culture, a veritable staple of the cinema and an intimidatingly iconic figure. I can certainly see how this picture would stir Newman to value his philanthropic work above all else.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-88710016623286122102008-10-03T04:52:00.000-07:002008-10-03T04:52:00.000-07:00Alexander, this is a beautiful elegy to a personif...Alexander, this is a beautiful elegy to a personification that inspires both believers and non-believers, and to the man that so profoundly realised it. <BR/><BR/>You have shown me so much I have missed in this cherished film. Thank you.<BR/><BR/>On the day of Newman's passing, I heard a radio interview with the writer, A.E. Hotchner, who with Newman started Newman's Own Salad Dressing company in the 1980s, all the profits of which are donated to charities. Hotchner mentioned that his friend of 40 years was transformed by his role in Cool Hand Luke into the man who in his later years valued his philanthropic work above all else.Tony D'Ambrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359495250856189815noreply@blogger.com