DVD News
Cool Hand Luke gets the ‘Deluxe Edition’ treatment on DVD and Blu-ray
By Patrick Luce Aug 5, 2008, 14:43 GMT
Cool Hand Luke, the searing prison drama starring Paul Newman in one of his quintessential roles as a defiant chain-gang convict suffering a "failure to communicate,” will be released as a Deluxe Edition in both Standard Definition and Blu-ray Hi-Def on September 9th from Warner Home Video.
Cool Hand Luke Deluxe Edition will have a suggested retail price of $19.97 for the DVD and $28.99 for the Blu-ray.
From a Warner Home Video press release:
One of Hollywood’s most enduring superstars, Paul Newman made his debut in The Silver Chalice in 1954, followed by his first hit, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and other numerous successes, including The Hustler, Hud, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Nominated nine times for a Best Actor Oscar, he finally won in 1987 for his performance in The Color of Money. Most recently, Newman won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his role in the HBO mini-series “Empire Falls” and voiced the character Doc Hudson in Cars.
Synopsis:
Newman, who was Oscar-nominated for Best actor for his role, gives one of the most powerful performances of his career as Lucas “Luke” Jackson, a cool, gutsy prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who refuses to buckle under to authority, while repeatedly escaping and being recaptured.
The prisoners admire Luke because of his gumption but the head of the gang hates him and tries to break him by beating him often. Ultimately Luke gains the respect of all the convicts but with each escape and return he is subjected to more and harsher punishments by the sadistic guards.
This film is considered one of the most important of the ‘60s, a decade in which the theme of protest against the establishment was being played out daily in real-life events. Cool Hand Luke was nominated for four Academy Awards – for Best Music Score, Best Screenplay, and in the afore-mentioned Best Actor and Supporting Actor categories.
Special Features:
Commentary by noted writer and Paul Newman biographer, Eric Lax
All new featurette: A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke (an in-depth look at the creation of an uncompromising classic)
Theatrical trailer
