Cool Hand Luke 4K UHD

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
USA 1967

Paul Newman is Lucas Jackson, a man sentenced to serve hard time in a tough chain gang in 1940s Florida. Enduring sadistic wardens, egg-eating contests, and a definite "failure to communicate," Luke earns the admiration of Dragline (George Kennedy, in his Oscar-winning role) and the other convicts, but the system proves equally determined to break him once and for all. Strother Martin, Morgan Woodward, Anthony Zerbe, and Joy Harmon as "the Girl" star; directed by Stuart Rosenberg.

***

During his reign as a top box office star in the sixties, Paul Newman made his mark in films featuring rebellious, anti-establishment characters. Cool Hand Luke (1967) is a perfect example and one of his most audience-pleasing movies. Unlike the characters he played in The Hustler or Hud, Luke is actually based on a real-life character, Donald Graham Garrison, who was a convicted safecracker. In the course of his career, Garrison stole between $4 and $5 million dollars. Garrison's exploits inspired a novel by Donn Pearce, another ex-convict, who combined details from his own incarceration with Garrison's story to create a compelling anti-hero. Pearce even makes a brief cameo in the film as an ex-con named Sailor.

Cool Hand Luke was set in the Deep South but actually filmed on location in Stockton, California. While the movie painted an authentic visual portrait of life on a chain gang, it was individual scenes that earned Cool Hand Luke a cult reputation: Strother Martin as the head jailer uttering the famous line, "What we got here is failure to communicate," Newman's egg-eating contest, and the brutal boxing match between Newman and his fellow in-mate George Kennedy. The movie makes for particularly interesting viewing today due to its eclectic and fascinating supporting cast - Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Wayne Rogers (from the TV series M.A.S.H.), Ralph Waite (from the TV series The Waltons), Joe Don Baker, Anthony Zerbe, and Richard Davalos, who appeared with James Dean in East of Eden.

Excerpt from TCM review located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: November 1st, 1967

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Review: Warner - Region FREE - 4K UHD

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: 4K UHD Steelbook: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Warner - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Runtime	2:06:33.585
Video	2.39:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 70,138,013,974 bytes Feature: 62,963,490,816 bytes Video Bitrate: 59.58 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate 4K Ultra HD:
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1768 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1768 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DUBs: Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio Italian 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Dolby Digital Audio Czech 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -27dB
Subtitles	English (SDH), French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Danish, Finnish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner 2.39:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 70,138,013,974 bytes Feature: 62,963,490,816 bytes Video Bitrate: 59.58 Mbps Codec: HEVC Video Edition Details: 4K Ultra HD disc • Commentary by historian, Newman Biographer Eric Lax • Documentary: Natural Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke (28:46) • Trailer (2:48) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray • Commentary by historian, Newman Biographer Eric Lax • Documentary: Natural Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke (28:46) • Trailer (2:48) 4K Ultra HD Release Date: April 4th, 2023 Black 4K Ultra HD Case inside slipcase Chapters 37

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: (April 2023) Warner have released Stuart Rosenberg's "Cool Hand Luke" to 4K UHD. The package includes the 2008 Warner Blu-ray (compared to two DVDs HERE).

The 2160P image looked wonderful on my system - mostly brighter, cooler skin tones (the VC-1 encoded Blu-ray's were decidedly warm), a blue-ish leaning (inmate uniforms) and a rise in detail - seeing the craggy face of Boss Godfrey ('the man with no eyes'.) The film has plenty of inherent softness but this more layered contrast helps provide the perception of a tighter, more pleasing image. I have watched the BD many times and I loved this 4K UHD improvement. Depth is infrequent and textures are not prominent. Digitization? I would say 'no' in my viewing, but I can't 100% rule it out.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 59 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

The most recent 4K UHD packages we have reviewed to date: The Seventh Seal (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Maltese Falcon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mildred Pierce (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tár (software uniformly simulated HDR), Marathon Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dazed and Confused (software uniformly simulated HDR), Three Colors: Blue (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invaders From Mars (software uniformly simulated HDR), Death Wish (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (no HDR), High Plains Drifter (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mystery Men (software uniformly simulated HDR), Silent Running (software uniformly simulated HDR), Dressed to Kill (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Power of the Dog (software uniformly simulated HDR), Escape From Alcatraz (software uniformly simulated HDR), I, the Jury (no HDR), Casablanca (software uniformly simulated HDR), In the Mood For Love (NO HDR applied to disc), The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Woman (software uniformly simulated HDR), Blow Out (software uniformly simulated HDR), Night of the Living Dead (NO HDR applied to disc), Lost Highway (software uniformly simulated HDR), Videodrome (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Last Picture Show (software uniformly simulated HDR), It Happened One Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Mummy (1932)(software uniformly simulated HDR), Creature From the Black Lagoon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Bride of Frankenstein (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Amityville Horror (software uniformly simulated HDR), The War of the Worlds (1953) (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Incredible Melting Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), Event Horizon (software uniformly simulated HDR), Get Carter (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Killing (software uniformly simulated HDR), Killer's Kiss (software uniformly simulated HDR)

On their 4K UHD, Warner use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel that is more robust than the 2008 Dolby Digital Blu-ray edition audio transfer. "Cool Hand Luke" has gunfire, guard initiated beatings and the boxing match with Newman and Kennedy represent some of the violence. They aren't particularly punctuated in the lossless and remain authentically flat. The enjoyable score - nominated for an Academy Award for 'Best Original Score' - is by Argentinean Lalo Schifrin (famous as the guy behind the Mission: Impossible theme as well as Coogan's Bluff, Joe Kidd, Eye of the Cat, Rollercoaster, Charley Varrick, The Nude Bomb, Day of the Animals, Hit!, Man on a Swing, The Manitou, Tango and many other films) plus "Cool Hand Luke" has memorable banjo tunes; Paul Newman singing Plastic Jesus - after the death of his mother - and Harry Dean Stanton performing Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Midnight Special, There Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down and Leadbelly's Cotton Fields. The audio is flawless and fully supportive of the transfer's strong video - obviously well ahead of the Blu-ray. The disc offers optional English (SDH) and European subtitles and foreign-language DUBs - and is, like all 4K UHD, region FREE, playable worldwide. The 2008 Warner Blu-ray included here is also region FREE.

There 4K UHD disc offers the same extras as the second disc Blu-ray, which are the repeated 2008 Blu-ray and DVD editions. This includes, on both discs, the expert commentary by Newman biographer Eric Lax (Paul Newman: A Celebration.) I enjoy his revealing comments and he is well-prepared with an encyclopedic knowledge of the film, star, cast and crew. Plenty of deserved accolades for Newman... Also included is the 2008 1/2 hour featurette on the 'Making of...' ('A Natural Born World-Shaker: Making 'Cool Hand Luke') with on-set footage plus interviews with author Pearce and screenwriter Pierson - plus Stuart Rosenberg, in his final interview plus comments from Ralph Waite, George Kennedy, Clifton James, Lou Antonio, Anthony Zerbe, Hank Moonjean, Joy Harmon and Lalo Schifrin. I enjoyed all the input to further enhance by adoration of Cool Hand Luke. Finally a trailer.

Stuart Rosenberg's "Cool Hand Luke" is iconic. In 2005 it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. For many it is their favorite Paul Newman role. Rosenberg wanted the cast to internalize life on a chain gang and banned the presence of wives on set. We only have two prominent females; Luke's mother, Arletta, played with perfection by Jo Van Fleet and sexy Joy Harmon who teases the prisoners by washing her car and displaying her soapy, barely concealed, breasts. Cool Hand Luke is rife with Christian imagery - my favorite being Luke as Christ on the cross after completing the daunting task of eating 50 eggs. Actually, Luke is frequently portrayed as a sacrificed "Jesus-like redeemer figure" and it's no coincidence he sings "Plastic Jesus". One of the more re-watchable films I own and Warner's 4K UHD release is a keeper. Absolutely recommended!