Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Information at Internet Movie Database
Themes
- Cleansing/Destroying the Temple
  - "Conflict with the prison establishment is inevitable and the last straw comes when Luke encourages his fellow inmates to complete, with enthusiasm, the arduous task of repaving a highway well before five o?clock. The road paving episode is the equivalent of Jesus cursing the Jerusalem Temple. Luke is seen as a dissident and the ruling authorities plot to humiliate him." ("The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical Epic," Matthew Mc Ever, Journal of Religion and Film, 1998)
- Crucifixion
  - In the final scene, Dragline is reminiscing/preaching about Luke and the torn photograph of Luke with the two prostitutes is superimposed on the shot. As the camera pulls away further into the sky, the crossroad becomes a cross and Luke of course is imposed on it. I think this is even more interesting image of crucifixion than the scene following the egg eating episode. (Dean Cramer)
  - Luke lies in shape of cross after eating the 50 eggs
- Faith
  - Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
    
    Luke wins the poker game with nothing. He reply to "Dragline" stating sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand. Luke's prison uniform number is 37. (Dean Cramer)
- Eucharist
  - I don't have a one to one relationship for this analogy, but the scene after Luke comes out of the box for a week, and his stomach is shrunk so that he can't eat his rice, when prisoner after prisoner takes a scoop of his rice so that he won't have to be punished anymore gives me a strong feeling of the communal aspect of the Lord's Supper. Take and eat, this is my body... (Tim Ihssen)
- Great Commission
  - After he's escaped for the last time, and before he's delivered unto his death, Luke tells Dragline that he's done enough world-shakin', that he's going to leave that job to them (his disciples), which Dragline proves in the final sequence as he has gathered about him all the inmates, who will spread Luke's story. (Tim Ihssen)
- Mary
  - Luke's mother's name is Arletta (Our Lady), and when he learns about her death, he sings about the Virgin Mary sitting on a abalone shell. In his conversation with his mother, he makes sure his brother John ought to receive the inherited land, just as Jesus made sure John and Mary took care of one another from the cross. Some Christians might have a hard time reconciling the image of an ancient, smoking, hacking woman as the Virgin Mary, but there it is... (Tim Ihssen)
- Prayer
  - [Discussing God and the rain]
    Lucas (Luke) Jackson: Let him go. Bam, Bam.
    Dragline: Knock it off, Luke. You can't talk about Him that way.
    Lucas (Luke) Jackson: Are you still believin' in that big bearded Boss up there? You think he's watchin' us?
    Dragline: Get in here. Ain't ya scared? Ain't ya scared of dyin'?
    Lucas (Luke) Jackson: Dyin'? Boy, he can have this little life any time he wants to. Do ya hear that? Are ya hearin' it? Come on. You're welcome to it, ol' timer. Let me know you're up there. Come on. Love me, hate me, kill me, anything. Just let me know it. [He looks around] I'm just standin' in the rain talkin' to myself. (Quote from Internet Movie Database @ http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0061512) (David K. Miller)
  - At the end of the movie, Luke has escaped from a prison work gang and finds himself in an abandoned church. His prayers sounds much like a rebellious son trying to get the attention of an absent father. (David K. Miller)
  - The Prayer in the Church: An absolutely perfect representation of the Garden of Gethsemane. For heaven's sake, he even calls God "Old Man," which is slang for Father, of course; but he also asks if there isn't another way out of this mess, and God answers with silence, which Jesus must have felt. And the "answer" that God sends him is Judas, leading the authorities who will take him away to his death. Luke's "If that's the way you want it..." equals "Not my will, but yours be done," with a Luke attitude, naturally. (Tim Ihssen)
- Resurrection
  - photo of Luke with 2 women is taped back together
  - This film has several resurrections, starting with his "crucifixion" following the egg incident. The other, as was mentioned, was his picture being taped up and superimposed on a cross. A third was when he was ordered to dig his own grave, and kept on crawling out; he finally gave up the ghost, and the reaction of his "disciples" was very interesting. The ignored him as a "sell out," which is what the disciples might have felt when he died that Good Friday - 'Here we put all our marbles in this one hat, and he goes and dies on us. What a waste. Boy, were we ever stupid. This isn't God after all - it's just a guy, like you and me, a guy who can be killed.' Which made his ensuing escape even more victorious. (Tim Ihssen)
- Rebirth/New Life
  - Luke is gunned down by the spiritually blind "man with no eyes," a guard who wears reflective sunglasses throughout the film. "Dragline" (George Kennedy), Luke?s companion, attacks the guard and his trademark glasses are crushed, suggesting that Luke?s death has liberated the inmates once and for all. ("The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical Epic," Matthew Mc Ever, Journal of Religion and Film, 1998)
- Sacrifice/Redemption
  - The 50 eggs also represent the 50 souls of the inmates that Luke sacrifices himself for. (Dean Cramer)

Index of Movie Titles

Index of Movie Themes