“Cool Hand Luke Deluxe Edition” September 9 From Warner Home Video
(May 12, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – “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 9 from Warner Home Video. Newly remastered, the film boasts all-new featurettes, including “The Making of Cool Hand Luke,” a profile of novelist, co-screenwriter and the real “Cool Hand Luke” Donn Pearce, and “Luke,” a poetic documentary showing one day of film production on a country road near Stockton, California. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards® with co-star George Kennedy winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for his performance as Luke’s hillbilly sidekick Dragline.
“Cool Hand Luke Deluxe Edition” will sell for $19.97 SRP and the Blu-ray™ Hi-Def will be released for $28.99 SRP. Order due date for SD and Blu-ray™ Hi-Def is August 5, 2008.
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.” “The Paul Newman Collection,” featuring seven of the actor’s outstanding films, is currently available from WHV.
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 more harsh 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” (a profile of Donn Pearce, novelist, co-screenwriter and the real “Cool hand Luke”)
• Poetic documentary – “Luke” (documentary showing one day of film production)
• Theatrical Trailer With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #
• All new featurette: “A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke” (a profile of Donn Pearce, novelist, co-screenwriter and the real “Cool hand Luke”)
• Poetic documentary – “Luke” (documentary showing one day of film production)
• Theatrical Trailer With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.