Cool Hand Luke – Discussion Questions
US in the 1960s
This 1967 film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, follows the non-conformist anti-hero Luke, played by Paul Newman, as he resists authority while on a southern prison chain gang. His example as a “world shaker” inspires the other convicts but, in an allusion to the story of Jesus Christ, they are unable to live up to his teachings fully and, during a final act of defiance, Luke is killed by Godfrey, one of the prison guards.
Awards: Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Music Score, and won only for Best Supporting Actor.
Excerpt: 1:04:00-1:40:00
How do the prison guards and the Captain treat Luke after his mother died? Why do they do this? What does it suggest about rule-bound institutions of the modern era?
How does Luke demonstrate an “individualistic spirit” and “defiance of authority”? What ways of thinking and actions make him a “world shaker”?
Why does the prison system have to break Luke? What does he represent on the chain gang and in society as a whole?
What does the Captain mean about “a failure to communicate”? Who misunderstands who? What is the misunderstanding?
What does Luke have to do to “get his mind right”? How do the prison guards and Captain coerce him to this end?
In what ways is the movie’s plot like the story of Jesus Christ? How does the film update that story for a mid-twentieth century western audience?
How does Cool Hand Luke reflect the concerns and events of the mid- to late-1960s in the United States? What makes it a film of it’s time and place?