Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Newman's own.

Part of a sudden April flurry of catalog releases that also includes John Huston's The Maltese Falcon and Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, Stuart Rosenberg's classic prison drama Cool Hand Luke finally debuts on 4K UHD courtesy of Warner Bros., despite the fact that it isn't celebrating an anniversary ending with a "0" or "5". This new restoration replaces the one seen on WB's 15 year-old Blu-ray (despite that much older disc being included in this combo pack, unfortunately), and it's an overall solid effort that makes Cool Hand Luke look better than before.

Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the included Blu-ray, which is identical to WB's 2008 release.

WB's 4K restoration is clearly better in direct comparison to their older, VC-1 encoded Blu-ray, but surprisingly it's not as much of a night-and-day improvement as expected. The main reason, I suspect, is that Cool Hand Luke doesn't offer the type of immediately dazzling visuals that benefit the most from 4K/HDR, which applies to both its cinematography and its rather drab environments. This is, after all, a deliberately dour Florida prison (actually shot on location on and around the San Joaquin River Delta, as well as on interior sets built in Stockton, CA), with no shortage of pale brown-dominant interiors and dusty, dry outdoor locations to match -- there's plenty of sunlight overhead but very few warm blue skies or clusters of lush, attractive greenery. Spot-checking the 4K alongside the older Blu-ray, Cool Hand Luke's overall color scheme doesn't appear to have been fundamentally altered; it's perhaps a few shades less pink and with more pronounced blue tones on details like prison uniforms (more on that later), but this doesn't always approach the level of modern revisionism seen on other vintage films forced to comply with modern color trends.

Instead, what we get is a moderately tightened and less garish overall picture, one that has a more consistent visual identity that tends to favor strong mid-tones while simultaneously enjoying the high-and-low benefits of HDR to avoid black crush and white blooming -- deep shadows, headlights, and bare light bulbs all hold up much better to close examination now. I daresay it's a slightly prettier image, for lack of a better word; that's obviously not what the story's aiming for, though, so perhaps "more faithful" is a better term to use. Fine detail is clearly improved, from clothing textures and beads of sweat to caked-on dirt and small background details, while color levels also seem more uniquely represented overall, from normal skin tones to temporary conditions like sunburn and the overbearing haze of bright overhead light. Nighttime scenes also fare invariably better than the older Blu-ray, with stray light sources cutting strongly through the darkness while even the deepest pockets of shadow remain largely unaffected.

It's a solid improvement, all things considered, yet Cool Hand Luke's 4K restoration still falls a bit short of perfection for two reasons: its saturation is perhaps dialed a notch too high in some respects (the prison uniforms, some skin tones) which steers the palette ever-so slightly into "unnatural" territory, and mild compression artifacts can also be spotted along the way -- the latter isn't especially unusual for WB discs, though again it fares much better than the older Blu-ray's inefficient VC-1 ending. (It's unknown whether or not any sort of DNR was applied, as grain is sporadically present but, for the most part, very much on the light side.) Pound for pound, though, this 2160p transfer earns a strong 4/5 and will likely please most die-hard fans, especially those watching it on medium to large-sized displays.

Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I didn't have too many qualms with the older Blu-ray's lossy mono presentation... but this DTS-HD 2.0 (split mono) mix clearly surpasses it on overall clarity and fidelity with crisp dialogue, well-balanced background effects, and plenty of room left over for Lalo Schifrin's iconic original score. So while this is still an unavoidably thin and "unremarkable" sonic experience due to the limitations of its original source material, WB's long-overdue lossless presentation is more or less as good as it gets under the circumstances... and thankfully not some sort of half-baked surround mix.

A note about the Blu-ray, which is again identical to the older release: the packaging claims that it includes a lossless audio track, but that of course is false -- it's the same Dolby Digital Mono mix as before, and a DVD-quality bitrate one at that. Very misleading, as it subtly implies that this is some sort of remastered or improved disc.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and all applicable extras.

Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with attractive cover art, a handsome matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code tucked inside. Since the included Blu-ray is identical to WB's 2008 release, please see the linked review for more details. (One extra is thoughtfully included on both discs, as seen below.)

4K DISC

• Audio Commentary by Paul Newman biographer Eric Lax

BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary by Paul Newman biographer Eric Lax

• A Natural-Born World-Shaker: Making Cool Hand Luke (28:46)

• Theatrical Trailer (2:48)

Cool Hand Luke 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stuart Rosenberg's prison drama Cool Hand Luke is a product of its time, fitting in snugly with other "non-conformist" counterculture films of the late 1960s like Midnight Cowboy and, of course, Easy Rider, led by an iconic performance from Paul Newman that remains one of his most memorable. It's still appealing and accessible for those reasons and many more, which makes Warner Bros.' long-overdue 4K combo pack all the more welcome. While probably the least impressive of their three April catalog titles for several reasons (a solid but not perfect 2160p transfer, no new extras, and a recycled Blu-ray disc), it's still worth a purchase for die-hard fans and newcomers alike. Recommended.