22 In Case You Missed It Cinematic Classics

Cool Hand Luke - 1967 Paul Newman is one of my

favorite actors, and in this � lm he stars as ‘Cool Hand’ Lucas Jackson, a rebellious loner sent to prison to work on a chain gang for a drunken act of vandalism. Luke’s carefree independent de-meanor quickly begins to clash against the strict rules and struc-

ture required of prison life. Uncompromising to a fault, Luke refuses to let anyone get the best of him or bend to perceived injustices in� icted upon him, no ma� er the cost. Cool Hand Luke is � lled with many iconic scenes such as the futile boxing match with rival inmate Dragline, the 50 egg challenge, and the warden’s ‘failure to communicate’ the importance of following his strict set of rules to Luke. For anyone who has ever felt trapped by the system and wanted to � ght back for their beliefs, Luke is their heroic embodiment of those values. No walls or chains can stop him from living life by his own rules and to never give up � ghting for what he believes. Newman carries this � lm with such charisma and charm it will have you wondering why

you’ve never given this movie a chance before.� e Graduate - 1967

Never had a � lm with such a slightly ambiguous and somewhat uncomfortable ending created such a stark, poignant, and culturally rel-evant social commentary on the current state of America’s youth quite like the closing moments of Mike Nichol’s

� e Graduate did. Dustin Ho� man stars as Benjamin Brad-dock, an awkward and disillusioned youth recently gradu-ated from college but lacking purpose or the personal drive to take the next step in his life. � at is until the wife of his father’s business partner Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancro� ) draws Benjamin into a steamy secret love a� air. � e situa-tion becomes even more complicated when Benjamin falls for Mrs. Robinson’s daughter and becomes determined to win her heart. � e birth of � lms speci� cally targeting youth culture, � e Graduate was the � rst � lm to use current pop

music for its soundtrack (Simon and Garfunkel), as odd as that sounds today. It’s a funny, dramatic, scandalous, and

still wonderfully entertaining � lm that everyone needs to see at least once…..or many times.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - 1969 Another iconic � lm starring

Paul Newman, this time paired with Robert Redford as love-able outlaws on the run from a posse of lawmen, robbing banks and trains across two continents

along the way. Newman plays Butch, the brains and lead-er of the two while Redford plays the Sundance Kid, the lightning fast gunman with a harnessed temper. Provid-ing the blueprint for every bickering buddy � lm to follow for decades, the � lm’s charming antiheroes, based on the

true to life wild-west outlaws of the same name, will have you rooting for them from the opening scene. It is the legendary ending; however, which launched it into � lm history.

A Clockwork Orange - 1971One of the most controver-

sial � lms of all time, A Clock-work Orange sparked one of

the � rst of many national debates about graphic violence in movies, and its e� ect on youth. Malcolm McDowell stars as Alex, a disturbed sociopathic teenager who spends his days wandering the streets with his ‘droogs’ looking for trouble and a bit of ‘ultra-violence’ in the not too distant future of London. Alex eventually is incarcerated for one of his crimes, but he is later chosen as a candidate for a new experimental program meant to rehabilitate him through an intense brain washing therapy. � e results of Alex reen-tering the world reborn are just as unse� ling as his previ-ous life of crime. � e � lm was so divisive upon its initial release that its director Stanley Kubrick eventually had the � lm pulled from circulation in England a� er receiving death threats where it remained banned from the country for nearly three decades. Based upon Anthony Burgess’ for nearly three decades. Based upon Anthony Burgess’

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