Cool Hand Luke

Chiming perfectly with the Summer of Love in which it was released, this subtle blend of acknowledging the needs of the individual and respecting a freedom of spirit was one of the key American films of the 1960s. It's basically an old-fashioned chain-gang movie - not much had changed at Warner Bros since the days of Paul Muni's I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang - except that this time the tale is told in stunning Technicolor. Paul Newman is superb in the Muni role, and both the prologue and the egg-eating scene have become screen classics. The religious symbolism does get a little tiresome, but the movie is clearly the career high point of director Stuart Rosenberg and a real credit to Jack Lemmon's production company. The film was also influential in the massive popularity of Raybans!