SYNOPSICS
Hud (1963) is a English movie. Martin Ritt has directed this movie. Paul Newman,Melvyn Douglas,Patricia Neal,Brandon De Wilde are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1963. Hud (1963) is considered one of the best Drama,Western movie in India and around the world.
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
Same Actors
Hud (1963) Reviews
A Hard Western Look
I knew I had seen it, I had a black and white James Wong Howe Cinemascope memory and Paul Newman's body language. How he walks, how he stands. I remember thinking that Jake Gyllenhaal had borrowed that physicality for his character in "Brokeback Mountain" and I just realized that Larry McMurtry is the author of both "Brokeback Mountain" and "Hud". He provides us with a look into the modern cowboy that is not only unique but mesmerizing. Paul Newman's Hud is a cad and yet you feel we sense that behind the bravado hides a desperate man looking for something. Something personal and unspoken. Hud is one of my favorite Newman performances. Soulless and yet needy. Is it a coincidence that the only woman that"got away" from Hud is named Alma? - Alma in Spanish means soul - Alma is played by Patricia Neal with power and humanity and she won the Oscar for it. Melvyn Douglas also won the Oscar for his superb performance and Brandon de Wilde deserved one of his own. He is extraordinary. Hud has become an important film in my life and in future viewings in years to come I may discover why.
The film that crashed Newman into the top echelon..
The title character, a cattleman in contemporary Texas, is the quintessence of Newman's amoral, opportunistic loners: he's arrogant, seething with ambition, incapable of much warmth or affection He quarrels, drinks heavily, takes women with crude assurance ("The only question I ever ask any woman is 'What time is your husband coming home?' "), and doesn't give a damn about anyone except himself Newman brings his familiar characteristics to perfection: the cynical, cold in manner; the nasty, contemptuous voice; the sly, insinuating smile He's a model of casual defiance and detachment, as he drinks a pint of bourbon or stands insolently, hands on hips, hat down low over his forehead, or roars through the dusty town in his convertible Cadillac, making business deals or picking up loose women... Hud resembles Ben Quick, which isn't surprising, since director Martin Ritt and writers Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. also did "The Long, Hot Summer." Like Quick, he is considerably sexy and charming, which attracts women and drinking buddies He's the best example of Newman's idea of the glamorous, captivating, virile, but essentially rotten men we mistakenly admire; according to Newman, the film is meant to expose his underlying corruption The drama revolves around the discovery of Hud's amorality by Lon (Brandon de Wilde), his seventeen-year-o1d nephew Lon admires his uncle, but is ultimately torn between Hud's hedonism and the high moral principles of Hud's father, aging Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas). When Homer's cattle become diseased, Hud wants to sell them quickly, but Homer refuses to spread an epidemic, and has them destroyed Hud really becomes despicable as he tries to have his father certified incompetent, so that he can take over the ranch Like Chance Wayne ("Sweet Bird of Youth"), he's afraid of ending up in poverty: "You don't look out for yourself, the only helping hand you'll ever get is when they lower the box." Whereas Quick turned out to be a good guy after all, and Fast Eddie and Chance matured through pain and punishment, Hud is untouched and unregenerate to the very end Refusing to accept his guilt, he says he's only as corrupt as everyone else; before he goes into the house, he angrily yells, "The world's so full of crap a man's going to get into it sooner or later, whether he's careful or not. " Many people considered Hud a hero But this is natural, since the film is actually filled with compromises For instance, Homer, the representative of goodness, is self-righteous, inflexible, full of solemn, pious platitudes, and generally unappealing, while Hud is vital, life-affirming and humorous Furthermore, Homer's contempt for Hud, which he justifies by Hud's having never given a damn, seems unfair Apparently he soured on Hud when the latter was in his teens, and thus the boy was denied love when he most needed it This again brings up the father-son alienation theme, and it makes us sympathetic toward Hud Even in his relations with others, Hud is not entirely despicable He displays some tenderness toward Lon, especially in the scene in which they get drunk together There's a touching moment as Hud says, somewhat sadly, "Get all the good you can out of seventeen, because it sure wears out in one hell of a hurry." In his cynical conversations with Alma, he has Quick's insolent sexual confidence, but Alma is experienced, earthy and just as cynical, and she even seems to encourage his sly innuendos, making it a match of equals rather than a one-sided sexual pursuit Finally, how does an actor play a man whose overpowering charm attracts people, without attracting the audience as well? Of course this is a problem inherent in all of Newman's sexy villains, but at least with Quick and Eddie the charming traits prepare us for their reformations, while with Hud they work against the concept of his worthlessness At this stage in his career, Newman was so appealing that it was hard to consider him as completely rotten "Hud" was nominated for seven Oscars Awards went to Neal, Douglas and cinematographer James Wong Howe Newman, up for his third Oscar, said, "I'd like to see Sidney Poitier get it. I'd be proud to win it for a role I really had to reach for." He got his wish: Poitier ("Lilies of the Field") won In any case, "Hud" found Newman near the top of his form, and it was a culmination of the "seed of corruption" theme To be sure, subsequent characters would be corrupt, and would coldly reject the world, but never as a result of such intense ambition
Great American prose poem
One Hell of a movie, and very nearly perfect. Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, and Brandon De Wilde star as three generations of a ranching family. Douglas is the patriarch, stern and strong, but clearly moving ever closer to the end of his life. Paul Newman, who plays the title character, is his youngest and only surviving son. There is an obvious but unspoken conflict between the two of them. In the middle is Brandon De Wilde, actually the film's main character (although all the choice acting moments belong to Douglas and Newman, and the yet to be mentioned Patricia Neal). His father, Newman's brother, died when he was very young. Growing up in Douglas' shadow, he worships the man and tries to emulate his moral code. However, his wilder side sees the untamed Newman as a sort of folk hero, and the rare times when he gets to hang out with his uncle seem to him to be the best of his life. Patricia Neal plays their maid (brilliantly, I should immediately state), after whom both uncle and nephew lust. A different conflict arises from this. As Hud, Paul Newman has many chances to be a second James Dean, exploding with emotion. Those scenes are excellent, of course, but where Hud succeeds most is at the edges of the screen. It is an enormously subtle film. The filmmakers should especially be commended for their amazing use of musical score. There is a really beautiful score, but it is never used, not once, to steer the audience's emotions. A good 90% of the film has no music in the background. Hud is an American masterpiece. 10/10.
"You're An Unprincipled Man, Hud."
Hud Bannon is a hell-raising cowboy with a pink cadillac who lives on a lonely farm with his old father and his teenage nephew. There is a glaring mismatch between Hud's playboy inclinations and the dour, empty life of the farm. A traumatic event brings these family tensions to a head. The broad flat expanses of the Texas cow country are captured evocatively in Panavision. This is a world of open cattle range, small sleepy towns, screen doors, stetsons and tooled-leather boots. The land is arid and unforgiving, and the life here is hard. Farmers pass their evenings sitting on plain wooden porches, listening to the whipoorwills, and the youngsters rent the same old pulp novels at the general store. Elmer Bernstein's elegantly simple score underlines the starkness of this existence. Country music bleeds from juke boxes and transistor radios, as bland and omnipresent as the dust, creeping into every crevice of the film. Hud is a fine-looking man with undeniable charm, but he is also a cruel, selfish stud. He is now 34 years old, and his years of drinking, fighting and womanising are beginning to take on the aspect of a wasted life. The opening moments of the film show young Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde) scouring the town streets in the early morning light, searching for his Uncle Hud. We get to know Hud by the trail of destruction he has left in his wake. A bar owner, sweeping up broken glass, tells Lonnie "I had Hud in here is what I had." A woman's high-heel shoe, abandoned on the garden path, tells Lonnie exactly where his uncle spent the night. Running around with married women is Hud's style. It is an affront to this close-knit conservative community, and an emotional and biological dead-end. "I always say, the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner" pronounces Hud, who bends every rule to suit his own inclination. He avoids the anger of a cuckolded husband by shifting the blame to the innocent Lonnie, and when a serious problem arises with the family herd, Hud wants to sell the cattle quickly, aiming to preserve his own wealth and pass the problem on to others. His father Homer (Mervyn Douglas) is a man of unimpeachable honesty, and we see a glance pass between him and Hud which tells us everything. Father and son know each other's true worth. It surprises Hud that Homer should seek his opinion on the cattle problem. For a long time now, the old man has been running the farm without Hud taking any responsibility. "He didn't ask me about anything in fifteen years." Gradually, we begin to learn about a family tragedy which has irrevocably alienated the two men. The pig-chasing game at the rodeo is an ironic comment on skirt-chasing, and of course Hud wins the prize. He has the confident swagger and the jaunty-hipped stance of a man who knows he is pleasing to women. His sexual banter with Alma runs through the film. Alma admires Hud sexually, but his interest in her is limited to mere conquest. In pursuing her he flouts the rules of taste and decency (she is an employee, almost family, and he is brutal towards her). This is prefigured when he arrogantly parks his cadillac on her flower bed. Alma keeps house for the Bannons. She enjoys the masculine atmosphere and takes the coarse innuendo with good-natured amusement. Patricia Neame plays Alma with a loose-limbed, barefoot sexiness which ultimately brings her trouble. She has flirtatious fun with Lonnie and confesses to being aroused sexually by Hud's torso. When Homer tells Lonnie that women like to be around dangerous men, Alma leans into shot. However, Alma the divorcee has no illusions about Hud - "I done my time with one cold-blooded bastard," she says. "I'm not looking for another." The film is packed with wonderful images. As Lonnie crosses the dusty street, his upper body is obscured by the rodeo banner, suggesting that his individuality is being compromised by the hard round of rural life, the unending interplay of sun and dirt. The slanting tree with its ominous burden of buzzards frames the pick-up truck, presaging trouble. Homer and the vet, discussing cattle in the foreground, bracket the distant Hud. He is diminished and marginalised by these serious cattlemen. Gates close on the farm, with quarantine signs attached, showing more eloquently than any words how Homer's world is narrowing and darkening. A bulldozer traverses the screen from left to right, effecting a 'wipe', leaving the three Bannons alone against the dirt, in an emblem of the devastation the government has visited upon them. As they gaze into the pit, the bulldozer squats above them in triumph. Hud is 'enclosed' by the angle of his cadillac's door, just as his life is hemmed in by his shallow hedonism. At the depot Alma's body is framed by Hud's hat and chest, hinting at his oppressive sexuality. The two of them are caught fleetingly in the rectangle of the bus door, Alma symbolically shown as 'the one that got away'. The slick, sardonic script is first class, and the film is bursting with symbolic resonances. Homer carries a picture of his long-dead boy in his wallet, but none of Hud, his living son. The cattle are trapped in a timber chute, symbolising the claustrophobic existence of the humans. The sexual violence is played out in panting silence - these people have nothing to say to each other. Homer's longhorns were once the source of everything good - food, clothing, tools. Now they are harbingers of pestilence. At the heart of the farm is the water butt, and Lonnie and Hud bond here after their night of carousal. Later, when Lonnie rejects Hud, the butt stands between them. Lonnie knows he will ultimately have to choose between right and wrong. In the windswept silence of the farm, emblem of the family's demise, he makes his choice.
Hard to take but worth it
It's difficult to grasp that Melvyn Douglas spent most of his career sailing through light, romantic roles and emerged in old age as one of the greatest actors in cinema history. Knowing the talent he possessed, how did he keep from killing the heads of the studios? Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, and Brandon de Wilde star in "Hud," an unsparing 1963 morality story about a Texas rancher, Homer Bannon, his bastard son, Hud, his housekeeper, and his grandson. The bastard, of course, is Paul Newman, who doesn't have a decent bone in his body. People on this board have said it's his greatest performance. He's given so many great ones, it's hard to say for me. An astounding actor, and he gets a run for his money from Douglas, who plays the moral center of the story. The two characters couldn't be more opposite, as one sees in their treatment of a potential run of hoof and mouth disease that could wipe out Homer's entire herd. Hud wants to ship the whole herd out and possibly infect other people's cattle - he couldn't care less. Homer won't hear of it. If you love animals, this is a difficult film to watch, but it's worth it. Melvyn Douglas is absolutely gut-wrenching as Homer, a proud man who loves the land and his cattle and who has no use for his son, who smashed his car and killed Homer's other son. de Wilde is Hud's nephew who admires him and wants to emulate him but as time goes by, realizes that Hud is made of ice. de Wilde doesn't give an emotional performance - he's almost more of an observer. It works well here amidst the very contained Douglas and the free and easy Newman. You can see he's a good kid trying to grow up and decide what kind of man to be. Patricia Neal is the housekeeper; she and Douglas both deservingly won Oscars. Her delivery is wry and knowing; she can't help being attracted to the virile Hud but she knows he's trouble and never gives in to her desires willingly. As much as I love Newman and think he's one of the greatest actors ever to hit the movies, for me, Douglas' searing performance is the one that will stay with me. It's easy to see why in 1963 this was such a dramatic breakthrough for Newman, but 43 years and many roles later, we're more familiar with what he can do. We know he can play a cold bastard now. His greatest performances for me will always be those in the "The Verdict" and "The Hustler," both of which called for many more nuances of character. Hud represents '60s disillusionment - which as the decade went on was only going to get worse; this is one of the reasons it is an iconic role. For me, Newman had more surprises in store. Brilliant performances, excellent direction, stark photography, Hud is a great American film, not easily forgotten once seen.