Hud

Paul Newman gave easily his greatest performance as Hud Bannen, the hard-fighting, hard-drinking, womanising ne'er-do-well, who casts a malign shadow over the lives of his family and their housekeeper on a Texas ranch. It is a strong all-round cast however, and Melvyn Douglas and Patricia Neal both won Academy Awards for their performances. The sparse and grainy cinematography by James Wong Howe (another Oscar winner) brilliantly captures the harsh, arid Texas landscape. Adapted from Larry McMurtry's novel Horseman Pass By, this is one of the finest examples of American Cinema in the 1960's, not least in its depiction of father-son conflict, and the way one in which one man can profoundly influence, for the worse, the lives of those around him. Newman worked as a ranch-hand in Texas to prepare for the role, which helped him obtain his authentic Texan credentials, most notably his accent, and his cocky strut and manner. A timeless classic, which can be viewed again and again.

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.

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.

Hud (1963)

**** (out of 4)

One of the bleakest films ever made, HUD centers on the title character played by Paul Newman who is about as ruthless as one can be. He cares for very little in this world and everything he does love is usually something bad. His father (Melvyn Douglas) has hated him for some time now but after their cattle grows sick they begin to butt heads.

HUD certainly isn't a very cheerful film and it's one of the darkest and in reality sadness movies ever made. While it's not always easy to watch there's no denying its impact plus the fact that it contains three of the greatest performances that you're ever going to see. HUD works on many levels but it's strength is certainly the performances as well as its honest character study of someone most people will find cool but when you get pass all the smoke you see a rather ugly human being.

The screenplay itself is extremely laid back and in fact the film is pretty quiet. There's not too much screaming or long speeches but instead there's just a very realistic tone that comes across quite natural and real. I think most people will be able to look at these main four characters and either be one of them are know someone like them. There's the young cool guy who hurts everything that he comes into contact with. There's the older wise man who stands by his morals. There's a broken house maid who is probably hiding some sadness. Then there's the young nephew who looks up to Hud not knowing or understanding his type of character.

Then, there are the terrific performances, which are among the best you'll ever see. Newman never had an issue playing cool but he always made it look so easy. He brings that quality to Hud but there's also that underlying dirty and dangerous part. There's just a certainly coldness that Newman brings to the character, which we never saw from him in his other roles. Douglas rightfully won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his deep and very sincere performance. Neal is a great big ball of sadness and her deep eyes just say so much without her having to speak a word. Even Brandon De Wilde is very impressive in his role and especially when you consider the major talent he was acting against.

HUD also features a terrific and haunting music score and the Oscar-winning cinematography perfectly captures the dusty dirt roads. The film manages to keep getting better with time as its messages are perhaps more true today than when the film was originally released.

Intelligent semi-Western, well directed and wonderfully performed by Newman as a man with the barbed wire soul . Hud Bannon(Paul Newman who dubbed this one pretty good) is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches . Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth . Instead of helping his dad , Hud drunkenly chases the family's housekeeper (Patricia Neal) and establishes relationship with his hero-worshipping nephew (Brandon De Wilde , Shane) , both of whom emotionally involved with him . As the father-son conflict is deeply observed by other members of the household , the maid and the nephew . Then , a government order to slaughter the ranch's entire herd as a precaution leads to tragedy and the ranch owner siding the law .

Exciting and thought-provoking clear-eyed story of growing in Texas plenty of interesting drama , emotion and a strong antagonism between the free-drinking son and a sternly moralising patriarchal ranch owner , including elements of Greek tragedy . Various studio-characters furnish the basis for this Western-drama ; filmmaker Martin Ritt has got a big success in delineating their troublesome roles . Terrific Paul Newman in an enjoyable performance, though using the Stanislawski method , it results to be a superb piece of acting . Paul Newman played the part of Hud as a villain . He was later stunned that so many young moviegoers had a poster of Hud and viewed him as their hero. In preparation for his title role , Paul Newman worked on a Texas cattle ranch for several weeks acquiring genuine calluses and a cowboy's lope . Melvyn Douglas gives a superb acting as old rancher who has fallen on hard times and shows to mourn the old-free-ranging ways of the frontier days . Terrific interpretation by Patricia Neal as a mature woman to whom Hud pursues and she wants nothing to do with him . Interesting screenplay dealing with brooding themes such as the disintegration of a heritage , including engaging dialogs haunted by frames of decay and death ; being nicely written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. from a novel by Larry McMurtry . Evocative cinematography by James Wong Howe , he's a classic cameraman who won two Oscars (for Hud, and Rose tattoo), working from silent cinema . Elmer Bernstein's score for Hud runs approximately six minutes, making it one of the shortest film scores ever. But what a six minutes it is - in fact, it's perfection and just right for the film . The music is sparse, yes, but it's potent every time it appears. There's also some source music in the film - car radios, jukeboxes, records.

This understatement motion picture was well produced and directed by Martin Ritt, who worked with Paul Newman in two Westerns : ¨Hombre¨ and ¨Outrage¨. Ritt was an expert on dramas such as ¨Stanley and Iris¨ , ¨Nut¨ , ¨Norma Rae¨ , ¨The front¨, ¨The Sound and the Fury¨ , ¨Black orchid¨ , though also directed films of all kind of genres such as : ¨The Spy Who Came in from the Cold¨ , ¨The Great White Hope¨ , ¨Mafia¨ and ¨Molly McGuire¨ . This ¨Hud¨ film will appeal to drama enthusiasts and Paul Newman fans . Rating : Above average, well worth watching ; along with ¨Outrage¨ , being one of Ritt's best movie.