Essential Paul Newman

4 months ago 29th Jun 14:51

In a career that has spanned over fifty years Paul Newman was one of the greatest stars to ever grace the big screen. When he passed away in September 2008 cinema really did loose a talented actor who has thrilled fans for generations.

In his career you couldn't never accuse him of doing too many of the same roles as he moved from western to gangster and drama to blockbuster. So here at FemaleFirst we take a look at some of the essential Newman movies that you must see.

The Hustler

Released in 1961 Fast Eddie Felson was one of Newman's early iconic characters. Eddie is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon.

Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game.

It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon. Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend.

Twenty five years later he reprised the role in The Colour of Money and won his one and only Oscar.

Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke is a classic set in a Southern prison drama where social misfit Lucas "Luke" Jackson (Paul Newman) is incarcerated for a petty crime and sentenced to a chain gang.

Luke is a sullen and laconic young man whose cool defiance of the sadistic warden and bullying inmates earns him the title "Cool Hand Luke."

But as the prisoners' respect for Luke grows into hero worship, he finds that he must risk everything in order to live up to their expectations.

For his performance Newman was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

The 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Hill encapsulated the very meaning of the Western dramatic chase scenes on horseback to daring robberies of banks and trains all based around a friendship where either would die for the other.

The film went on to gross $102.3 million in the U.S. alone, the film now ranks amongst the top hundred grossing movies of all time.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It went on to win four: Best Cinematography, Best Music - Original Score, Best Music - Song and Best Screenplay.

The Sting

Newman and Robert Redford teamed up for the second time four years after Butch Cassidy in caper film The Sting and hoping that box office success would strike a second time the pair teamed up with Butch Cassidy's director George Roy Hill.

Newman and Redford star as con men Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in The Sting. In the Chicago of the 1930s, Johnny's partner, Luther, is fatally wounded by a victim of one of their scams who turns out to be powerful syndicate boss Doyle Lonnegan.