The Riviera Theater in North Tonawanda is having a Paul Newman Retrospective this summer, kicking off last week with Cool Hand Luke. I saw the movie once before, probably more than twenty years ago and didn't think it was all that great (though obviously a lot of folks consider it a classic-- like Sumner Sloan*), but that was on TV. Seeing it on the big screen, in a nicely restored old movie palace with a good sized crowd was a whole other experience, and I had a really good time. When the Riviera hosts movies, they always provide some additional period detail (that is, from the period when it first opened back in the 1920s) by having someone play their "Mighty Wurlitzer" as folks are finding their seats:
I'm hoping to catch a couple more of the Newman series before I head back out west. I never liked Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid much either, so maybe that's the best candidate for rehabilitation by environment, and it's scheduled for next week. I'll report on whether the Riviera magic strikes twice.*Diane Chambers' fiance in the premiere episode of Cheers-- Cool Hand Luke was his contribution to the bar debate on the "sweatiest movie ever made."
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