Product Details

• Actors: Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, Brandon De Wilde, Whit Bissell
• Directors: Martin Ritt
• Writers: Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr., Larry McMurtry
• Producers: Martin Ritt, Irving Ravetch
• Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000AUHQU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,255 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Hud" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on a Larry McMurtry novel, this Martin Ritt film was a testament to the sex appeal of the young Paul Newman. Playing the title character--a total rotter who, by the end of the film, has double-crossed or screwed over everyone he knows, including his hard-working father and brother--Newman turns him into an intriguing antihero. Things are tough on the ranch and Hud's dad (Melvyn Douglas) needs help, but Hud is too busy looking out for number one, even as things fall apart. And guess who's going to land on his feet? Beautiful black-and-white cinematography by James Wong Howe won an Oscar, as did performances by Douglas and Patricia Neal. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Having been burned by compromises to censors on his earlier films Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird of Youth, Paul Newman decided to star in as uncompromising a property as he could find. That property was Hud, inspired by a portion of Larry McMurtry's novel, Horseman Pass By. Hud Bannon (Newman) is a young Texas rancher who lives with his cattleman father Homer (Melvyn Douglas) and his hero-worshipping nephew Lon (Brandon DeWilde). Hud is an amoral, cold-hearted creature; his father, who holds Hud responsible for the death of his other son, tries to imbue Lon with a sense of decency and responsibility to others, but Lon is devoted to Hud and isn't inclined to listen. When hoof-and-mouth disease shows up in one of the elder Bannon's cows, Hud is all for selling the herd before the government inspectors find out. But Homer orders the cattle destroyed (the film's most harrowing sequence), driving an even deeper wedge between himself and Hud. Finally, Hud steps over the line by attempting to rape Alma (Patricia Neal), the earthy but warm-hearted housekeeper. Paul Newman was so repellantly brilliant as an unregenerate heel that his Oscar nomination for Hud was a foregone conclusion. Although Newman lost the Oscar to Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field, Oscars did go to Neal for Best Actress, Douglas for Best Supporting Actor, and cinematographer James Wong Howe.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You're an unprincipled man, Hud June 6, 2004

By Steven Hellerstedt

Format:DVD

Welcome to the last Western. HUD is a chronicle of what killed the western ethos - it was done in by a man with a "barbed wire soul" driving a pink cadillac. Before HUD men raised cattle or plowed the earth, after HUD men ceded the land to the oil drillers.
The movie opens with 17-year-old, wide-eyed Lonnie looking for Hud. The trail leads him past a busted up saloon and ends when he finds a married woman's high heel shoe carelessly flung on her front porch. Hud seems to have a taste for married women and a way with the bottle that the curious Lonnie finds attractive.
When they get home Homer drives them out to a freshly dead heifer. There are no bullet wounds or other signs of injury and Homer decides to call the authorities. Hud disagrees. If the heifer died of a disease it could jeopardize everything, and Hud is too close to inheriting the ranch for that. Homer has more at stake, but burying the cow without an investigation would simply be wrong. The drama proceeds from there as deliberately, and inevitably, as a Greek tragedy.
Like other epics, and HUD deals with epic themes, there are great battles. Hud Bannon battles with his father, Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas) for the heart and mind of his nephew Lonnie (Brandon de Wilde.) Hud and Lonnie battle over their "half-wild" maid Alma (Patricia Neal.)
Hud, a man of little patience, is brutally direct in his approach to Alma. The inexperienced Lonnie admires her from a gentler distance. Director Martin Ritt includes two scenes that highlight this difference. One night Hud tomcats his way into Alma's room asking for a cigarette. The experienced and wary Alma gives - Hud lights the handout and blows out the match just as Alma asks for a light. With his back to her Hud drops the burnt out match into her hands and waits a beat before dropping the matchbook. It's a short throwaway that highlights Hud's loutish behavior. It gains relevance a little later when Lonnie takes a blow to the head and has to take to his bed. Alma brings him a glass of `fresh squeezed lemonade.' Lonnie takes the drink and a worried look beetles his brow. Alma puts her hand under his mouth and urges him to spit. `C'mon, honey,' she says, `they're just lemon pits.'
Lonnie spits his seeds into her hand, Hud a useless, burnt out stick, and Dr. Freud has just left the building. Maybe Ritt put those scenes in to delight louts like me four decades on. HUD is filled with powerful, multi-layered scenes. Another memorable one occurs when Homer Bannon's herd is driven into an enclosure. It is very long, maybe four minutes, and deliberately edited. I don't know if we'd see its like today, but its length and deliberation gives it awesome power.
Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in this movie, and he portrays Homer Bannon as a man about as played out as his over grazed land and about as obsolete as the two longhorn he keeps solely for sentimental reasons. Neal also won an Oscar in this one, and her character is almost as worn out as the elder Bannon. Life has used her hard. Paul Newman was nominated as the title character, and in my opinion would not have made an embarrassing winner. One of the most charming and charismatic actors in movie history, Newman manages to play a man of hollow charm. When he flirts, we see the snake lurking behind his smile. HUD won a third Oscar for photography, and James Wong Howe presents a parched and arid black-and-white landscape.
This is an excellent movie, and well worth the investment of anyone's time.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Hitting Drama......"Newman's Own" Brand December 11, 2003

By L. Shirley TOP 100 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This review refers to the widescreen DVD edition(Paramount) of "HUD"....

Hud Bannon...he's a self centered, cold, bitter,womanizing lout. But hey..what's not to like..I mean after all, Hud is Paul Newman in top form.Newman has given us so many fine performances over the years and this is one his his best.

Martin Ritt directs this moving story and 40 years later it has not lost it's appeal.It's a modern western/drama that will have you hanging on every word.Hud does everything he can to make life miserable for all those around him. His father(Melvyn Douglas)can't seem to reach him, and years of resentment have built a deep rift between them.There seems to be no way to heal the wounds they carry inside themselves.The cattle ranch that Hud plans to take over from his aging father is facing ruin, adding to the tension of the story.The movie will captivate and keep you till the end, and it's one you'll want to watch many times.

Newman and Ritt always work brillantly together and were both nominated for Oscars for their marvelous work. Newman's protrayal of this brooding rebel is stirring, and Ritt's direction superb. Melvyn Douglas took home a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting as did the wonderful Patricia Neal(Best Actress), for her shining work as the overworked and under appreciated housekeepper, who's subtle beauty keeps Hud and his nephew(Brandon de Wilde) longing for her. The wonderful Black and White cinematography garnered a statue for James Wong Howe as well.Elmer Bernstein also contributes his talents with a moving musical score.So many wonderfully talented names attached to this film and it shows!

I waited a long time for this film to finally be released to DVD, and the wait was worth it. I found that overall the transfer was crisp and clear, the sound enhanced in 5.1 was a welcome addition(It may also be viewed in in the original mono which has been restored), and the widescreen captured all the great photography. There were a few scenes which did not seem to be as clear and bright as the rest, but there was nothing about it that would take away from the enjoyment of this film.
There are no special features, but may be viewed in French(mono) and has subtitles in English for anyone who may need them.

Thanks Paramount for adding another of Newman's great 'H' films to my collection("Hombre"/"The Hustler"), and we are still waiting for "Harper" and another great Newman/Ritt collaboration "The Outrage" to be released.

Settle in for a Newman classic and enjoy....Laurie

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent in every respect August 12, 2002

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape

I cannot say enough about this movie. Paul Newman ("HUD") is completely convincing as the narcissistic son of an aging cattle rancher (Melvyn Douglas) who takes all he can get from life, leaving only destruction in his wake. Perhaps the reason Newman is so convincing is that, despite HUD's reprehensible character, one is drawn in to the allure of his personality, just like those on the screen that are used and tossed aside. Although we may not be "rooting" for HUD, we become more than a little sympathetic to his cause, probably a reflection of our own selfish natures. And it is a tribute to Newman's acting ability to draw out these conflicting emotions from the audience.

The supporting cast in this "character study" is nothing short of superb. Melvyn Douglas as the pious and self-righteous father is the perfect mirror image of HUD. Patricia Neal (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) is simply outstanding as the earthy, motherly yet somewhat-still-sexy housekeeper who both HUD and Lon (Brandon De Wilde) have sexual yearnings for, but for very different reasons. James Wong Howe's cinematography is top notch and his choice of black and white film really makes this movie work - far more than it would have in color.

There are also other "small touches" that add so much to the film. When HUD picks up Patricia Neal by the side of the road with her groceries, she offers him a Fig Newton. The same effect was used again when Lon is discussing the book "From Here To Eternity" with the local drugstore owner. Not a just a "cookie" or a "book", but real pieces of "Americana" the help set the mood, tone and timeframe of the film.

There is one last item I think is worth commenting on, because it is often overlooked. That is the seeming genuine affection that HUD has for his nephew (Lon). Yes, HUD is a scoundrel out for himself first and foremost, but there are many scenes where HUD appears almost human (particularly when HUD finally tells Lon how his father died), and those scenes are always with Lon. This is why, if the movie has any flaw in my mind, it is the ending where Lon is leaving the ranch and HUD is left all alone. I get the sensation that HUD is practically begging Lon to stay, though outwardly this isn't the case at all and HUD tries to act aloof and non-caring, shouting one of his famous lines "This world is so full of ..., a man's gonna get into it sooner or later whether he's careful or not." Whether my reaction was the one Martin Ritt had in mind I am not sure, but the last scene always leaves me unsettled, at least in terms of HUD's humanity.

Regardless, a first class film in every way. There are very few this good.