Javier’s English Corner

Another Hollywood legend gone. I remember the countless great times I’ve had enjoying his fine acting in movie classics such as “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof”, “The Hustler”, “Sweet Bird of Youth”, “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid”, “The Sting” and so many others. But if I had to choose one, it would be “Cool Hand Luke“, which tells the story of a prisoner in a Florida prison camp who simply refuses to submit to the system. His spirit makes the other prisoners idolize him, even more so after he attempts to escape from the camp several times.

There are quite a few memorable moments in the movie, like the one when Luke’s old and poorly mother Arletta, played by Jo Van Fleet, visits him at prison and asks him about what went wrong in his life. Or the one when Luke is told his mother has just died. He goes back to his bunk bed, picks up his banjo and sings “Plastic Jesus”, a pop-gospel tune.

It is a very special film, and I believe Luke Jackson is one of those characters that go down in cinematic history as unforgettable. In the final scene, one of the characters called Dragline, tells the other prisoners about Luke’s unique smile. That is how I will always remember Paul Newman, smiling at the end of “Cool Hand Luke”.

I have chosen a couple of scenes of this classic for you. In the second video, you can find out why he gets his nickname, “cool hand”, after he’s played a good hand at poker. If you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you go to the nearest video rental store and get it soon. You won’t regret it. By the way, the Spanish title is “La Leyenda Del Indomable”.

I always like to hear Spanish celebrities speak English, as I think it can be interesting for our students to compare their accents, the vocabulary they use, to decide if their English is better or worse than what they expected it to be… I don’t know. Students can also think, ‘well, if Bardem can speak English like that, why shouldn’t I?’.

There is a section on The New York Times I like very much. It is called Screen Test and it shows famous actors being interviewed. The following is Javier Bardem’s interview, where he talks about the origins of his love of acting and more.

Now that the summer will soon be over and that you are all about to resume your English lessons, I have seen fit to get in touch with you again on a mellow tone. I am sure you have heard the following song some time on a movie without knowing who the singer was. It is an interesting medley of “Somewhere over the rainbow”, from the classic musical The Wizard of Oz, and “What a wonderful world”, another beautiful classic by Louis Armstrong.

This medley was created by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, a Hawaiian musician who became famous outside his native state when that song was featured in his 1993 album “Facing future”. Iz, which is the nickname his admirers gave him, suffered from severe obesity throughout the later part of his life, and he died in 1997 at the age of 38. The Hawaii State Flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Iz’s funeral. His koa wood coffin lay in state at the Capitol building in Honolulu. He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be accorded this honor and the only non-politician. Over 10,000 people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered and cheered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach on July 12, 1997. (From Wikipedia)