 In 2003 , AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains rated Luke as the number 30 greatest hero in American cinema , and three years later , AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers : America 's Most Inspiring Movies rated Cool Hand Luke number 71 . Cool Hand Luke was included in the United States National Film Registry in 2005 . In 2006 , Luke was ranked 53rd in Empire magazine 's " The 100 Greatest Movie Characters . " The movie solidified Newman 's status as a box @-@ office star , while the film is considered a touchstone of the era . In 2005 , the United States Library of Congress deemed Cool Hand Luke to be " culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant " and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry . 
