Zoooma
I've seen this one before, at least 2 or 3 times in my adult life and a few, I'm sure, as a kid watching with my dad. It's been a good dozen years since I last saw it and it's amazing how much of the movie I was familiar with -- about every scene. Prison movie, football movie, Burt Reynolds movie, even has a pretty good car chase! This is without a doubt a man's movie. Is that sexist? I don't want to be but it really is. I am not saying women can't watch it and enjoy it just as much as their male counterparts, but this is what being a man is all about! Don't give me no Pretty Woman or Steel Magnolias on a Sunday afternoon, give me football, hard hitting American football! Thank you director Robert Aldrich and thank you Burt for this fun and well acted 70's classic!--A Kat Pirate Screener
ramsfan
One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) box office stars of the 70's, Burt Reynolds, was well cast in 1974's "The Longest Yard". A former college football player at Florida State University, Reynolds plays Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback who has disgraced himself by throwing games. He lands himself in prison after slapping his girlfriend around, stealing her car and assaulting two cops. The prison, Citrus State, has a semi-pro football team comprised of the institution's guards and is run by the power hungry warden Rudolph Hazen (Eddie Albert). At Hazen's behest and to make his prison term as peaceful as possible, Crewe agrees to assemble a team of fellow cons to give the guards a scrimmage. This of course sets up the final third of the film."The Longest Yard" is entertaining through and through; there is not one sequence in the movie which drags on. The interplay between Reynolds and his collection of convicts is a riot. Fine support is given by character actors Michael Conrad, Harry Caesar, Richard Kiel and Robert Tessier as cons. Real life NFL stars Ray Nitschke and Joe Kapp, representing the guardsmen, lend authenticity to the live football action. Ed Lauter (Capt. Wilhelm Knauer), the leader and quarterback of the guards, provides an excellent counter to Reynolds character.If there is a disturbing element to the film, it is the knowledge that one watches this movie rooting for the convicts- the worst society has to offer. This is effectively off set by depicting them humanely while showing the guards as racist and demeaning. The stereotypical southern prison suggests some of these cons (especially the minorities) were more than likely railroaded or at the very least given harsher sentences than they deserved.This movie was typical of the times for its gritty and impoliticly correct themes- a breath of fresh air compared to today's ultra sensitive society. And the recent remake, as usual in these instances, doesn't compare to the wit and fun of its predecessor; Adam Sandler couldn't hold Burt Reynolds' jock as an entertainer. One of my favorites!
Poseidon-3
Reynolds, near the beginning of his wild ride to fame, is close to his sexiest in this cheeky, rough, but very entertaining, prison/football flick. He plays a careless, disrespectful kept man who is jailed for theft when he shoves around his benefactress Ford and takes off in her car. Thanks to his credentials as an ex-pro football player, the prison warden Albert requests his aid in coaching the semi-pro team, consisting of the prison's brutal guards. Chief guard Lauter refuses to allow Reynolds to have any input, but Albert recruits him in another way, asking him to form a team made up of convicts so that the guards' team can build up their strength and strategy. The film details his selection of the players and the trials they undergo in order to make it to the big game, a game which takes up nearly the entire second half of the movie. Reynolds starts the film off with longish hair and a moustache and sports a hilarious, yet very sexy, 1970's pantsuit. He then gets a haircut and a shave and looks even better. His smart-aleck charm and affinity for football are on full display here. His interactions with the various cons give him ample opportunity to do what he does best. Albert is a far cry from his amiable sitcom persona and is surprisingly intense and even scary in his role. Hampton plays one of his better screen roles as Reynolds' right hand man and friendly know-it-all. Other familiar actors such as Lauter and Henry as guards and Conrad and Tessier as fellow prisoners dot the cast. Quite surprising as well is a cameo turn by Peters as the impossibly-coiffed, amorous secretary to Albert. Known primarily for her stage work at the time, she received the role through her friendship with Reynolds. The film takes its time telling its story, letting Reynolds potentially unlikable character win over the audience as he wins over his cellmates. Filming in a real prison (located in Georgia, despite the film's Florida setting, and overseen by none other than Governor Jimmy Carter) and on sweltering outdoor locations help set the right mood. A crowd-pleasing, even inspirational film to many a young man, it was remade by Adam Sandler in 2005.
disdressed12
Burt Reynolds Plays Paul Crewe,a former pro quarterback,whose life takes a turn for the worse as he find himself in jail.The warden(Eddie Albert) has a sadistic mean streak.he petitions Crewe to form a football team from the inmates to play against the guards(a semi pro team)in four weeks as a warm up match before the semi pro season begins.the warden assumes an easy brutal victory against the inmates.But Crewe and his ragtag bunch have other ideas.this movie has everything,lots of one liners,some very funny situations.even some drama,and action.oh,yeah,there's football too.i would classify this movie as as dramedy,a drama/comedy hybrid,with some action.i laughed quite a bit.the football scenes,especially the hits, are very authentic and there is a lot of violence,though nothing very graphic.overall,the Longest Yard is a very good movie,that is more than a football movie.even if you don't like football,you should still enjoy this film. a strong 8/10
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