The Longest Yard
by Robert Aldrich
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DVD details
Actor: Burt Reynolds, Ed Lauter, Eddie Albert, James Hampton, Michael ConradDirector: Robert Aldrich
Cinematographer: Joseph F. Biroc
Editor: Michael Luciano
Producer: Alan P. Horowitz
Producer: Albert S. Ruddy
Writer: Albert S. Ruddy
Writer: Tracy Keenan Wynn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 121 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-01-30
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of The Longest Yard
DVD Review: Fireproof
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoy the movie fireproof it's been a movie that i heard about and it was certain was worth the money that i paid for. I think that people should watch it maybe their life style would change and purhaps they would think or they would't take their spouse for granted. The movie was awesome and the picture of the movie was crysal clear. I can tell that all the movies are really good and clear movies and are affordable.DVD Review: The GREATEST football film ever made!
Summary: 5 Stars
MEAN MACHINE! MEAN MACHINE! MEAN MACHINE!
Why do we LOVE Burt Reynolds?
Because he's the actor who stars in the #1 football film of all-time!
I'm PROUD to say that I know NOTHING about the sequel, nor do I ever intend on wasting my time watching it. What would be the point? I'm NOT a fan of remakes and ALWAYS steer clear of them. The ONLY reason Hollywood keeps making them is because they are OFFICIALLY out of ideas for NEW movies.
Here are a few of the CLASSIC things in this movie: Bob Tessier as Shokner and Green Bay Packer LEGEND Ray Nitschke as Bogdanski. And I suppose it is CLASSIC that JAWS himself (Richard Kiel) plays Samson. All these people put together make this film one of a kind!
This is the film Burt Reynolds will be remembered for (NOT Smokey and the Bandit) and deservedly so. The last 45 minutes of the film are dedicated to the game between the prisoners and the guards. It's a MUST to listen to the audio commentary by Burt Reynolds and writer/producer Albert S. Ruddy.
"See you on the field Superstar!"
DVD Review: "Hey Pop, the time you hit Hazen in the mouth, was it worth 30 years?/ For me it was./ Then give me my damn shoe!"
Summary: 3 Stars
Burt Reynolds plays Paul Crewe, a reprehensible character discovering, in a prison, dignity and esteem... You see him, at the beginning of the movie--as a rising star--beating up a woman, stealing her car, drunken driving, insulting cops in a bar, resisting arrest... He's seen so funny when he insulted the miniature cop who's about to arrest him, while the cop's partner is laughing openly...
Eddie Albert was very charming when he meets Paul Crewe at his arrival to Citrus State Prison... Aldrich wanted to play Warden Hazen as the guy who had the veneer of normalcy, the veneer of being a good executive, the veneer of keeping it all together till it starts unraveling... He really was just a despicable, oily, warden type... In one game scene, we see him over and over again, getting up just with that same look of shock on his face...
Ed Lauter (Captain Knauer) is wonderful... He runs the football team... He is a bad guy and he represents everything that is wrong with that prison system and everything else... He changes as a result... And to see that is just so delightful... He's got the classic Ed Lauter's scene at the end... James Hampton plays Caretaker, the character who brings the team all together and pushes Burt's character ahead to win the game...
Ray Nitschke plays the toughest, meanest linebacker in football... Richard Kiel, Bob Tessier, Charles Tyner, Michael Conrad, and Harry Caesar give the film a certain veracity, you almost thing you are in jail...
DVD Review: ONE OF THE BEST SPORTS MOVIES EVER
Summary: 4 Stars
Much, much better than the later Adam Sandler version, the movie was so good it gave Burt enough leash to go out and make stinker after stinker for about a decade.
The LONGEST YARD is easily one of the best sports movies ever, from my point of view only surpassed by BREAKING AWAY. By now it looks quiet dated (look at the cool remote control!) and I'm still wondering how they were able to convict Crewe on drunk driving when he dumped the car in the water and was arrested in a bar (where is alcohol level would understandably be high). Anyway, when the final half hour arrives you can't help but cheer, no many how many times you've seen it.
DVD Review: Aldrich's film could go all the waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy...............
Summary: 4 Stars
Beginnings prove once again a good place to start. After watching the UK's "Mean Machine", I was upset that I never watched this original film before the other. I wanted to see the roots, where Vinnie Jones got his inspiration, and how a film about soccer can relate to that about football. I was going in blind, so quickly I gobbled up this original, and I must say, Sandler didn't do Crewe justice. "The Longest Yard", released in 1974, is a film full of gambling, racism, and dedicated stereotypes, but director Robert Aldrich takes a simple concept and really brings together a film that time may have forgotten about, but will remain a pinnacle sports film. One of the issues that most of us have (and by most of us I mean "me") with sports film is that they are afraid to pull the bigger punches. There are highly paid actors afraid of getting hurt, so a stunt double is brought in to take the heavy hits or to fall face-first into the mud. That is not the case with this film, which I was happy continued with the Sandler debacle. A tradition, it seems, starting with "The Longest Yard" is to use real professional athletes to play the parts of the inmates and the guards. For me, this was a change of pace from your a-typical sports films, and for me, I welcomed the change with open arms.
A film of this nature typically would start with me saying, "I hate sports films", but those words will not escape me this time. I still feel the same about sports films, but in this instance, Reynolds coupled with James Hampton (giving the best performance of Caretaker), and the sinister Captain Knauer (played by Ed Lauter) just meshed extremely well that even the most pessimistic of sports cinema viewers can enjoy this golden nugget from a creative era of film. I liked the confident Reynolds that had already come to grips with his inner-demons that nothing seemed to matter to him in his main life, so going to prison helped him find himself. I loved this dynamic because in most films it is the polar opposite. Getting out of prison means you discover yourself, not the other way. Also, I never felt trapped. This is tough to do with a prison film because the walls are constantly reminding you where you are, but in fact, Aldrich and his cast brought the prison to life, giving it a character all of its own. Reynolds was perfect for this role. He embodied the lightness of the scenes, while bringing a professional level of acting to the role. He was funny, but not juvenile funny, but sophisticated funny. He controlled his scenes, giving those around him a chance to create moments of their own. Not to go too off topic, but Sandler made his version a "Sandler movie", while with the original - it was obviously an ensemble piece. Everyone fell into their roles with ease, such as Eddie Albert as Warden Hazen, who demonstrated a level of power while revealing his weaknesses. He was evil, but didn't need the slicked hair or looming lights. We knew what he could do, what he had done, and what he was willing to do to win. The final scene will didn't need music to intensify, Albert brought it all himself. The same, as stated before, can be said for Lauter who embodies evil with Knauer. Without drooling too heavily on myself, everyone was phenomenal in this film - the actors were assembled with a delicate stick which allowed each to build this cult film.
Again, typically I would be yelling about how long the game actually took to complete at the end. When sports films take 47 minutes for the game itself, one worries that character development goes to the wayside. This is not the case here. Robert Aldrich gives us plenty of moments of fresh air prior to the epic football game to build up to the sad moments and the climactic moments. It is pure cane-sugar watching him take us from character to character, giving us just small inch after small inch, until the final moments. See - I am drooling quite a bit. Absolutely, there were some dull moments to this film - the game was lengthy, but without complaining I would say that it was essential to the story. While I loved the the major players, when it came to the game, I did get lost on whom was whom during the heated battle. Maybe it was just me, but I needed stronger characters during the game. I wanted to make sure that I could identify who was who by some characteristic - but I think this was just because of the time difference. Sandler's version you knew who was who because it was modern players - my knowledge of sports is weak, so I had trouble following the big names in the game. That isn't to say that it detracted too much from the film, but for me it was a bit annoying.
The only aspect that I have to criticize is the way the game was filmed. The editing was sharp, hey - it won an Oscar, but when the editor uses boxes to make the game seem more exciting, I was just distracted further from the game. I could see the reason to bring some style to the game, but the boxes, different pans, and multi-angles just felt clich? and randomly inserted to keep the attention of the viewers. The game was strong enough, it didn't need this snappy "special effects" to strengthen it. It made me anxious to watch it, kinda epileptic if further questions need to be asked. It just didn't fit. It felt like someone else took control and created the environment where the beginning didn't match the ending. If that style of filmmaking was used during all the practices, than maybe it would have been considered annoying, but it would have been consistent. Choppy consistency - maybe that is my point here. Either way, it wasn't a big compliant, just an area I had trouble connecting myself to.
Overall, I surprise myself when saying this, but I liked "The Longest Yard". It is the foundation for the "Mean Machine" and (grumble), the Sandler remake. I am impressed by the power of the characters and how well Reynolds took this role and played with it. The opening sequence solidified his character, and up until the ending he never let me go. Who couldn't enjoy Reynolds demolishing a car than going to get a drink afterwards. Hysterical. Aldrich was a perfect fit for this film, and it surprised me that the producer of the "Godfather" would choose this as his next project - but seeing the final product, it doesn't surprise me. It was a well balanced film of both comedy and a slice of drama. It wasn't childish humor, but something that one could laugh at a second time. He controlled what could have been a chaotic film by allowing each to grow on their own to define themselves. The unique perspective of using athletes and actors was creative for its time, giving us the realism of the game before our eyes. Aside from the choppy editing near the end, I thought this was a perfect balance between sports and comedy.
Mean Machine! Mean Machine!
Grade: **** out of *****
Description of The Longest Yard
Director Robert Aldrich had a knack for depicting outsiders with originality and authenticity. Much like The Dirty Dozen, The Longest Yard is a popular fable about integrity and group unity. It possesses a requisite toughness along with the loneliness that accompanies the outsider status. Compromise is never easy in an Aldrich film. There's always a bitter price to pay.Burt Reynolds, in peak form, plays a former pro quarterback ostracized for shaving points. After beating up his girlfriend and resisting arrest, Reynolds winds up in prison, where he's taunted by warden Eddie Albert to help his semiprofessional team of guardsmen win a championship. Naturally, the inmates despise Reynolds, and naturally he redeems himself in one of the great movie football matches of all time. --Bill Desowitz
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