1974 Directed by Robert Aldrich
A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates' lack of self-esteem.
Burt Reynolds Eddie Albert Ed Lauter Michael Conrad James Hampton Harry Caesar John Steadman Charles Tyner Mike Henry Jim Nicholson Bernadette Peters Pervis Atkins Tony Cacciotti Anitra Ford Richard Kiel Tony Reese Michael Fox Dino Washington George A. Jones Chuck Hayward Mort Marshall Joe Kapp Pepper Martin Ray Nitschke Sonny Sixkiller Robert Tessier Ernie Wheelwright Joe Dorsey Gus Carlucci Show All…
Glenn R. Wilder Hal Needham Denny Arnold Chuck Hayward Gary McLarty Louie Elias Frank Orsatti Pat Studstill James M. Halty Mickey Caruso
The Mean Machine, Die härteste Meile, Der härteste Weg, ロンゲスト・ヤード, 터치 다운, Det skrappe hold, 最长的一码, Nejtěžší yard, Die Kampfmaschine, 11 Υπέροχα Καθάρματα, Rompehuesos, Plein la gueule, המשחק המכור, Hajrá, fegyencváros!, Quella sporca ultima meta, Najdłuższy jard, Golpe Baixo, Самый длинный ярд, 牢狱风云
USAR
Greece16
FranceU
Spain
Brazil14
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Greece
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After many viewings of the Adam Sandler version and a less-than-pleasant experience with Mean Machine, I figured it was about time I checked out the original. One of several collaborations between Burt Reynolds and Albert S. Ruddy, most known for his work on The Godfather.
When comparing the original to the remake, the only significant variations are the characters' ages and races, plus the fact that I can't for the life of me recall a single scene set in a field. There were also noticeable improvements on the remake in terms of the technical work, such as its cinematography and editing (particularly its pacing).
While everyone puts up solid effort, Burt Reynolds stands out as our clear favorite. Richard Kiel…
There's a scene at the beginning of The Longest Yard where Burt Reynolds' character of a disgraced pro football player is in a bar getting sloppy(er) drunk after leading the cops on an insane high speed chase in a car he just stole from his wealthy socialite girlfriend because he's tired of being her puppet boy-toy. The cops come in to drag his ass to jail, and yet neither them or the bartender can contain their amusement with the no-fucks-given attitude of Reynolds as he sits there grinnin' and continuing to finish his drink before the hammer comes down. It's a scene that in some ways perfectly encapsulates the devil-may-care charm that propelled Reynolds' career, where even those critics who…
White Man's Burten
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Pro and Cons
This could have been about nothing but plucky underdogs doing good at sports, but in the spirit of the times, it very clearly seems to be inviting reading the clash between the prison guards and the prisoners as something more; something as specific as a call to action against police brutality, or something more universally about the abuse of power. Burt Reynolds, the selfish prick, is sitting there on the bench watching the underprivileged and the disadvantaged get pummeled, and he's the only one with the experience and relative position of privilege to help. Subtly subversive in the way that other Aldrich movies I've seen are, just by dint of centering on an…
"The Longest Yard" is a 1974 sports comedy directed by Robert Aldrich. The directorial career of Aldrich was always an interesting one, easily an exemplified example of existing within the inner workings of the studio system, but also being an early maverick director that took on plenty of independent work. In this he holds a bit of a dual mentalitied build within auteurship and studio reliability which is exemplified in his expansive filmography. Aldrich also spent time being a reliable director with a variety of Burt Reynold vehicles from time to time, with "The Longest Yard" being one of the most successful of the bunch. "The Longest Yard" itself is really an interesting blend of genre that I feel works…
Enough uniquely 1970s toxic testosterone to poison the island of Themyscira, but as is also (sports metaphor) par for the course in the 70s it never seems comfortable or complacent with the across-the-board awful state of things. Muscular, anti-authoritarian, hilarious, with extremely well-constructed on-field action, but the key shot for me is probably Burt Reynolds running out onto the field grinning under the roar of the crowd. Star.
Mocking black queer/trans people, really bad racial politics, macho bullshit, misogyny... everything you expected and knew you would hate. Someone brilliant could turn this into an analysis of the comparison between the treatment of the incarcerated and of pro-athletes, of the manner in which the massive, disturbing exploitation of people of color and the working class in general is an exercise in physical abuse. Instead, we get the corny sports movie you absolutely knew it would be. Intentional self-harm.
Watched this because of "The Offer" on Paramount+. Producer Albert S. Ruddy turned down making "The Godfather Part II" to tell this story. That takes some serious balls!
stands to reason that Robert Aldrich would turn football into a 121 minute war movie, The Dirty Dozen inside the walls of a prison, assembled of men with even less to lose and even more of a penchant for violence — climactic game (which is a major portion of its runtime) still features some of the most exemplary use of split screen out there
Since we lost The Burt a couple of years ago, it feels like maybe there's been a bit of a reappreciation of his work, but it's probably still pretty tentative. The specific attitude and spirit of the Burt Reynolds film is something which hasn't really aged all that well. Reynolds embodied a cocky, larrikin, anti-establishment sort of masculinity which men have largely moved on from. At least, we think we have, but of course we all still have the urge deep down to be just like a Burt Reynolds character - we'd just adopt different affectations.
Even so, and even though a modern film would show it in different ways, I think the themes inherent in The Longest Yard are…
I've seen the Sandler version multiple times, I've seen the Vinnie Jones one a few times as well. It's insane how close those movies hew to the 1970's version.
I just apparently love this story. However it's delivered to me. I hate to admit it but I'll probably choose to watch the Sandler version most often in the future. This version doesn't have Chris Berman going "Whoop!" every time someone laterals. <---I think that's the correct term.
- Better double-check the ones with two stars on ‘em, because they’re the most violent.
- You got any with three stars?
A bunch of seemingly incompatible criminals and sociopaths has to be whipped into a formidable fighting team in a rush, to go on a suicidal mission impossible against a highly superior common enemy, at which they ultimately succeed against all odds and under heavy losses.
If that sounds like the plot of The Dirty Dozen you’re damn right. After that monumental blockbuster director Robert Aldrich fell on hard times. None of his following movies came anywhere near that movie’s success, in spite of such outstanding pictures as The Killing Of Sister George, Ulzana’s Raid and Emperor Of The…
