The Longest Yard (1974)

Pigskin in the Pokey

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Longest Yard on DVD.

One of Robert Aldrich's biggest hits, The Longest Yard (1974) combines his ferocious worldview with a new kind of rambunctious audience appeal, thanks mostly to Burt Reynolds' instinctively likeable centerpiece performance. Former NFL star Paul Crewe (Reynolds) has been reduced to the role of kept boy, servicing rich and lonely women. Fed up, he crashes his latest ladyfriend's Mazeratti and goes to prison. Once there, the warden (Eddie Albert) forces him to make use of his skills by coaching the prisoners in a scrimmage against the guards. The bulk of the film consists of a clever assembling-the-team routine, as Crewe recruits ever more dangerous candidates for his "Mean Machine" and finds ways to control them. The big game is presented clearly and dramatically, and is perhaps the most exciting cinematic football game I've seen. Aldrich never lets us forget that prison is a harsh place, and he keeps the mood sinister and foreboding. The Warden, who tapes all his conversations, is clearly meant as a surrogate Nixon, and like an evil puppetmaster, he pulls every possible string to keep his power absolute.; Albert is perfect in the role, hiding his contempt under a veneer of warmth. Likewise, Reynolds can't get enough credit for giving the film a devil-may-care attitude. His antics turn The Longest Yard into a brilliantly brutal dark comedy, not to mention that he effortlessly passes as a big time quarterback. It's a brilliant performance from an underrated actor. Future James Bond villain Richard Kiel plays one of the prisoners.

DVD Details: Paramount has released this special "Lockdown Edition" to help promote its big screen 2005 remake (starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Reynolds). Reynolds and producer/writer Albert S. Ruddy provide an informative commentary track that makes you yearn for the more gutsy filmmaking of the 1970s. There are a couple of featurettes and a trailer, plus a promo for the new remake.

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Dino Washington, Ray Nitschke, Sonny Sixkiller
Written by: Tracy Keenan Wynn, based on a story by Albert S. Ruddy
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 121 minutes
Date: May 13, 2005