The Longest Yard (1974)
Burt Reynolds, Ed Lauter, Eddie Albert, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Richard Kiel, Harry Caesar, John Steadman.
Spoilers herein.
"The Longest Yard" has been classified as one of the greatest sports comedies ever made. There is just one thing I don't understand - is it really meant to be that funny? The only comedy I found in the movie was just dark humor during the prison scenes, but that couldn't add another whole genre to the film, could it?
Former pro quarterback Paul Crewehas been arrested for grand theft auto and assault on a police officer and has been sentenced to do time prison. Warden Hazen of the prison wants to give Crewe a chance to help his guards in football, and is inspired by Crewe's idea of getting a team of inmates to face off against the guards. Crewe accepts the offer and becomes the quarterback of the team that he knows he cannot let down.
Burt Reynolds does good as the rebel against the guards, though his character isn't particularly likable. This worked in films like "Raging Bull", because the film wasn't supposed to be sweet or funny at all. In comedies, main characters are supposed to have something to like about them, and Paul Crewe isn't a character that you can have much sympathy for, which is one of elements that fails in "The Longest Yard". He does play a much more convincing Paul Crewe than Adam Sandler does, however.
This film does have something that the original was missing though- it was much fresher. The script does a lot better here than it did in the silly remake, which added in too many dumb references to McDonald's and homosexuality. The rest of the cast is pretty good, and I especially enjoyed Richard Kiel's role as the giant Samson. "I think I broke his f****'in neck!" Overall, I just felt like this film was somewhat dated and runs at a pretty slow pace. But the final half hour of the movie, like the remake, is entertaining enough to be watched at least once for fun. I found this slightly better than the new one because it has a much more real feel to it, and it just succeeds for being a good film. If you want a great film about the teamwork of football, see "Friday Night Lights". 3.5 stars out of 5.
Burt Reynolds, Ed Lauter, Eddie Albert, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Richard Kiel, Harry Caesar, John Steadman.
Spoilers herein.
"The Longest Yard" has been classified as one of the greatest sports comedies ever made. There is just one thing I don't understand - is it really meant to be that funny? The only comedy I found in the movie was just dark humor during the prison scenes, but that couldn't add another whole genre to the film, could it?
Former pro quarterback Paul Crewehas been arrested for grand theft auto and assault on a police officer and has been sentenced to do time prison. Warden Hazen of the prison wants to give Crewe a chance to help his guards in football, and is inspired by Crewe's idea of getting a team of inmates to face off against the guards. Crewe accepts the offer and becomes the quarterback of the team that he knows he cannot let down.
Burt Reynolds does good as the rebel against the guards, though his character isn't particularly likable. This worked in films like "Raging Bull", because the film wasn't supposed to be sweet or funny at all. In comedies, main characters are supposed to have something to like about them, and Paul Crewe isn't a character that you can have much sympathy for, which is one of elements that fails in "The Longest Yard". He does play a much more convincing Paul Crewe than Adam Sandler does, however.
This film does have something that the original was missing though- it was much fresher. The script does a lot better here than it did in the silly remake, which added in too many dumb references to McDonald's and homosexuality. The rest of the cast is pretty good, and I especially enjoyed Richard Kiel's role as the giant Samson. "I think I broke his f****'in neck!" Overall, I just felt like this film was somewhat dated and runs at a pretty slow pace. But the final half hour of the movie, like the remake, is entertaining enough to be watched at least once for fun. I found this slightly better than the new one because it has a much more real feel to it, and it just succeeds for being a good film. If you want a great film about the teamwork of football, see "Friday Night Lights". 3.5 stars out of 5.