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    The Longest Yard

    • 19741974
    • RR
    • 2h 1min
    IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    18K
    YOUR RATING
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Watch {VideoTitle}
    Trailer4:07
    1 Video
    99+ Photos
    ComedyCrimeDrama

    A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.

    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Tracy Keenan Wynn(screenplay)
      • Albert S. Ruddy(story)
    • Stars
      • Burt Reynolds
      • Eddie Albert
      • Ed Lauter
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Tracy Keenan Wynn(screenplay)
      • Albert S. Ruddy(story)
    • Stars
      • Burt Reynolds
      • Eddie Albert
      • Ed Lauter
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 74User reviews
    • 62Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 4:07
    Official Trailer

    Photos124

    Burt Reynolds and Bernadette Peters in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds, Pervis Atkins, Mike Henry, Ed Lauter, Ray Nitschke, Sonny Sixkiller, and Ernie Wheelwright in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds and Harry Caesar in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds and Eddie Albert in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds and Anitra Ford in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Eddie Albert in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds and James Hampton in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard (1974)
    Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, and Mort Marshall in The Longest Yard (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burt Reynolds
    Burt Reynolds
    • Paul Creweas Paul Crewe
    Eddie Albert
    Eddie Albert
    • Warden Hazenas Warden Hazen
    Ed Lauter
    Ed Lauter
    • Captain Knaueras Captain Knauer
    Michael Conrad
    Michael Conrad
    • Nate Scarboroas Nate Scarboro
    James Hampton
    James Hampton
    • Caretakeras Caretaker
    • (as Jim Hampton)
    Harry Caesar
    Harry Caesar
    • Granvilleas Granville
    John Steadman
    John Steadman
    • Popas Pop
    Charles Tyner
    Charles Tyner
    • Ungeras Unger
    Mike Henry
    Mike Henry
    • Rassmeusenas Rassmeusen
    Jim Nicholson
    • Ice Manas Ice Man
    Bernadette Peters
    Bernadette Peters
    • Warden's Secretaryas Warden's Secretary
    Pervis Atkins
    Pervis Atkins
    • Mawabeas Mawabe
    Tony Cacciotti
    Tony Cacciotti
    • Rotkaas Rotka
    Anitra Ford
    Anitra Ford
    • Melissaas Melissa
    Michael Fox
    Michael Fox
    • Announceras Announcer
    Joe Kapp
    Joe Kapp
    • Walking Bossas Walking Boss
    Richard Kiel
    Richard Kiel
    • Samsonas Samson
    • (as Dick Kiel)
    Pepper Martin
    Pepper Martin
    • Shop Stewardas Shop Steward
    • Director
      • Robert Aldrich
    • Writers
      • Tracy Keenan Wynn(screenplay)
      • Albert S. Ruddy(story)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Matt Heffernan <msh6880@cs.rit.edu>
    wardenprisonquarterbackred pantiespanties58 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • THE AUDIENCES DON'T JUST SEE IT - They talk to it! They cheer it! They roar with it! They explode with it! They love it!
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Sport
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sports Illustrated's Rick Telander wrote in the Oct. 17, 1988 issue: After the cast and crew of "The Longest Yard" departed from Georgia State Prison, the inmates played Georgia State Troopers using the equipment left behind by the film crew. The game quickly got out of hand, with inmates pummeling the out-of-shape troopers for their alleged arrogance. The game was called at the half, with the inmates ahead 66-0. End of prison football in Georgia.
    • Goofs
      Melissa warns Paul not to touch her Maserati. The car was sold in the US as a Citroen/Maserati SM, a Citroen with a Maserati engine. The owner would be more likely to refer to it as Maserati.
    • Quotes

      [Caretaker and Crewe are watching a prisoner go through his workout]

      Caretaker: Well, there he is. Connie Shokner, baddest cat in the joint. Even the guards are scared of him. He killed three people on the outside and two since he's been in here.

      Crewe: Yeah, that karate's some bad stuff.

      Caretaker: Oh, that was before he learned karate.

      Crewe: Say, what's he doing now?

      Caretaker: Nobody's ever had the guts to ask him.

    • Alternate versions
      The 1995 VHS USA re-release does not feature the song "Saturday Night Special" by Lynyrd Skynyrd during the chase scene. Instead, there is no music during the chase.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Burt Reynolds/Dom DeLuise/Art Carney/Ace Trucking Company (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Saturday Night Special
      Written by Ronnie Van Zant and Edward King (as Edward Calhoun King)

      Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd

      Recording Supervised by Al Kooper

      Courtesy of Sounds of the South/MCA Records

    User reviews74

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Football and prison is a recipe for brutal mirth.
    Disgraced former pro football quarterback Paul Crewe is sent to prison after a drunken night to remember. The prison is run by Warden Hazen, a football nut who spies an opportunity to utilise Crewe's ability at the sport to enhance the prison guards teams skills. After initially declining to help, Crewe is swayed into putting together a team of convicts to take on the guards in a one off match, thieves, murderers and psychopaths collectively come together to literally, beat the guards, but Crewe also has his own personal demons to exorcise.

    This violent, but wonderfully funny film has many things going for it. Directed with style by the gifted hands of Robert Aldrich, The Longest Yard cheekily examines the harshness of gridiron and fuses it with the brutality of the penal system. The script from Tracy Keenan Wynn is a sharp as a tack and Aldrich's use of split screens and slow motion sequences bring it all together very nicely indeed. I would also like to comment on the editing from Michael Luciano, nominated for the Oscar in that department, it didn't win, but in my honest opinion it's one of the best edited pictures from the 70s.

    Taking the lead role of Crewe is Burt Reynolds, here he is at the peak of his powers (perhaps never better) and has star appeal positively bristling from every hair on his rugged chest. It's a great performance, believable in the action sequences (he was once a halfback for Florida), and crucially having the comic ability to make Wynn's script deliver the necessary mirth quota. What is of most interest to me is that Crewe is a less than honourable guy, the first 15 minutes of the film gives us all we need to know about his make up, but much like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest the following year, The Longest Yard has us rooting for the main protagonist entering the home straight, and that is something of a testament to Reynolds' charm and charisma.

    The film's crowning glory is the football game itself, taking up three parts of an hour, the highest compliment I can give it is to say that one doesn't need to be a fan of the sport to enjoy this final third. It's highly engaging as a comedy piece whilst also being octane inventive as an action junkie's series of events. A number of former gridiron stars fill out both sides of the teams to instill a high believability factor into the match itself, and the ending is a pure rewarding punch the air piece of cinema. 9/10
    helpful•17
    4
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Jul 13, 2008

    FAQ1

    • When the Mean Machine score their first touchdown, they follow it up with a successful conversion (getting the ball into the end zone again) and are awarded 7 points for the play. Shouldn't they get 8?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 30, 1974 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die härteste Meile
    • Filming locations
      • Brunswick, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Albert S. Ruddy Productions
      • Long Road Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,900,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $43,008,075
    • Gross worldwide
      • $43,008,075
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 1min
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    James Hampton, ‘F Troop,’ ‘Longest Yard’ and ‘Teen Wolf’ Actor, Dies at 84
    James Hampton, ‘F Troop,’ ‘Longest Yard’ and ‘Teen Wolf’ Actor, Dies at 84
    Apr 8The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
    Emmys 2018: In Memoriam remembers Anthony Bourdain, Burt Reynolds but who was left out?
    Emmys 2018: In Memoriam remembers Anthony Bourdain, Burt Reynolds but who was left out?
    Sep 18Gold Derby

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