Rating: 
Summary: Roll one boss? Not now, boy!
Review: If there is one prison movie stereotype that was missed in this one, I don't know which one it was. Brutal guards, sadistic warden, psychotic inmates, chain gangs, you name it, it has it. Still, it is entertaining from beginning to end and worth the money. Reynolds gives a fairly convincing performance (as does nearly everyone else.)Now, as has been pointed out by at least one other reviewer, any similarities to what this flick portrays and the reality of a real prison (now) are coincidental. Yes, there are bad wardens, bad correctional officers, and, yes, good inmates. These are, however, the exceptions and not the rule. See this one, anyway. It is, after all, fiction. (p.s. Unlike most people who post up here, I work in a real prison (not as an inmate or correctional staff, but as a school teacher...)
Rating:
Summary: "Mean Machine! Mean Machine! Mean Machine!"
Review: In the 1970's, there was a small genre of movies, that the studios released, that could best be termed, football comedies. These were a series of films that sort of aped the spirit of Jim Bouton's best selling baseball book, "Ball Four" about the rowdy and scatalogical antics of modern day pro-athletes. Most movie fans consider three films to be the best of this genre. They include "North Dallas Fourty", "Semi-Tough" and of course "The Longest Yard". When it comes to "North Dallas Fourty", I have to be truthful and admit that I've never seen it. I really can't make an informed opinion about it. But,"Semi-Tough really is a very funny film comedy. But let's face it...it's not really about football. It's more of a satire of the 'self-help/feel good' movements (such as E.S.T.) that were all the rage in the 1970's. That leaves, what I like to think of as the gold standard of football movie comedies, "The Longest Yard". This hilarious film is basically M*A*S*H* on steroids. A group of people trapped in a situation trying to relieve their boredom & frustrations through off-color jokes, rowdy antics and a love for football (for those who have never seen it, the film, M*A*S*H* ends in a humourously rowdy, football game). "The Longest Yard" is about Paul Crewe (Burt Reynolds) a former superstar, pro quarterback, who is living life as a disgraced, has-been. After a drunken fight with his wealthy girlfriend and a wild police chase in a stolen Mazardi, he finds himself looking at eighteen months of hard time in a Florida correctional facility. But this isn't just any prison. Apparently both the guards, the inmates and especially the nefarious Warden (Eddie Albert) take their football, waaaayyyy to seriously! The Warden hatches a plan for Crewe to put together and play with a team of felons in a tune-up game against his own semi-pro team made up of the brutally, sadistic guards. What starts out as a supposedly, friendly (and very funny) game soon devolves into a brutal, grudge match in which the Warden attempts to humiliate the Cons and send a message to the rest of the prison population. It's up to Crewe to keep this from happening. This is a great film with a plot (and hard hitting, realistic game), that gets the viewer really involved. I mean what film do you know, where the good guys are unrepented hard core felons (refered to by the hypocritical guards as "scum of the Earth") and we want to root for them? The film is helmed by an excellent cast playing interesting characters. Burt Reynolds plays a man, who when under presure finally learns, that there is more to life than just thinking about himself. This is probably Reynold's best acting job in any of his film comedies (he only breaks himself up once). His only better work has been in dramas such as "Deliverance" & "Boogie Nights". Eddie Albert is also great as the evil Warden, who on one hand, publicly spouts speeches about the "All-American" values and virtues of the game of football, but is privately more than willing to vindictively lie and cheat, all in the name of winning. Other standouts in the cast include Robert Tessier as Shockner, a silent, Karate chopping, psychopath and 7'2" Richard Kiel (in a pre James Bond role) as a giant, violent prisoner, who hilariously dosn't seem to know his own strength. Also look for Bernadette Peters in a brief, sexy cameo (and a huge B-52 hairdo) as the Warden's amorous secretary. If you like football movies or just plain gut-busting, funny movie comedies (or both) than get "The Longest Yard"! Great movie! Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A great sports film for people who don't like sports!!!
Review: Let me tell you one thing. I don't care much for sports. It's not that I have anything against sports, I just don't have the attention span for them. However, I found myself liking this movie very much. It has a lot of very funny moments with characters you can actually relate to. Until the recent release of "Boogie Nights", Burt Reynolds has not made a film of this caliber. This movie is as sensitive as it is tough. See it.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is "Saturday Night Special"?
Review: Perhaps Burt Reynolds best movie. However, at least one scene has been cut and some of the original music soundtrack has also been edited or cut. Enough to make me turn to my wife and say...."I think they cut the @&*%ing song!". She looked at me and replied "I think they cut the @&*%ing song!" Aside from the obvious editing faux pas, this is a great football film. Eddie Albert is masterful as the evil warden, and quite frankly steels the show from Reynolds. Try to overlook the fact that the guards are portrayed as "heavies", (because in real life these are the people that put their lives on the line daily), and focus on the football portion of the movie. Great slow motion sequence and action.
Rating:
Summary: Where is "Saturday Night Special"?
Review: Perhaps Burt Reynolds best movie. However, at least one scene has been cut and some of the original music soundtrack has also been edited or cut. Enough to make me turn to my wife and say...."I think they cut the @&*%ing song!". She looked at me and replied "I think they cut the @&*%ing song!" Aside from the obvious editing faux pas, this is a great football film. Eddie Albert is masterful as the evil warden, and quite frankly steels the show from Reynolds. Try to overlook the fact that the guards are portrayed as "heavies", (because in real life these are the people that put their lives on the line daily), and focus on the football portion of the movie. Great slow motion sequence and action.
Rating:
Summary: The Longest Yard...SCORES!
Review: The Longest Yard is Burt Reynolds' best film. An ingenious prison comedy/drama film about a football game between the guards and the inmates. It's amazing that one of the best films about football takes place in a state prison. Has anyone seen a DROP KICK used anywhere? This "dramedy" has a great script with conventional and yet colorful prisoner and guard characters with an underlining message of teamwork and comraderie and one the best football games ever filmed. Great standout performances from character actor James Hampton as "Caretaker" (when I first saw this film, I knew Hampton only as the bugle player "Dobbs" on F-TROOP), Eddie Albert (far from his GREEN ACRES days) as the prison warden, and Ed Lauter as the head prison guard. Overall, a great movie to watch over and over again, even if you are not a football fan. Note: Look for unrecognizable actor Sonny Shroyer as inmate Sonny Tannen. He played ENOS in The Dukes of Hazard and the football coach in Forrest Gump. Also, the DVD is in widescreen, but no extras whatsoever. Not even a trailer. It would have been nice to have some audio commentary or behind the scenes extras.
Rating:
Summary: Movie still Rocks(HOME VIDEO VERSION HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH!
Review: The only complaint I have regarding this rewatchable gem is what the studio has done to it. 1 scene has been dropped involving Crewe(Reynolds) and Hazen(Albert), and the music and credits have been altered. Original "You've Got to be a Football Hero" was much, much better than "Saints go Marchin in"!!
Please Paramount release a new DVD with the original footage and music(like it was in the theatres) including some extras. This DVD has no extras!I'm sure there are some interesting tidbits of behind the scenes involving the making of this one. I was only 5 years old in 74 and since it is rated R, I never saw it in theatres, needless to say I have never seen the original trailer or even a teaser trailer.I disagree with one reviewer, though, regarding one of the actors. This reviewer claims that Enos from Dukes of Hazzard plays one of the inmates, and I know that the "Enos" actor is not in this one.
Filmed on location at the Georgia State Prison at the time that Jimmy Carter was Governor, and film also includes 3 actors from Smokey and the Bandit(Reynolds, Mike Henry, and Alfie Wise).
Rating: 
Summary: a good film after the Super Bowl
Review: this film is still good.the immates vs. the guards everything on the line.and that last touchdown put this past Super Bowl into perspective.Burt Reynolds gives one of his best performances ever.
Rating:
Summary: Mean Machine !!!!!
Review: This is one of Burt Reynolds best movies . They should have put the warrden (Eddie Albert) in the middle of that foot ball game . Then he would have learned the true meaning of POWER . In my book Crew (burt Reynolds) did the right thing by getting back in the game just to show the up .
Rating:
Summary: Scores a touchdown!
Review: This is one of Burt Reynolds' better acting performances. This movie is a delight for all football junkies; plenty of action and comedic scenes blended together to form something which is highly entertaining. Fans who followed both college and professional football very closely in the sixties and seventies might recognize the faces of those who actually played the game. The only drawback with this film is it renders a rather shallow description of what it's really like inside a prison.
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