The Longest Yard (1974)
The ORIGINAL Mean Machines!
Brief Backstory
The ultimate question: Are YOU ready for some football?! Paramount thought so in 1974, which is why The Longest Yard was created, starring Burt Reynolds. At the time of release, The Longest Yard was quickly rated as one of the greatest sports movies of all time, thanks to its’ balanced atmosphere, memorable characters, and of course, Burt Reynolds at some of his best.
Story
Paul “Wrecking” Crewe is arrested for carjacking and assaulting officers, and is “encouraged” by the warden and his cruel guards to band up his own football team to play against the guards.
Random Facts
Burt Reynolds became the head coach in the remake. Ed Lauter, actor who played Knauer would also show up but only for a minor role.
The football match takes up around 1/3 of the movie, but that’s not a bad thing.
Most of the tackles don’t seem like they would be allowed in football anymore. This was about 50 years ago so the rulebook had likely changed and possibly turned many of the moves into penalties or even ejections.
Random Opinions
The warden seems more sinister than he was in the remake.
Except for Richard Kiel (who played Jaws in Moonraker) I don’t recognize any of these players.
Holy shit that football game was violent. I hope most of these tackles aren’t allowed anymore.
The prison scenes remind me of Cool Hand Luke (and I’ve yet to see it).
Pros
- A more balanced classic compared to the 2005 remake.
- Some of the lines that were reused or redone in the 2005 remake are better in this.
- Knauer and Hazen (the warden) are much better in this. Hazen seems to be much more vicious here than he was in the remake.
Cons
- Unlike the 2005 remake, Knauer doesn’t say he’s going to side with Crewe’s story, making this a slightly more downer ending. Maybe he does maybe he doesn’t, but I felt like that Crewe was going to get 20+ years in prison.
Rating: 8.5/10 – Great
I give the 1974 original a slight edge, mostly for the football game being more brutal yet fun to watch.
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