The Longest Yard 1974

imdb-logo 7.1 / 10

The Longest Yard

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.

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.

Videos & Photos

All 1 Videos & 19 Photos

... Paul Crewe

... Warden Hazen

... Captain Knauer

... Nate Scarboro

... Caretaker

... Granville

User reviews

See All 1 Reviews

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

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' team 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

Release Date:

Aug 21, 1974 (United States)

Run Time:

2hr 1`

MMPA Rating:

R

Original Language:

English

Production Countries:

United States

Status:

Released

Related Movies To

The Longest Yard

Write Review

Found 1 reviews in total

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

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' team 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

Cast & Crew of

The Longest Yard

Directors & Credit Writers

... Second Unit Director

... Director

... Second Assistant Director

Cast

... Paul Crewe

... Warden Hazen

... Captain Knauer

... Nate Scarboro

... Caretaker

... Granville

... Rassmeusen

... Ice Man

... Melissa

... Samson

... Levitt

... Announcer

... Big George

... Trooper I

Produced By

... Casting

... Producer

... Associate Producer

Videos & Photos of

The Longest Yard

Videos ( 1)

Photos ( 19 )

Related Movies To

The Longest Yard

Found 12 Movies in total

poster-Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch (2025)

0 /10

The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.

Run Time: 1hr 48` . MMPA: PG . Release: 17 May 2025

Director: Kate Pulley , Richard Oswald , Brian Avery Galligan

Producer: Spencer Turley , Tom C. Peitzman , Thomas Schumacher

Stars: Chris Sanders , Maia Kealoha , Zach Galifianakis , Billy Magnussen , Sydney Agudong , Courtney B. Vance

poster-The Twisters
The Twisters (2024)

0 /10

A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.

Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 28 Jun 2024

Director: Michael Su

Producer: David Rimawi , David Michael Latt , Ryan Ebert

Stars: Kayla Fields , Mark Justice , Paul Logan , Curtis Strong , Tiffany , Sofia Riba

poster-First Shift
First Shift (2024)

0 /10

NYPD veteran Mike and rookie Angela tackle a high-stakes day on New York's toughest streets, diving headfirst into a vortex of danger and action. Their adrenaline-fueled pursuits and unexpected threats unfold as they navigate perilous encounters. Amidst the chaos, intense challenges forge unbreakable bonds.

Run Time: 1hr 29` . MMPA: . Release: 30 Aug 2024

Director: Béla Baptiste , Phillip Rush , Uwe Boll

Producer: Judy Bowman , Hilary Greer , Michael Roesch

Stars: Kristen Renton , Gino Anthony Pesi , James McMenamin , Garry Pastore , Michael Emery , Willie C. Carpenter

poster-KPop Demon Hunters
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

0 /10

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.

Run Time: 1hr 36` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Jun 2025

Director: Elizabeth Schantz , Maggie Kang , Sean Tadlock

Producer: Alex Baskin , Elaine Yilin Yan , Roohi Kamal

Stars: Arden Cho , Rolando Davila-Beltran , May Hong , Ji-young Yoo , Ahn Hyo-seop , Yunjin Kim

poster-Distant
Distant (2024)

0 /10

After crash-landing on an alien planet, an asteroid miner must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.

Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 12 Jul 2024

Director: Will Speck , Cliff Lanning , Josh Gordon

Producer: Fred Berger , Brian Kavanaugh-Jones , Will Speck

Stars: Anthony Ramos , Naomi Scott , Kristofer Hivju , Zachary Quinto , Izzy Jones , Leon Nurse-Joseph

poster-F1 The Movie
F1 The Movie (2025)

0 /10

Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.

Run Time: 2hr 36` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 23 Jun 2025

Director: Lisa Vick , Toby Hefferman , Donald E G Bentley

Producer: Toto Wolff , Daniel Lupi , David Campbell-Bell

Stars: Brad Pitt , Damson Idris , Kerry Condon , Tobias Menzies , Lewis Hamilton , Javier Bardem

poster-STRAW
STRAW (2025)

0 /10

What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.

Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025

Director: Nicholas Hiles , Kyler Griffin , Derrick Doose

Producer: Carole Wurst , Tyler Perry , Tony Strickland

Stars: Taraji P. Henson , Sherri Shepherd , Teyana Taylor , Sinbad , Rockmond Dunbar , Ashley Versher

poster-Conjuring the Cult
Conjuring the Cult (2024)

0 /10

After discovering his blood-soaked daughter dead in the bathtub, David Bryson attends a self-help group to help save him from his ghostly nightmares. But when a group of mysterious cult-like women offer to help him resurrect his daughter. David's choices will not just decide his fate... but the fate of his dead daughter's SOUL.

Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2024

Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy

Producer:

Stars: Neil Green , Elissa Dowling , Chynna Rae Shurts , BJ Mezek , Jason Brooks , Brad Littlefield

poster-A Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft Movie (2025)

0 /10

Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.

Run Time: 1hr 41` . MMPA: PG . Release: 31 Mar 2025

Director: Laura Hutton , Sophie Calver , Jon Valera

Producer: Jon Spaihts , Sally Cunningham , Brian Andrew Mendoza

Stars: Jack Black , Jason Momoa , Matt Berry , Pauline Chalamet , Danielle Brooks , Jennifer Coolidge

poster-The Accountant²
The Accountant² (2025)

0 /10

When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.

Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 23 Apr 2025

Director: Alina Gatti , Mariela Comitini , Fernando Chien

Producer: Kevin Halloran , Sasha Veneziano , Lynette Howell Taylor

Stars: Ben Affleck , Jon Bernthal , J.K. Simmons , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Daniella Pineda , Alison Robertson

poster-Breathing In
Breathing In (2023)

0 /10

1901, South Africa. As the Second Anglo-Boer War rages on, a wounded General seeks refuge in the small home of a woman and her young daughter. As the hurt man settles in, he begins noticing that something is off about the two women, particularly the daughter, and before long, he’ll learn the real reason for why they’ve invited him and for how they’ve survived on their own for so long.

Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: . Release: 18 Oct 2023

Director: Jaco Bouwer

Producer:

Stars: Michele Burgers , Sven Ruygrok , Jamie-Lee Money , Lionel Newton

poster-Baby Blue
Baby Blue (2023)

5 /10

A group of teens stumble across the story of now dead serial killer Baby Blue and decide he'd be the perfect subject of a true crime vodcast. But when they start digging, they quickly discover that his murder spree never stopped. Now they are being targeted from beyond the grave.

Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: . Release: 16 Apr 2023

Director: Adam Mason

Producer: Bradley Pilz , Johannes Roberts

Stars: Dylan Sprayberry , Lia McHugh , Anthony Turpel , Aramis Knight , Alexia Ioannides , Oliver Cooper