The Longest Yard

It is admittedly manipulative and quite violent, and being filled to the brim with references to The Dirty Dozen and the corrupt regime of President Nixon, it can be a little heavy-handed. These aside though, it is very well made with crisp cinematography and an imposing building for the prison, and the comedy is boisterous and comes by thick and fast, and it is pretty hard to beat with this on showing loyalty, dignity and liberty. Robert Aldrich directs with panache, the music is very good, the story is gripping, the script is sharp and the acting is excellent. Burt Reynolds exudes star quality as the imprisoned football professional who is forced to organise a team of convicts against their own guards, and it was nice to see Bernadette Peters as the Warden's secretary. But it is Eddie Albert who steals the acting honours as the sadistic warden. Overall, a very good prison drama, and definitely recommended. 8/10 Bethany Cox