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The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard
Film credit
Burt Reynolds
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 4
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Burt Reynolds’s films
Displaying all 4 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Casting What-Ifs
Robert Redford; David Cronenberg; Burt Reynolds; uncertain Isabella Rossellini report
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:53Read transcript
- Redford reportedly sought the lead but producers feared disruptive rewrites; Cronenberg reportedly declined directing. — Bill Simmons
- Reynolds reportedly wanted the part then withdrew; a Rossellini offer is treated as uncertain research. — Bill Simmons
- Ford reportedly doubted McGillis before Weir persuaded him; whether this reflected her personally or inexperience is unresolved. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Gene Hackman is proposed as the coach; Burt Reynolds and Warren Beatty are considered for Jonathan.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:01Read transcript
- Gene Hackman is proposed as a stronger choice for the Houston coach. — Bill Simmons
- Burt Reynolds is considered for Jonathan because of his athleticism and swagger, though Caan is preferred. — Bill Simmons
- Robert Redford is rejected as insufficiently credible for the violent athletic role. — Bill Simmons
- Warren Beatty is considered a plausible alternate lead because of his athletic credibility. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Caan/Reynolds/O’Neal/Redford; Norton; Keitel; Snodgress; Strasberg
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:29Read transcript
- United Artists reportedly wanted Redford, Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds or James Caan; this is defended as plausible studio thinking rather than ideal casting. — Bill Simmons
- O’Neal is rejected as too handsome and WASPy. — Bill Simmons
- Caan as Rocky with Keitel or Cazale as Paulie is imagined. — Chris Ryan
- Caan and Reynolds are challenged as too established; the unknown Stallone makes the audience root for the real performer too. — Bill Simmons
- Ken Norton reportedly withdrew from Apollo before Carl Weathers took the role. — Bill Simmons
- Stallone reportedly wanted Harvey Keitel for Paulie. — Bill Simmons
- Carrie Snodgress reportedly left Adrian over money; Cher and Susan Sarandon auditioned, with Sarandon judged too pretty. — Bill Simmons
- Lee Strasberg reportedly wanted too much money to play Mickey.
Producer review
The producer praises the football and final forty minutes, finds the first hour dated, admires the older stars’ natural presence, wants a stronger final speech, and argues Crewe should have thrown the game
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:01Read transcript
- The producer had only seen and enjoyed the Adam Sandler remake before this viewing. — Craig Horlbeck
- He finds the final forty minutes highly rewatchable but the opening hour visibly fifty years old. — Craig Horlbeck
- The real football players and wide staging make the game convincing. — Craig Horlbeck
- Reynolds, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and Brando are contrasted with more manicured modern stars. — Craig Horlbeck
- Reynolds’s quiet, still star power is described as nearly extinct. — Craig Horlbeck
- The football includes credible reverses, sneaks, and a back-shoulder pass. — Craig Horlbeck
- The addendum wanted more than roughly fifteen words from Crewe’s final speech. — Craig Horlbeck
- The producer argues Crewe should have thrown the game and left prison after eighteen months. — Craig Horlbeck
- Norm Macdonald’s Saturday Night Live impression shaped his first understanding of Burt Reynolds. — Craig Horlbeck
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:33Read transcript
- Burt Reynolds is the clear and repeated winner choice.
- Ruddy gets an alternate winner case for the foresight to unite Aldrich, Reynolds, the story, and a no-holds-barred tone. — Chris Ryan
- Ruddy’s long career through The Godfather and Million Dollar Baby strengthens the alternate case. — Van Lathan
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Burt Reynolds
- Speaker not identified
- Burt Reynolds
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:35:18Read transcript
- Smokey and the Bandit is proposed as a Burt Reynolds charisma pairing. — Bill Simmons
- North Dallas Forty is the leading same-era football pairing.
- Slap Shot and Heaven Can Wait are additional 1970s sports options.
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:35Read transcript
- Two emphatic responses select Burt Reynolds for the acting Oscar. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
The Longest Yard as Burt Reynolds’s retrospective apex; The Longest Yard among football movies; the 1974 Maserati
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:22Read transcript
- Smokey and the Bandit is selected as Burt Reynolds’s commercial apex. — Bill Simmons
- The Longest Yard is proposed as a retrospective apex because it remains among his most memorable films. — Bill Simmons
- Eddie Albert, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, and Harry Caesar receive career-context discussion. — Bill Simmons
- The Longest Yard is selected as the best football movie over a large field of alternatives. — Bill Simmons
- The 1974 Maserati receives an immediate vehicle apex. — Bill Simmons
- Saturday Night Special is considered for movie-song apex and compared with its use in Blue Collar. — Bill Simmons
- The observed Anacott/Anacoste Steel reference remains more closely associated with Wall Street. — Bill Simmons
- The movie is jokingly tested against other notorious West Palm Beach incidents. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Glen Powell is favored over Ryan Gosling as a modern Paul Crewe.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:49Read transcript
- Ryan Gosling is the first modern Paul Crewe proposal.
- Glen Powell is favored because the panel sees athletic credibility and Burt Reynolds-like charisma. — Van Lathan
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Burt Reynolds is called the greatest car-chase driver; alternate takes read the film as a story about America and speculate that Crewe fathers a child in prison.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:15Read transcript
- Burt Reynolds is argued to be the greatest performer at driving while being chased. — Bill Simmons
- Steve McQueen and Ryan Gosling are considered as alternatives. — Bill Simmons
- The movie is read as a story about Americans from different backgrounds uniting through football and hatred of authority. — Chris Ryan
- A deliberately speculative take imagines that the secretary becomes pregnant after the encounter with Crewe. — Van Lathan
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
“You’ve come too far to stop now”
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:21Read transcript
- The final huddle’s come-too-far line is the leading quote. — Chris Ryan
- The line about a player having broken his neck is another prominent nominee. — Chris Ryan
- Crewe saying people keep him around for his sense of humor is offered as a summary of Burt Reynolds’s appeal. — Chris Ryan
- Knauer’s answer that fifteen gun turrets explain the warden’s command is nominated. — Chris Ryan
What’s Aged the Best?
Burt Reynolds’s athletic movie-star performance, the sports realism, split-screen game coverage, car chase, period styling, Caretaker twist, and decision not to kill Crewe receive the strongest praise.
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:38Read transcript
- A giant movie star leading a sports film is praised as a model that has become rare. — Van Lathan
- The ashtray, cigarettes, radio football call, and gray leisure suit immediately establish the 1970s setting. — Bill Simmons
- The split-screen game coverage is praised for introducing a new visual grammar late in the movie without breaking immersion. — Chris Ryan
- The car chase benefits from the long skids and less precise handling of a 1973 Maserati. — Bill Simmons
- Anitra Ford’s look is treated as specifically evocative of the mid-1970s. — Bill Simmons
- The observed Ed Loudder is praised for a résumé spanning several sports movies. — Bill Simmons
- Michael Conrad’s later Hill Street Blues presence is noted. — Bill Simmons
- Using an announcer inside the sports movie is credited as a device later films repeated.
- Caretaker’s ability to obtain steroids, vitamins, and stimulants is treated as funny period detail. — Bill Simmons
- The very wide photography and multi-picture design are praised as theatrical choices. — Bill Simmons
- Caretaker’s murder is called both devastating and an effective story turn that keeps prison danger present. — Bill Simmons
- The decision to replace an ending where Crewe was shot preserves the movie’s satisfying resolution. — Bill Simmons
- Burt Reynolds’s dismissive later account of the remake is treated as evidence of his cranky persona. — Bill Simmons
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 26 in total
