The Longest Yard (1974).

Review #778: The Longest Yard.

Cast
Burt Reynolds (Paul "Wrecking" Crewe), Eddie Albert (Warden Rudolph Hazen), Ed Lauter (Captain Wilhelm Knauer), Michael Conrad (Nate Scarborough), James Hampton (Caretaker), Harry Caesar ("Granny" Granville), John Steadman (Pop), Charles Tyner (Unger), Mike Henry (Rasmussen), Jim Nicholson (Ice Man), Bernadette Peters (Miss Toot), Pepper Martin (Shop steward), Robert Tessier (Connie Shokner), Richard Kiel (Samson), Anitra Ford (Melissa), and Ray Nitschke (Bogdanski) Directed by Robert Aldrich (#105- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)

Review
Yes, I'm aware of the timing to be back. In any case, The Longest Yard is a movie I had wanted to review, but I only had recently got the chance to finally watch the film, and what better way to do it on Sunday? In any case, The Longest Yard has a gallery of characters that generate a good deal of laughs, especially Reynolds, who seems to be perfectly at home with this character, filled with that expressionist grin. It's a movie that pulls all the punches, having a good deal of fun, with its own edge of football violence that anyone can associate with the sport. One of my favorite scenes is where Reynolds and another inmate exchange pleasantries (if you'd call it that) of stacking mud onto their pants, with the two getting into a mud-fight. Somehow, seeing the Captain coming out of the car gets them all laughing (even the guards laugh), and I can't help but crack up at everybody having a good laugh in the middle of a swamp. I do love the introduction to the football game, complete with split images of multiple shots. This is a movie for anyone looking for a good time with Burt Reynolds and a bunch of inmates who while being pretty criminal (including at least one murderer), are at least interesting to watch try to play some football, which is fine by me. It's a brutal film, but it is a movie that knows what its doing, and it knows how to make you laugh.

Football players in this movie (because why not?): Joe Kapp, Ray Nitschke, Mike Henry, Pervis Atkins, Ernie Wheelwright and Ray Ogden.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Silent Movie.

Review #623: Silent Movie.

Cast
Mel Brooks (Mel Funn), Dom DeLuise (Dom Bell), Marty Feldman (Marty Eggs), Bernadette Peters (Vilma Kaplan), Sid Caesar (Studio Chief), Harold Gould (Engulf), and Ron Carey (Devour) Directed by Mel Brooks (#061 - Blazing Saddles, #198 - Spaceballs, #248 - Robin Hood: Men In Tights, #361 - The Producers, and #364 - High Anxiety)

Review
Silent Movie is a spoof on slapstick films of the silent film era, and it even has a cameo from Harry Ritz, one part of the classic Ritz Brothers, one of many associated with the silent film era. The visual gags in this movie are entertaining, even the fact that some of the sounds in this movie are "shown" is hilarious. The actors are fun to watch interact with, especially with Marty Feldman, whose eyes really just follow you even when the focus isn't on him, and that comes to a head when Anne Bancroft's eyes start crossing each other. The guest appearances (Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, Anne Bancroft, Paul Newman, Marcel Marceau) add to the charm of the movie because the stuff that happens with them is really hilarious, such as the electric wheelchair chase, Marceau's response to Funn's offer is probably the best response a mime could give to a offer to be in a silent film. The slapstick is fun to watch, especially the weird quirks that go on in this movie, especially the coke machine. The movie may not run long, but it more than makes up for it being a really entertaining film with a good deal of charm and love for its subject matter.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.