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The Longest Yard (1974)
With an intro as stylish and chic as arguably anything starring Burt Reynolds before or since, The Longest Yard may well deceive you at first, because what follows is nothing like the jazzy, erotic opening; it is a gritty, sweaty, old-fashioned prison/football movie in which David faces Goliath, and all that implies. Burt stars as an ex-pro football player who upon being sent to a prison run by football crazies, is being persuaded into putting together a team of inmates to face the guards' team of semi-pros. Although the film is full of archetypes and cliches, it is also quite fun and full of heart. And there's nothing simplified about the big game of football which is to settle it all; that runs for a full 47 minutes and is both meticulous and enjoyable enough to satisfy both fans of the sport and probably most others.
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