The Longest Yard (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Trailer-Stealth Menu Audio Music Video-'Errtime' By Nelly Trailer-Man Of The House
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	108:47 (Case: 113)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Peter Segal
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Adam Sandler Chris Rock Burt Reynolds James Cromwell Walter Williamson Michael Irvin Nelly Edward Bunker Lobo Sebastian Bob Sapp Dalip Singh David Patrick Kelly Terry Crews
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$39.95	Music	Teddy Castellucci

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired Italian Italian Titling	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Adam Sandler is Paul "The Wrecking" Crewe, a revered football superstar fallen on hard times after being accused of 'shaving points' during a game. After a messy drunk driving incident Crewe lands in jail, and finds out he was specifically requested by Warden Hazen (James Cromwell), a duplicitous prison official well aware of Paul's athletic skills. Crewe has been assigned the task of assembling a team of convicts to square off in a pre-season football game against the prison guards. The Longest Yard is a remake of the 1974 Burt Reynolds classic of the same name.

    Remakes are a dicey proposition at best, especially when the original film is held in high regard or is a revered classic. Over the last few decades Hollywood has flooded the market with remakes which for the most part are unnecessary and occasionally border on incompetent. Examples of the latter are unfortunately becoming the norm - Psycho, The Stepford Wives, The Planet Of The Apes, Get Carter, Alfie, Rollerball, The Haunting and House Of Wax are prime examples of remakes that should never have seen the inside of a theatre. However, every once in a while a remake comes along that brings something fresh and new to the material - 1978's Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, John Carpenter's The Thing, David Cronenberg's The Fly, and recently Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds immediately spring to mind as first class re-interpretations of the original material. Then there are those that are neither, and simply entertain. Dawn Of The Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Italian Job and Shaft are solid if uninspired modern updates. You can now add 2005's The Longest Yard to the latter.

    The Original 1974 The Longest Yard is one of the great sports films, and definitely did not require a remake. The original is brutal, funny and moving with top notch performances from a great cast. It also features Burt Reynolds at his most charismatic. So I was more than sceptical about a modern remake that tones down the violence and language, and replaces Burt with Adam Sandler. Thankfully the film is decidedly better than the atrocious British remake (The Mean Machine) from a few years back. However, the new Yard lacks most of the ingredients that made the original so great. For example, in the original there was no question that Reynold's Paul Crewe was surrounded by murderers, rapists and basically the worst elements of society. The new version feels like a Saturday Night Live sketch with a bigger budget. The inmates at no time appear menacing and Sandler's safety is never in question. Let's face it folks, Adam Sandler can be quite funny in the right part, but a brilliant charismatic quarterback he isn't. One of the reasons the original borders on greatness is the presence of Burt Reynolds at a time when he took acting seriously. It was all downhill for Burt after this, with the possible exception of Sharky's Machine. Reynolds' Paul Crewe exuded charisma and left the audience in no doubt as to his level of sports greatness - Sandler comes off as totally unbelievable by comparison.

    The final game is also a let down with the violence toned down in favour of humour. Now in any other film this would not be a bad thing, but when you have the dregs of society playing a contact sport against their respective captors there should be an orgy of violence spewn from end zone to end zone. The bone crunching game featured in the 1974 original is still yet to be surpassed for sheer brutality. However, the new Yard is aiming at a different demographic, the 15 - 25 age bracket, and as such delivers the standard politically correct thrills and humour that ensure big box office. In the end I have no hesitation in recommending 2005's The Longest Yard as a fun flick - it just lacks the raw energy and power of the original.

Video

    The Longest Yard is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.

    Columbia Tristar has delivered another flawless reference quality transfer. I never get tired of complimenting their efforts - let's hope it continues. The picture has a razor sharp image with no aliasing, edge enhancement or telecine wobble to be found. Shadow details are exceptionable and there are no low level noise problems found anywhere.

    Colours are vibrant with no image bleeding or oversaturation issues.

    The transfer is also spotless with not so much as a flicker of dirt marring the viewing experience.

    Simply put this is a great transfer

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The Longest Yard has been given an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track as well as an Italian 5.1 track.

    Dialogue is clear with no discernable audio sync errors.

    The film's score by Teddy Castellucci is fairly non-descript but does propel the narrative forward.

    The 5.1 channel usage is fairly aggressive with plenty of surround sound activity. The rear speakers are in frequent use with the score, directional effects and ambient noise present throughout.

   The subwoofer provides a strong bass with plenty of reverberation. This is most noticeable during the final football match where the huge players pummel each other.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Trailer

Menu Audio

Music Video

Trailer

First Down and Twenty-Five to Life

The Care & Feeding of Pro Athletes

Lights Camera, Touchdown!

Extra Points

Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary.

Fumbles and Stumbles.

Commentary by Director Peter Segal

Music Video "Here comes the boom" by POD.

The Region 1 does not miss a thing, obviously making it the prefered option.

    The Longest Yard is nowhere near as entertaining or classy as its illustrious 1974 predecessor, but it delivers enough standard politically correct thrills and humour to justify that rental dollar. The transfer found on the DVD is near flawless, but sadly is totally lacking in extra material.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall