The Longest Yard

A fiercely anti-authoritarian parable mixing broad, black comedy and fast action, this portrays the conflict between prison inmate Reynolds and head warden Albert when a football game is organised between prisoners and guards; the inmates see it as their chance to take revenge for all the brutality they've suffered, while the guards are pressurised by Albert into playing dirty and humiliating their opponents. The themes are dignity and compromise, freedom and betrayal; if it all gets bogged down occasionally in its macho-violence trip, it's nevertheless very exciting, very witty, and elevated above its action-movie status by Aldrich's deliberate references to Nixon in Albert's characterisation of the warden.