The hardest mile

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Movie
German title The hardest mile
Original title The Longest Yard
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1974
length 121 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Robert Aldrich
script Tracy Keenan Wynn
Albert S. Ruddy
production Albert S. Ruddy
music Frank De Vol
camera Joseph F. Biroc
cut Michael Luciano
occupation

The Hardest Mile is an American action film from 1974 . He is also under the title The Longest known and has been with Mean Machine - The Longest (2001) and The Longest twice so far (2005) remade .

action

Former football star and quarterback Paul Crewe lives with his girlfriend in Palm Beach , Florida . After a violent argument with her, he steals her Citroën SM and races off drunk. Of course, she calls the police, so that Crewe delivers a chase with them, which leads to his car being sunk in the sea and picked up in a pub by two police officers. After a brief exchange of insults, they do a real exchange of fists and Crewe has to go to jail for at least 18 months. He is accompanied by the story that he was once locked out of the NFL for manipulating a game. In the prison itself he meets Captain Knauer, who reminds him urgently that he should refuse any offer from Warden Hazen to play for the local football team. Because he rejects Hazen's offer, Crewe has to do forced labor with the others. But he doesn't last long and speaks against Knauer's threats with Hazen about his football offer.

Crewe suggests that the football team, which consists of the prison guards, should try out against a sub-class team before the season starts, so that they can gather enough competition and game experience. And against Crewe's request, Hazen demands that he put together and lead a team of prisoners. Because if he doesn't, his remainder of his sentence would not be parole, but rather jail time, which would mean Crewe would stay for the next five years. He has four weeks to put together a team. And after having his head coach with Nate Scarboro, a former football player, he looks for a powerful group with Sunny, Indian, Shokner and Samson, among others. But as aggressive as they are, they are just as incompetent in the football game that every training session becomes a disaster. In addition, Unger spied on the team for Knauer. When Crewe complains to Hazen that he at least wants a fair chance, Knauer drops Unger and sends him back to the cell, where he is beaten up. Because of this, Unger takes revenge and carries out an attack on Caretaker, in which he burns to death.

Caretaker was Crewe's closest advisor and at least managed to organize new kits for the assembled team before his death. But the guards on the field do not take long by surprise, because they land the first points and only when the inmates, who compete under the team name Mean Machine , fall back on several brutal fouls, can these also score decisively, so that one by half time balanced game prevails. While the prisoners in the dressing room cheer for this partial success, Hazen seeks out Crewe and tells him to lose the game by a point difference of at least 21 points. Otherwise Unger would testify that the murder of Caretaker happened on Crewe's instructions, which would mean another 20 years' imprisonment extension. Crewe reluctantly agrees and then plays so bad that the guards quickly take the lead with 28:13. Crewe can then be replaced injured and Knauer is ordered by Hazen at 35:13 not to play for victory any more, but only to inflict the greatest possible damage on the opponent. Little by little, more and more injured players from Crewe's team are being replaced. When finally Granville also has to get out, Crewe has enough and he changes back. But the team has long been convinced that Crewe would have sold them, which is why they leave him absolutely alone on the field. But he still manages to convince the team with his commitment, so that he can bring them to a score of 35:30 by seven seconds before the end. Crewe takes his last time out, motivates his team and manages to break into the end zone at the last second for a touchdown , so that the prisoners defeat the guards.

criticism

“While The Hardest Mile is a terrible movie, I have to admit that I enjoyed parts of the football training session and the final against my will - even though it was way too long. There's no such thing as a thrill in sport because it's the director who decides who wins or loses. But the plot offers some dramatic tension because of the importance of winning or losing. "

- Nora Sayre in the New York Times

"Basically, The Hardest Mile is a cynical, often brutal and rude film that tries to mix two seemingly incompatible genres - a piece of sadistic prison life and the equally old story of an inferior football team that wins the big game against all odds."

- Time

"A tough entertainment film, brilliantly staged in the action scenes, exciting, solidly played, with socially critical approaches."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

publication

The film opened in US cinemas on August 30, 1974 and grossed $ 43 million there. It started in the Federal Republic on April 10, 1975. Since March 7, 2002, the film has been available as a German DVD for sale under the title Die Kampfmaschine .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Longest Yard (1974) on nytimes.com, August 22, 1974, accessed February 13, 2012
  2. ↑ Richard Schickel: THE LONGEST YARD on time.com from September 23, 1974 (English), accessed on February 13, 2012
  3. ↑ The Longest Yard (1974) on boxofficemojo.com (English), accessed February 13, 2012