Mean machine = The Longest yard

Burt Reynolds plays Paul Crewe, a former Gridiron champion whose reputation has been tarnished by his involvement in fixing a game. When a drunken Crewe leads police on a wild car chase he is caught and sentenced to a prison term in a jail in the US south. The venal warden (Eddie Albert) wants Crewe to train his prison team of sadistic guards. Crewe just wants to get out of prison in one piece. He works out a deal in which he organises a team of prisoners to lose against the guards, but once on the field the opportunity to get their revenge on their tormentors proves an opportunity too good to miss. Aldrich’s film is an undeniable crowd-pleasing sports film which doesn’t require any knowledge of American football to entertain. Reynold’s gives one of his finest performances as the cynical Crew and he is supported by a fine team of character actors, including Albert, Michael Conrad, Ed Lauter and Bernadette Peters. “The Mean Machine” (known as “The Longest Yard” in the USA) was filmed in the Georgia State Penitentiary and permission was granted by then Governor Jimmy Carter. The film makes pertinent observations of institutionalised racism and brutality in the US prison system but does not allow any serious intent to dilute the fun. It also reflects the free-wheeling ethos of the early 1970s by refreshingly refusing to moralise about the murderous and violent past of its prisoner heroes. The film was re-made in 2002 by Barry Skolnick in England, replacing the pivotal Gridiron game with a soccer match.