Yanks (1979) User Reviews

Tony Melody

[ALANDONNELLY-1 · 7/10 · 20 October 2008]

Was sad to see the passing of Tony Melody this summer. He was such a good yet under sung character actor. His performance in Yanks was excellent and the mischievous smile he cracked when he said there would be 'no danger' of the bottle of whisky remaining unopened was brilliant as oppose to his wife's refusal to eat the cake that Geres character had prepared.

I wonder if the picture of his character he showed Gere when he was talking about his war service was actually his real father as he had served in the Guards during the first world war - just a thought.

Lisa Eichorn had me fooled for many a year - that Lancashire accent is spot on.

American GIs hit the British shores in 1940s war torn England

[Mumofalmost3 · 7/10 · 26 May 2005]

I found the film to be touching in parts and pretty accurate in what I have read about the happenings and going-ons in wartime England circa 1943-4. This film was, I believe, what sparked a very popular British TV series called 'We'll Meet Again'. It is very evident in the similarities - the lady of the manor falling in love with the Captain, the GIs falling for the girls. The gruff parent - in the movie's case it was the mother and in the TV series it was the father (he was a lot harsher than the mother in this movie).

I loved one of the dance hall scenes where a huge fight breaks out between different sets of GIs. The British women, after the fight, were wonderful.

I was left wondering, at the end of the movie, whether the main characters survived the final push. Richard Gere was pretty yummy back in the day too :o)

Power Stations

[colingilbertwinlatonmill · 7/10 · 29 December 2013]

Just watched this film again for at least the tenth time since it's release and never fail to be impressed by the accuracy of its portrayal of Northern England. In fact this is the England I remember growing up in in the 1960s and it really only started to change around the 1970s when we finally seemed to recover from post war austerity. Shops looked like that when I was a kid in suburbs of Newcastle. Several people mention the power station mistakenly suggesting it was out of place as it was nuclear. Most power stations in the UK are coal powered and still look exactly like this and as the film was made in and around Stalybridge and the pennine towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire it may well have been Stalybridge which was built in 1926 and definitely never a nuclear plant. Lovely film and exactly as wartime was described in countless family discussions with our mams and dads. This was often the only adventure in their lives so it came up over and over again.

Schlesinger's masterful tale of two cultures

[Geofbob · 29 July 2001]

This is a beautifully judged and paced 1979 film by John Schlesinger, which explores wartime romance and a unique culture clash, with sensitivity, wit and an affectionate eye for the period in which it is set. The time, 1943/4; the place, a small town in the north of England; the parties, the US Army gathering for the invasion of mainland Europe, and the locals grateful for the military assistance but watchful for the virtue of their wives and daughters.

Richard Gere's Sergeant-Cook, Matt, is surely still one of his best and certainly most sympathetic roles. His love affair with shopkeeper's daughter Jean (Lisa Eichhorn) - together with another on/off romance further up the social scale between William Devane's Captain and Vanessa Redgrave's upper class lady - highlight the painful choice between love and loyalty which war often presents. Meanwhile, the sunnier, trouble-free pairing and marriage of boxer Danny (Chick Vennera) and happy-go-lucky Mollie (Wendy Morgan) demonstrates that war can offer fresh starts as well as tragic ends.

Though Schlesinger bases most of the film on the moral (and cinematic) values of the time in which it is set, he reminds us in one sequence of the segregation and race problems in the US Army, which would not be resolved until after the war (and of wider race problems in the US generally, which are still not resolved). Rightly, the movie makes no attempt to avoid emotion; and the ending with the troops, including Matt, Danny and the Captain, moving south to an uncertain future with the invasion force is genuinely moving.

Home Front reality could never be remade

[JonathanWalford · 7/10 · 1 October 2013]

This is not a perfect film, but it was made at the end of an era when films about World War II were made for veteran audiences. Movies like Tora Tora Tora and the Battle of Britain were about battles and almost completely ignored the human stories. Yanks is a pioneer in the genre of wartime humanism. Without Yanks we would not have films like: Hope & Glory, Swing Shift, The Pianist, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Bon Voyage, Charlotte Grey, Radio Days, Das Boot, Rosenstasse, Downfall, Black Book, and even Schindler's List.

Adding to the strength of the new genre is a certain authenticity the film maintains. From the unabashed male nudity in the showers to the grimy black Victorian buildings of pre Thatcher Britain. Perhaps it's because the film was made when any Brit over the age of 45 would remember the era very clearly, so it wasn't as much of a history film when it was made as it is now.

Despite its authentic feel, the period details are not always correct. The men's hairstyles are too long for servicemen and there are other little flaws in the costuming, hairstyles, and props. However, the film's worst problem is the editing. The movie looks like it was a much longer film that was cut down - and that is exactly what happened. The half hour that was removed from the final cut made every story choppy and incomplete. The romance is on again/off again without explanation, and some scenes seem to be thrown in that are unrelated to the storyline, like the black soldiers at the dance hall. Either a different edit or director's cut would improve the film considerably. Despite these issues, the film is still an important one, and worthy of watching.

They're Over-Paid, Over-Sexed and Over-Here

[Havan_IronOak · 6/10 · 31 July 2002]

That was the attitude in England to the veritable flood of US Servicemen prior to D-Day. England, like the US, had suffered during the Great Depression, and was then thrust into WWII years ahead of the US. During that time they struggled, pretty much alone, against the Nazi's. They lost thousands of their sons to the war, thousands of civilians to German bombing and they all lived through strict rationing.

When the American troops arrived they were for the most part young men with young men's appetites, far away from home, with ample supplies of Chocolate and Liquor and other goods in short supply in the UK. The troops were receiving steady paychecks (many for the first time in their lives) and were very willing to take advantage of the wartime shortage of able-bodied young men

This film accurately depicts the time and gives a fair and balanced account of that period. It is recommended viewing for those that wish to understand attitudes that continue even today in the older generation. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at New Years dealing with the racism of the US soldiers and the reaction of the Brits.

Unfortunately, historical accuracy doesn't always make for a great movie and the major romantic plot lines seemed tepid. I am not sure why. The elements were all there. A lonely young British woman has a beau in the British Army who is away. An attractive young American who is sensitive enough to appreciate her view and feels alone and out of touch in the foreign country. The girl's family who are pulling for the local lad but are forced to admit that the Yank is an OK sort. Yet even with all of these plot elements, like the American in the story, I was unable to muster sufficient enthusiasm at the key time to get the most out of the experience.

American soldiers in England before the entry of the Second Front in the II World War

[esteban1747 · 7/10 · 19 November 2001]

Good film of Schlesinger. It shows well the differences in behavior of Americans and British people, the first quite liberal while the second conservatives. This is true, but the film showed a scene of racism organized by the Yanks and repudiated by the "pommes". So the director masterfully was putting things in one way and another and showing the problems and differences realistically. The performance of Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Wiliam Devane and Vanessa Redgrave is really good. The loneliness of a person is presented here and the need to overcome it even if the method used ethically may not always be accepted by the society. This is the case of Jean having a compromise with another guy already in the front while in his absence she started the relationship with Matt (R. Gere).

Make Love, Not War

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 8 June 2010]

"From early 1942 until the invasion of Europe over a million Americans landed in Britain. They came to serve on other battle fronts or to man the vast U.S. bases in England. Hardly a city, town or village remained untouched," reads the film's introduction. What this comes to mean is that the American G.I.s you see riding in on their USA tanks will have affairs with the local women, which is certainly no surprise. Director John Schlesinger finds three representative couples. While this is a war story, the focus is on making love, not war. Both love and war make for very exciting films, but this really isn't one of them.

"Yanks" is fine in places, but disappointing overall. The affairs are structurally uninteresting and evoke little passion - even the participants seem bored. This is all despite a fine cast headed by Richard Gere (as Matt), Vanessa Redgrave (as Helen), and William Devane (as John). In an early role, lovely Lisa Eichhorn (as Jean) received "Golden Globe" consideration, and motherly Rachel Roberts won a late career "British Academy" award. The "National Board" placed it at #2 and gave their "Best Director" of the year award to Mr. Schlesinger. Though bland, the film is good-looking and richly detailed.

****** Yanks (9/19/79) John Schlesinger ~ Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane

Over Paid, Over Sexed and Over Here

[excalibur107 · 10/10 · 4 April 2017]

That's what the local British people thought of the American troops stationed in the North of England during War World II: They are over paid, over sexed and over here. Divided by a common language and a very different view of the world. John Schlesinger is a director I adore - Midnight Cowboy, Darling, Sunday Bloody Sunday, just to mention three titles. The actors in a Schlesinger film, from Alan Bates to Dustin Hoffman to Peter Finch are at their best but never as compellingly than Richard Gere in Yanks. A performance of such beauty that one wonders why we haven't seen more of this Richard Gere. Enthralling, romantic and truthful, profoundly so. Lisa Eichhorn is also a stand out. Her English rose (Lisa Eichhorn is an American) is a throwback to the best English actresses of the 1940's. Vanessa Redgrave and Rachel Roberts also provide a unique glimpse into the Britishness of the story. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Back to the past, it's gone bye too fast

[mmunier · 6/10 · 3 March 2007]

I gave 6 stars but I'm sure the first hour would be worth another 3. That's right I missed the first hour! I have not been to war but did 18 month of military service in 1962 and also seen many war movies. And I appreciated very much this movie. What caught my attention as I turned on the TV was someone looking much like Richard Gere... In such a movie? I had no idea so kept on watching and enjoyed every minutes of it. Yes I like Gere's effort both he and his "girl" gave an excellent and very believable performance. I won't repeat some of the previous comments already said about some very impressive scenes but it's all there. Oh I did not say, yes I'm a fan of Richard Gere and thanks to IMDb I know a lot more about him now. I'd like him to make a movie call "the day of the gerbil" It could be very entertaining and be use as a counter pay-back. Well It's really 9 stars for me

Nice Staging Ruined by Weak Script

[richievee · 4/10 · 17 May 2013]

I remember being disappointed by "Yanks" when it was first released in 1979. Now I have seen it again nearly 35 years later, and my opinion has not changed.

First, the positive news. The staging, editing, and photography are top notch, with a keen eye for period detail. Some of the acting is quite good too, especially Lisa Eichhorn (as Jean Moreton) and Tony Melody (as her dad, Jim Moreton).

But the negatives dominate. The script (by Colin Wellan and Walter Bernstein) is inferior in every way, with a predictable story and far too many stereotypes for my liking. Most of the Americans are loudmouthed braggarts, and I was just waiting for the inevitable scenes of racial bigotry that seem to infest all such tales of Yanks in Britain. It should have had no part in this story. Indeed, if the script had stuck to a love triangle among Jean, Matt, and Ken, all would have been much better -- instead of trying to tackle the whole of WWII in a single bite.

Dialogue is laughably clichéd throughout, and I cannot understand why Richard Gere is considered to be a capable actor. Neither is William Devane much good here. Score big points for the superiority of British acting over the Americans. Worst of all, and a lethal weakness, I sensed absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between Mr. Gere and Ms. Eichhorn. How anyone could fail to fall madly in love with Lisa Eichhorn, in person or on screen, is beyond me, but Gere somehow managed to do it. What a dud performance. Too bad because his character could have been rather likable. Instead, all he ever talked about was Arizona, and I could not see any reason for Jean to have become interested in him.

Don't waste your time on "Yanks" unless you want to enjoy a nice performance by the sweet, lovely Lisa Eichhorn. I wish the movie could have been about Jean and Ken (Derek Thompson). Now, that would have been worth watching -- though of course the title would have to be changed!

Love and War In The North Of England

[littlemartinarocena · 9/10 · 22 March 2007]

John Schlesinger returns to the land of his early, wonderful "A Kind Of Loving" and "Billy Liar" for a cross-cultural love story with a critical but undoubtedly affectionate eye. Richard Gere, pre-"American Gigolo" is terrific as Matt, the cook who falls for Jean, the local English rose played beautifully by the splendid American actress, Lisa Eichhorn. The Americans posted in the North of England felt truly abroad, they could hardly understand the lingo. For the locals it was a different story, they understood the American GI's because after all, they spoke like Gary Cooper. The elders look at the abrasive newcomers with politeness but also with a tinge of suspicion. There was a catch phrase at the time to describe the American troops: "They're overpaid, oversexed and over here" The cultural differences go beyond language and in a masterful writing stroke tells us why. Richard Gere tells Lisa Eichhorn about his dreams for the future - building a chain of Motels across America - while her British boyfriend dreams of getting married and building their home above his parents shop. Lisa Eichhorn's Jane is the perfect "man in the middle" attached to her parents (the wonderful Rachel Roberts and Tony Melody)world, and at the same time, she is fascinated by Richard Gere's look at the American dream - the "everything is possible" mentality. The film is a gem. Unfairly overlooked in its day but now on its 30th anniversary risks to be rediscovered and and re-evaluated. It certainly deserves another life.

Good acting for a subject that has become obsolete

[Dr_Coulardeau · 7/10 · 18 April 2009]

In 1979 the nostalgia about the second world war was slightly displaced but could easily be explained by the defeat in Vietnam in 1975 and all the films about the horror this war in Vietnam was. Let's compensate slightly and enjoy WW2 when the Yanks were welcomed (kind of) in Europe and expected to give a good spanking to the Germans, if not the Nazis, or vice versa. But there is no Kwai river in Europe. So let us make it sentimental and evoke the meeting of the Yanks with their distant British cousins in England getting ready for the second front and then the third. So the whole film is given some life with its being centered on the relation between one man from Arizona and one girl from the small city where the Yanks are camping. Possible and impossible passion at the same time, possible in the mind and impossible in the body because of the immense chasm between the two worlds, the two civilizations. It is a little pathetic, and yet probably true. A culture that says the girl of another man is sacred and a woman from another world has to be tamed and introduced with time and in time, not taken and used for a short while and forgotten when departure day arrives. You add to that the difficult relation between some white GIs and the black GIs, plus the impossibility for the other white GIs who are not openly hostile to the black GIs, hence who are not openly racist, to prevent or stop the racist provocation and then fight. Does it make a good film? It would have been good in the 50s. But four years after the defeat in Vietnam it is slightly too romantic and even simplistic to really erase the humiliation of 1975. The film 30 years later becomes slightly too sweet to be digestible. For having lived up to 1965 with GIs in my city and having seen their disruptive presence every Sunday along the embankments of the harbor, alcohol, prostitution, and a few other things of the type, I can testify it was probably a lot more drastic and sinister in England, in war time, waiting for the front, knowing that they may never come back from it. The film then appears idyllic, and in a way weak.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID

Disappointing

[wwii · 5/10 · 11 May 2005]

I can't believe, after all the work done for authenticity in this film that was set in WWII, the director would include not ONE but at least FOUR shots showing modern Three-Mile-Island style nuclear power plant cooling towers!!! They walk up a hill with them in the background, then the GI's set up camp, with them in the background. Then the GI's tear down the camp, and there they are!! There's a fourth shot of folks walking down a road and the cooling towers are letting off steam in the background!! The film just went in the toilet for that reason, because then I started looking for other things that weren't correct. Most that I spotted would only be noticeable by a 'purist', so I'll let them slide. But I just find it hard to believe that those shots were allowed in a film that was based on a period of our time where nuclear power was unheard of by 99% of the populace. The atomic bomb was still being developed in secret!!

Thanks!

[Poseidon-3 · 14 April 2005]

An unusual, but effective, cast was gathered for this nostalgic and lovingly crafted film about the effect of the influx of American soldiers on a Northern English town during WWII. Gere plays a thoughtful and polite soldier who has to live down the reputation of "selfish yank" placed upon all the soldiers based on the behavior of his predecessors. He falls for sensitive and appealing Eichhorn, who's already got a beau fighting in the British Army. Meanwhile, commanding officer Devane is spending much time with Redgrave, the wife of a British officer who is away fighting. A third couple consists of eager soldier Vennera and bus ticket operator Morgan. These stories (with focus primarily on the first two couples) play out in episodes, occasionally overlapping, while the life of 1940's small town England is displayed with engrossing detail and authenticity. Gere is handsome and ingratiating despite some character flaws. Eichhorn, an American, does an admirable job playing British and is amazingly dewy and fresh. Devane, always interesting to watch, gives a solid performance. Redgrave has several luminous moments in her role and is very much at home with the material (though she and Devane are, ostensibly, very unlikely as a romantic pair.) Vennera and Morgan have little to do, but are endearing and energetic in their portrayals. It seems odd to use the word towering when describing the acting of such a low-key character as the one Roberts plays (Eichhorn's overburdened mother), but that's what she is. She brings terrific nuance and commitment to her role. It's hard to believe she would be dead within a year by her own hand. Harrison (as Eichhorn's young brother) has the type of un-Hollywood, natural appeal that all directors should search for. The whole film offers wondrous period atmosphere and a sentimental, yet realistic and sensible, approach to the characters. Not a tremendous amount of plot takes place. Many little moments and heartfelt touches are prevalent. The film is more of an ensemble character study and a postcard to the time in which it is set than a story driven film, but it does build to a rewardingly touching finale. A remarkable outdoor shower scene takes place within the first six minutes which ought to please anyone who loves a man in (or in this case out of!) uniform.

Understanding history never becomes obsolete

[dimplet · 7/10 · 1 June 2011]

Yanks is a "slice of life" movie. I mention this partly as a warning, partly because some people have never heard of this genre. For people looking for action, drama, excitement, look elsewhere. But if you are looking for great, naturalistic acting, Yanks excels.

The focus of a slice of life movie is usually the everyday events of people's lives, presented as naturally as possible. And so the acting needs to be as lifelike as possible. In some examples of this genre, such as Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, there is virtually no plot, but great acting. Others, such as Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, show us a side of life, such as the heartwarming events of childhood on a farm.

In Yanks, we see the lives of three couples unfold during a lull in the action of World War II, at least for them. Before seeing the film, when I read the capsule description, I had a sense of dread that I was in for some romantic sturm und drang manipulation, and was prepared to turn it off if that were the case. Instead, I saw American men behaving as gentlemen with British women of good morals, though less than perfect due to the abnormal situation of the war. Their good intentions gradual succumb to the unfolding of genuine affection. And then it is time for the men to go to war.

Are we yawning yet? This movie is not for everyone, especially for the younger generation weaned on action flicks. However, I suspect it would make a good chick flick, as it has soap opera elements.

As I watched Yanks, I couldn't help thinking of Memphis Belle, the story of a bomber crew deployed over Germany during the war. The movie shows the crew being selected for a documentary, and follows them through run after run. What many viewers don't know is that there was a real Memphis Belle that was the subject of a live documentary by the great director Frank Capra. Of course, Capra didn't know how the story would end, whether the crew would live or die.

Real life can be pretty dramatic. The problem with the movie Memphis Belle is that the acting was pretty hammy, even though the events and the dialog were generally true to life. So it dropped the ball as a slice of life movie.

In Yanks, the acting is exceptional and very natural. William Devane delivered his best performance I've seen. If you watch enough movies, eventually you may forget what really great, natural acting looks like. Yanks is a reminder. But it is short on drama.

There is some conflict between the British and Americans, mainly in the form of British resentment due to a variety of reasons. But the movie avoids generalizing or moralizing about who is right or wrong. It could have played up the pat idea that the British were sometimes jealous of the Americans, and yet the young ladies were all too interested in using the GIs to go to America -- but that was not the message.

Instead, the movie is about individual romances, attractions not because they were American or British but because they simply liked each other. I can imagine that this is how it really was like during the war for many people. And you don't see the loose sexual morals of today transposed onto the 1940s, and instead see some real restraint, which I suspect was also realistic.

So why should you watch this movie? What is interesting is seeing the clash of the two cultures, the British and Americans, played out in the individual relationships, and seeing those relationships unfold.

This is primarily a British movie, with a British director, producer, writer, composer, cinematographer, etc., filmed in a British studio by a German production company, CIP Filmproduktion GmbH, with a mostly British cast, and first released in Britain.

Yet a French professor posting here dismisses Yanks as a bit of pathetic American propaganda to "erase the humiliation of 1975" when the Vietnam War ended -- a war caused by the French to keep their pre-WWII colony! Why is it so many foreigners assume that movies about America are made at the direction of some secret U.S. government ministry of patriotic propaganda? And that everything in America is one vast nationalistic conspiracy? Is that how it works in France?

EXCEPT, YANKS IS NOT AN American MOVIE, DR. IDIOT! The opinions expressed by the British are hardly pro-American. And there are no scenes of battle glory of the Americans (and British) saving Vichy France from Nazi occupation during the invasion of Normandy on D Day, the reason the Yanks were in Britain. Talk about erasing the humiliation of 1945!

The weak link in Yanks is the script. While we see the couples behaving romantically, we don't hear much discussion about America versus Britain, and how they would feel about living in one or the other country. Yet they consider marriage without much serious talk. I suppose this can happen with young people, but given the subject of the movie, there should have been more meat to these conversations. I notice this a lot in otherwise good romances these days: they behave romantically, and voilà, they are in love, yet there is no appropriate dialog. Cold Mountain is a good example.

You can watch dozens of documentaries about World War II to learn about history, but it helps to supplement them with movies such as Yanks (or Mrs. Miniver) that give you a real feel for daily life during that time. Yanks was made more than 30 years ago, but doesn't feel dated, and I suspect it will be just as interesting to viewers, if not more so, 30 years from now.

Well done romance and delicate historical observation

[MBunge · 6/10 · 20 May 2011]

In 1942, hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were pouring into Great Britain in preparation for the eventual invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. They were young men far from home in a war-ravaged country with some disposable income and not all that much to do until D-Day arrived. Surrounding them was a land full of kids, old men and young women with very few British chaps around. Yanks is a story about the relationships that spawned between those American boys and those British girls that encompassed love, companionship, exploitation and everything in between.

When young enlisted men Matt and Danny (Richard Gere and Chick Vennera) roll into England with the U.S. army, it doesn't take them long before they connect with Mollie and Jean (Wendy Morgan and Lisa Eichhorn). But while the cheeky Mollie and the somewhat shy Danny waste no time falling in love, it's a rockier road for Matt and Jean. He's immediately attracted to her, but she has a sort-of-beau named Ken (Derek Thompson) who's serving with the British forces in Malaysia. Ken and Jean are two kids who grew up in a small town with everyone always expecting them to wind up together and it's not easy for her to open her heart to another man, especially an American who wants things his own way.

The same hesitation is seen in the relationship between an army captain named John (Williams Devane) and a lady of the manor named Helen (Vanessa Redgrave). Helen's husband is also away at war and her friendship with John has been platonic for a while, but they both know where it's heading. The truth is that everybody knows the American GI's will be romancing and coupling with the local ladies and no one really knows what to do about it except look the other way.

These filmmakers do a great job slowly unfolding love affairs, both meaningful and not, amidst a simmering stew of resentment, jealousy and cultural clash. Yanks gently captures the amoral nature of war-time living where people try to maintain some semblance of normality and end up just taking what they need to survive. When looked at coldly, there's something seedy about these arrogant Americans swooping in and taking advantage of British women left alone by the demands of war, yet director John Schlesinger never lets the audience forget that life isn't cold. It's warm and it's now and it wants. Strangers brought together by the most horrible of circumstances are still people who want to be loved and hate to be alone.

This film dispenses with a lot of the traditional obstacles that get chucked in the path of lovers. Ken makes only a brief appearance and the disapproval of Jean's parents doesn't seem to keep her and Matt separated for an instant. The story can get away with that because we know where these American boys are going and it isn't back to the States with their British loves in tow. It's to the bloody beaches of Normandy, so neither they nor their new women have much time to waste.

With delicate performances and engrossing direction, Yanks is a good movie. It's not for those who flinch at unvarnished romance, but all but the harshest heart will be able to float along with this film's earnest intentions.

Schlesinger's perceptive nostalgia piece

[jandesimpson · 9/10 · 6 August 2002]

"Yanks" tells of a peaceful invasion in wartime. In preparation for the Second Front, the closing phase of World War II, more than a million American military personnel were stationed in Britain. The film studies the effect of this invasion on one community in Northern England. Let me say at the outset that I have long regarded this largely forgotten film as one of the most important cinematic works of the '70's. The not inconsiderable director, John Schlesinger (he already had to his credit "A Kind of Loving", one of the least dated films of the British '60's "New Wave"), looks back from the vantage point of 35 years of history to a specific place in time to study attitudes of xenophobia that are still prevalent in Britain today. In doing so he always strives after balance so that neither culture is wholly right or wrong. There is a remarkable scene where the shopkeeper's daughter (Lisa Eichhorn) who has been dated by a GI (Richard Gere) cannot understand why he stands by and does nothing when a fellow GI turns on a black soldier for dancing with a white girl. Her response, which he equally cannot comprehend, is to dance with a black guy once order has been restored. It has to be admitted that the quest for balance is very nearly the film's undoing. On paper it may have seemed fine to have two affairs running simultaneously to represent class differences, that of the shopgirl and the army chef and that of the lady-of-the-manor figure (Vanessa Redgrave) and an American officer (William Devane). Both women have to square their consciences with their existing attachments, a fiance on active service at the front and a naval officer husband away at sea. The problem is that the Redgrave/Devane sequences rather border on cliche - son forced to attend a public school he detests but must endure because of family tradition, mother dividing her energies through playing the 'cello in an amateur orchestra and serving newly arrived GI's with refreshments. The Eichhorn/Gere scenes on the other hand work wonderfully. Both play their parts with tremendous sensitivity. There is a marvellous scene where the mother (another fine part by Rachel Roberts) finally agrees to Gere being invited to Sunday tea. Her transformation from suspicious bigotry to what is almost warm understanding of Gere's unforced politeness has a moving quality that reminds me of some of the great moments in "The Best Years of our Lives". There is a beautifully orchestrated grand finale where the Yanks depart that is the very stuff of great epic cinema. Here Richard Rodney Bennett's marvellous score melts into Anne Shelton singing "I'll Be Seeing You Again" as backing to the credits. John Schlesinger's singular achievement in "Yanks" is to recreate the type of experience we so often got from America in the '40's and add to it that element of reflective wisdom that is the most perceptive byproduct of nostalgia.

Uneven, poorly cast, choppy little WW2 effort.

[wisewebwoman · 5/10 · 7 May 2005]

That said and out of the way, parts were good too. The cinematography for one, highly evocative of the era, sometimes in wonderful sepia tones. Richard Gere is woefully miscast, his one-note slow eye-blink performance quickly irritates, you just want to kick him into some kind of action. Here he is almost asleep, can barely finish a sentence and when he does one is left with a "huh?" He needs to be in stark contrast to the character of Jean played by Lisa Eichhorn and he seems to fade into her skirt in most scenes. I found the actor, Tony Melody, playing Jean's father creepy in the extreme, as if he was plotting a serial killer rampage. Most of the time he looked as if he wandered in mistakenly from the set of another movie. Unsettling. Rachel Roberts shines in her last part, full of nuance and repression. As does Vanessa Redgrave, sparking against the character played by the Kennedyesque William Devane, all teeth. A lot of the movie rang so false, the cake being delivered to Jean (a cake? in the middle of war? with a mother dying?)The trip to Ireland with not one square inch of Ireland shown, just the inside of a U.S. canteen. Even the ending is hollow and empty and not worth the amount of time invested in it at all. 5 out of 10.

loved the movie

[afgkrafty · 9/10 · 19 November 2005]

My children were just babies when I saw this movie at the theater in 1979. I really loved it and have all these years. I guess the romance and the finality of goodbyes, not knowing what could happen made it all the more intense. The racism scene was hard to watch, very hard. I am sure things like that went on though. It is a treasure in my huge movie collection. I hope someday to visit England and be able to see some of the towns that were in this movie.Richard Gere is a wonderful Actor and this was the very first time I had heard about him or had ever seen him in a movie.He brought a realism to this part, he was a perfect guy to play an American soldier! Talking about it has made me want to look at it tonight!!

"I can't; me mum's dead"

[rhinocerosfive-1 · 3/10 · 18 November 2007]

Colin Welland hacked this script from the B-plots of a thousand war pictures, in the process forgetting to write a story. This is the part of the war movie not quite as well done as the real show, the part you sit through only so you can watch tanks blow up. Here we get two and a half hours of that level of mediocrity. A Redgrave can do a lot without good dialog or interesting situations, but not everybody has such chops. This director, for instance, never rose above the level of his screenplays: if he had Waldo Salt or William Goldman at the typewriter, he was fine.

YANKS has faults endemic to John Schlesinger's latter work - primarily it seems to be suffering a head cold. Not as spectacularly awful as DAY OF THE LOCUST, it is nearly as dumb. Now it's slapstick silliness, now it's brutal gravity, now it's just dull. If the individual scenes often work, a general Hallmark cloy drizzles over all. Richard Gere is at his prettiest. The acting is all pretty good, some of it better than that. And it looks very handsome, mostly shot through filters for a sheen of period nostalgia. But I find the movie not very watchable as document or elegy, and not at all as entertainment.

The production is grimed with dissatisfaction, which certainly works thematically; it's about the "chin-up" attitude that replaces happiness in wartime. (If we believe Loach, Hodges and every postwar British director who never worked for Cubby Broccoli, not to mention T.S. Eliot, resignation is a British attitude not exclusive to wartime.) But theme and style are separate issues, and they do not compliment each other here. There's an almost interesting interplay between war-weary Brits and callow Yanks; almost, because nothing's investigated in any depth.

None of the love stories is convincing. This is the major problem. So the movie is, unintentionally I suspect, rather hopeless. That's fine, but you can't fly on intention. Regardless of subject matter, competence is always a virtue.

YANKS is Richard Gere

[angelsunchained · 10/10 · 29 January 2005]

Made in 1979, YANKS is a throwback to the love stories of the 1940s. Directed by John Schlesinger, YANKS is a timeless tale of war-time romances. Starring Richard Gere as Matt, a U.S. Army Sargent, looking for a friend and finding true-love with the threat of the invasion of Europe looming ahead. Gere is in his prime element here, a hero's hero. A rugged, yet gentle soul, seeking his place in life. It stands out as one of his most outstanding screen performances. Lisa Eichhorn as his love interest, plays it low-key, catching the innocence of the 1940s. An out-standing supporting cast by William DeVane, Vanessa Redgrave, Chick Vennera, and Rachel Roberts, makes YANKS a must-see film. Outstanding!

Exceptional wartime romance

[manderson1857 · 12 October 2004]

Those of us who have seen some of the more recent wartime romance movies (e.g., Pearl Harbor) will be eternally grateful for this well-done picture with its ensemble cast. I liked it so much that I bought a copy on DVD.

This was the first time that I had seen William Devane and Lisa Eichorn in a movie, and I believe their performances were excellent. When William Devane, as the Captain, busts the NCOs for their conduct, it was the height of wartime realism at a human level.

I loved the little nuances ... the mother wrapping the string around her hand after she receives the gift of a cake from Richard Gere ... the little boy and the bicycle ... the steam rising up around the train at the end ... excellent touches ...

Yanks.... um and overlong.

[christopherlvngs · 5/10 · 8 February 2019]

Depends if you can stand watching the leads over confident strutting through every scene Richard lighten up a bit. Well over 2hrs no real surprises the story just unfolds predictably. What shall we film today any ideas anyone.

The Film I Didn't Want To End.

[jehaccess6 · 10/10 · 27 June 2008]

I purchased the DVD because it covered a period of history fascinating to me. The fact that it starred Richard Gere was incidental. In the week since I first viewed the film, I have watched it about ten more times. I just couldn't get enough of Lisa Eichhorn. The other players also gave outstanding performances, even Richard Gere!

Strangely, the part of the film I find most gripping is the closing credits where they flash still pictures of the cast in group scenes. I didn't understand why this should be so at first, then I realized that the film created such a realistic family atmosphere that I wanted these film relationships to be real. It was like opening the family photo album to renew mental images of beloved relatives, since departed.

This film resonates for me because I have been in the shoes of Matt and Danny. A young serviceman overseas and desperately lonely for my family. In the film, the fact that the local people speak a language close enough to American English to allow communication is a huge bonus. The fact that some of these troops are stationed in England for close to 3 years and have no hope of returning to the United States leads to the strong tendency to build a life in the local area. The men start to build a family relationship to the local people they are most in contact with. Later arrivals tend to get included in the gradual merger of the two parallel societies in such close contact.

It occurred to me that the bizarre set of social conditions portrayed in the film, never to be repeated, would be a unique opportunity for sociologists to study the relationships established in these garrison towns.

Colin Welland wrote the screenplay from the British point of view. The fact that he treated the Americans so favorably spoke well of the image of these men several decades after their departure. He was perceptive in outlining the mutual bewilderment of the two sides on their first encounter. The fact that good relations developed over the months was a testament to the upstanding character prevalent on both sides.

The film score was superb! It really enhanced the film scenes and drew you into the flow of the story. I have replayed many scenes of the film because I so enjoyed the musical score. The tune played during the closing credits is my ultimate favorite. I never tire of watching this wonderful film.

The scene where Ken, the British Beau of the Lisa Eichhorn character Jean Moreton returned on leave was very poignant. The two were supposed to become engaged at this time and did so. I missed the significance of their engagement party at first, since it was never explicitly declared as such in the film. Ken departs back to the war in Burma after two week's leave and Matt and Jean take up as before. Jean is only slightly inhibited in her relationship with Matt after her engagement to Ken. Jean's affections were clearly gravitating more and more toward Matt. It is clear Jean only went through with the engagement to keep peace in her family. Jean's gravely ill mother strongly supported her engagement to Ken and she did not want a fight to develop at such a sensitive moment.

The scene of the 1944 New Year's Dance was the most emotional point of the film. Everyone there knew that the prospective invasion of the continent would soon be coming. The soldiers knew that it was quite likely they would not survive the year. All the girls and other local friends who had come to love these men knew it too. Under such conditions, men and women tend to try to cram lifetimes of experiences into weeks.

The racial outrage that developed at the dance was difficult to watch. The screenplay showed the British Girls displaying remarkably benevolent attitudes toward the Black troops. I have no idea if this was a realistic portrayal of British racial policies of that period. If this film was accurate, America was far behind Britain in this department.

Matt and Danny were condemned by the British Girls for their passive acceptance of a near lynching. Matt and Danny couldn't see anything remarkable in their attitudes. The mutual incomprehension of the two sides was very nearly complete. The two couples managed to overcome their problems and restore the strained relationships.

It struck me as odd that the name of the town where all these events occurred was never mentioned. I suppose that the screenplay envisioned a generic town in Northern England as a stand-in for all the towns who faced this peaceful invasion.

As other comments have noted, the cooling towers for a nuclear power plant are prominent in the background of several scenes in the film. These power plants certainly never existed in 1943 England! I imagine that the film makers hoped we would overlook this glaring inconsistency.

The final scenes of the film had the troops boarding trains to be transported to their invasion embarkation points. A large portion of the young female population was there to tearfully see them off. It struck me that the local people had embraced these young men and were anguished to see them depart to possible death. It was like losing half their community to the war. The deserted streets in the town as the troops prepare for departure must have been unnerving to the town folk. I am sure that many of the troops were equally heartbroken to lose contact with dear friends and lovers. The horror of war really sank in from that scene.

This film is a real gem. I am astonished it is not more prominent when great films are mentioned. This is one of the few films I ever felt worthy of a 10 star rating.