Yanquis

The film works for me because it concentrates on the three relationships and lets the war get on with itself. It was written from a British viewpoint and reflects the experiences of many people in war-torn Britain who came in to contact with American servicemen. The impact of the arrival of so many hearty, healthy and relatively wealthy young men was massive. The film struck a chord with many people in the UK, both of my parent's generation - who lived through the war, and my generation - who had heard all about it. The fact that the film was set in the north of England accentuated the gulf which existed in our common language. Many a GI must have been baffled by our slang. The three relationships in the film worked quite well because each one was different. How many times must these events have happened for real? The film isn't as good as THE WAY TO THE STARS of 1945, but it did recreate the war-time atmosphere quite well and evokes a period of history which is still vivid in the minds of many who lived near US bases in the UK in WW2.

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!!

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.

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.

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.