Yanks
| Yanks | |
|---|---|
Cinema release poster
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| Directed by | John Schlesinger |
| Produced by |
Joseph Janni Lester Persky |
| Screenplay by | Colin Welland Walter Bernstein |
| Story by | Colin Welland |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Richard Rodney Bennett |
| Cinematography | Dick Bush |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
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Production
company |
CIP Filmproduktion GmbH
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| Distributed by |
Universal Pictures (US) United Artists (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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141 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | English |
Yanks is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn and Tony Melody. The film is set during the Second World War in Northern England and features no combat scenes.
The film depicts the relationships between American soldiers stationed in semi-rural England and the local population during the build-up to Operation Overlord in 1944. In particular, three romances between US service personnel and local women are shown, in order to explore the effects of the cultural differences between the brash GIs or "Yanks" and the more reserved British population.
This film opens with the narration: "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."
A small northern town soon finds out that a large U.S. Army base is being established for the build-up to the Normandy landings. Soon thousands of rambunctious American troops, or "Yanks" as they are known to the British, descend upon the area. On leave in the town, an Arizona man, Technical Sergeant Matt Dyson (Richard Gere), encounters Jean Moreton (Lisa Eichhorn) while out to the cinema. She is the fiancée of Ken, a British soldier fighting overseas, and initially rebuffs Matt's advances. He is quite persistent, and she, doubtful about her relationship with Ken, eventually accepts him. The handsome, brash American sergeant is in stark contrast to the restrained Englishmen she has known. Soon, she is keeping company with Matt, though it is largely platonic at first.
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Wikipedia