Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Yanks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 20, 2018

John Schlesinger's "Yanks" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage trailer for the film and recorded archival Q&A session with the director. The release also arrives with a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film, alongside archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Matt and Jean

John Schlesinger’s Yanks is one of those films that people either adore or quickly and comfortably dismiss as a genuine bomb. I know the film but I had not revisited it in a long time, so before I sat down to write this article I decided to do a small experiment. I viewed it twice over the course of two days, and each time I basically sided with one of the opposing groups while looking for as many reasons as I could find to agree with it. I will describe my findings below and hopefully they will provide you with a more balanced and accurate summation of the film than what you are likely to discover in older reviews.

First, here’s the story. All of the events that are chronicled in the film take place towards the end of 1943 and then 1944 in a small provincial town in England. The U.S. Army has set up a huge base there and the entire area has come alive in a way that has changed a lot -- the traffic, the local businesses, the entertainment options, etc. The locals agree that the town looks different now and that it was inevitable because there is a war underway. When the latest reinforcements arrive to the base the camera begins following closely a couple of different characters. The first two are good pals Matt Dyson (Richard Gere) and Danny Ruffello (Chick Venera) who can’t wait to begin mingling with the town’s girls, and then there is the older Captain John (William Devane) who has been around for awhile and is already having an affair with the aristocratic wife (Vanessa Redgrave) of a British lieutenant who is abroad to fight the enemy. Matt and Danny quickly meet two girls at the popular theater but instead of having some silly fun the former instantly falls in love with Jean (Lisa Eichhorn ) and they begin seeing each other. Fast-forward. It turns out that Jean is actually expected to marry Ken (Derek Thompson), her childhood sweetheart, who is also fighting the enemy in a distant land, so there is a part of her that is quite reluctant to let Matt into her life. However, the more time she spends with the soldier, the more she begins to realize that he might be the right guy that she can grow older with. Her parents are quite critical of her fun activities with the ‘foreigner’ while Matt is away, but she can’t help herself and whenever possible does her best to convince them that he is truly different. This of course leads to plenty of drama, especially after Matt returns home for a week and realizes that his girl has been entertaining a complete stranger. Meanwhile, the captain and his mistress also come to realize that under different circumstances they could have been a perfect couple, and then quietly begins to reevaluate the lives that they have lived before the war.

Here are the legit strengths of Yanks: It effortlessly pulls you in its reality and then its melancholy gets to you. Schlesinger was a gifted director who understood how to create great period atmosphere and then make it one half of the story that he wanted to tell, and this is precisely how the narrative of Yanks is structured as well. (The concept behind arguably his greatest accomplishment, Midnight Cowboy, is also the same -- the adventures and street education of Joe Buck are one part of the story, the other is the period atmosphere and pulse of early ‘70s America). Furthermore, this film overflows with melodrama, but it is of the type that never rubs you the wrong way because the darkness and ugliness of war that it recreates effectively counter it. It is not easy to explain with simple words exactly how it is done, but once you begin viewing the film you will see that it is so. Finally, there is a gentle lightness mixed with uncertainty and fragility that define Eichhorn’s performance and make her character look very real, and this is a strength that has a tremendous positive effect on the equally authentic evolution of her character’s relationship with the soldier. Gere looks good too but in a purely cinematic way, and the numerous quiet moments where his mind begins to drift away lack the same type of authenticity.

What prevents the film from being special is the following: The virtue signaling throughout it is so straightforward and predictably timed that it seriously hurts its credibility. Indeed, you can routinely predict how various episodes will climax and with what message, and frequently foresee even the exact conflicts that will be used to prepare their delivery. (The dance brawl is the most obvious example. But the romantic trips to Ireland and the upscale hotel are just as bad). The loose stereotyping is also a major issue -- the soldiers are simpletons that are usually proud of their ignorance, while the locals are ‘normal’ folk very much in sync with the troubled times. Quite predictably, at the end the Yanks are legitimized as the annoying foreigners that basically have to be endured so that they can get their job done right. Lastly, Redgrave plays an introverted character that routinely makes decisions that look completely random. Even during key romantic episodes she appears oddly cold and yet for some reason Devane’s captain cannot resist her and they continue their affair.

Yanks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Schlesinger's Yanks arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The film looks healthy and there are no serious digital anomalies to report. However, its overall density levels and fluidity are not on par with what elaborate proper new 2K or 4K remasters ensure. For example, a lot of the panoramic footage has decent but limited depth, while darker footage usually reveals less than optimal shadow definition. The period stylization does have an effect on certain nuances, but it is easy to tell that grain exposure isn't as good as it should be and this is the area where a lot of the minor limitations that become visible on a larger screen come from (see screencaptures #7 and 8). Colors are stable, but saturation can be improved. In some areas highlights also should be balanced better (see screencaptures #16). The good news is that there one has attempted to resharpen or repolish the film, and this is really the key reason why it has a decent organic appearance. Image stability is very good. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This us a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Yanks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio track handles the film's original soundtrack flawlessly. Indeed, clarity and depth are terrific, and there are absolutely no balance issues to report. Additionally, dynamic intensity is outstanding free of age-related anomalies (there are no sudden drops or spikes in dynamic activity as you are likely to encounter on older masters of older films).

Yanks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Yanks. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Interview - presented here is a vintage recorded Q&A session in which John Schlesinger discusses his fascination with films and the evolution of his career, his relationship with different producers, his work on A Kind of Loving and Billy Liar, the old myth that "there isn't a thinking audience outside London", the mixed reception of some of his films, the conception of Far from the Madding Crowd and its status as a classic, etc. Audio only. (132 min).

• Booklet - a collector's booklet featuring new writing on Yanks, alongside archival imagery.

Yanks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The heavy melancholy that permeates John Schlesinger's Yanks is its greatest strength, then far behind it is Lisa Eichhorn's light and slightly fragile performance which perfectly defines her character. All else one can legitimately critique and in the process quite easily point out numerous examples where specific and obvious changes could have been made to make the film look more credible. I somewhat enjoy different parts of this film, but I just absolutely cannot take it seriously. Its messaging is way too transparent and once it gets going I feel that it is a bit of a struggle to endure all of the scripted drama. Eureka Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Yanks is sourced from a decent remaster and has a very nice archival Q&A session with Schlesinger. RECOMMENDED to fans of the film.