The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I enjoyed this movie and it moved me a lot. May be I'm too sentimental and romantic. I think what this movie shows perfectly is this over excitement of all those guys who know that this could be their last days of joy and amusement.D-Day is near, they know although the date is still a secret. They know that when they'll cross the channel many will loose their lives only a few minutes after they landed.That's what is the film about. Those guys when they go back in their barracks would probably have nightmares, what do we know of what was going in their heads, they were lonely and needed something to overcome their fears. Some were reckless, others found happiness and kindness far from their home and families.The cast is excellent and Gere and his comrade are excellent and so true in their acting.Yes a great movie.

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!

I love US history. One of my favorite stories of the past is American soldiers in WWII Britain, so I have always had an interest in this movie, and I've seen it several times.However, I think this movie has always been underrated. It would be great to see one of the classic movie channels like AMC or TCM feature "Yanks," followed by "Saving Private Ryan." Because "Yanks" ends rather abruptly, as the soldiers are on their way to battle (D-Day) and because "Private Ryan" begins with the landing craft approaching the Normandy beaches, these films would be great together.Another reason I applaud "Yanks" is for featuring Black GIs (unfortunately, "Private Ryan" doesn't do this). Is it necessary every American history movie be "multicultural?" Maybe not, but the truth is that some 5000 African-Americans were a part of the Allied effort that put 156,000 soldiers on the Normandy beaches to begin the process of freeing Europe from Nazi tyranny. These men deserve to be recognized, and I'm glad for any film that does that (I also recommend the HBO Original film "The Affair" on this subject). As I said, the movie ends suddenly. It would have been nice if the movie had done a "what happened" epilogue, like we see in "American Graffiti" or "Animal House." Do Matt, Danny and John survive the war? Do Jeanie, Mollie, Helen or the Moretons survive, or are any of them killed by the V-1 or V-2 rocket attacks that came after D-Day? Do Matt and Jean marry? The movie leaves you longing for answers.

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!!