Yanks

YANKS. 1979 drama film distributed by Universal Pictures and United Artists directed by John Schlesinger. It starred Richard Gere / Vanessa Redgrave / William Devane / Lisa Eichhorn and Tony Melody. The film was set during the Second World War in Northern England and featured no combat scenes. It depicted 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 GI's or "Yanks" (as they were known) and the more reserved British population.