Product Details

• Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000065KEI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,948 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Yards" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fulfilling the promise of his debut film, Little Odessa, 31-year-old writer-director James Gray proves himself a mature storyteller who attracts good actors and elicits their best work. Inspired by the experiences of his own father, Gray sets The Yards inside the corrupt workings of the New York City railway system, in which men such as Frank Olchin (James Caan) maintain their dominance by sabotaging the work of their competitors. Mark Wahlberg is well cast as Leo Handler, who serves jail time for a crime he didn't commit and returns home to a warm welcome from his ailing mother (Ellen Burstyn), his aunt Kitty (and Frank's wife, played by Faye Dunaway), and cousin Erica (Charlize Theron).

He's also welcomed by his friend Willie (Joaquin Phoenix), who does most of Uncle Frank's dirty work and brings the needy Leo into his lucrative fold. Things go from bad to worse, and Leo's suspected in the killing of a railway official and the beating of a city patrolman. On the run, he uncovers the political machinations that keep Uncle Frank in power, and The Yards unfolds as a compelling tale of family, twisted loyalties, and the quest for truth. There's stellar work from everyone involved, but if The Yards has one major flaw, it's that Gray directs with a solemnity that's almost off-putting, as if a moment of levity would violate his story's integrity. Visually The Yards invites comparison to The Godfather, and it boasts much of that film's moral complexity and depth of character, but it's too self-consciously heavy, and that compromises its overall impact. Still, this is good work from a talented director whose future films will be watched with interest. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

A lowering, deep-browed thriller from the director James Gray, who made a name for himself with "Little Odessa." In many ways, this is more of the same: a tight and sometimes tortured community, the sober settling of scores, and what feels like an official rationing of daylight. Mark Wahlberg plays Leo, who's trying to go straight; he takes a job as sidekick to his old friend Willie (Joaquin Phoenix), who fixes contracts for the New York subway system. Things go well, then badly, then worse still, until Leo is dwelling in subterranean solitude-Gray's kind of place. The supporting cast is tough and tested: Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn, and especially James Caan, who plays Leo's uncle by marriage. The film may be humorless, unflustered by the need to quicken or amuse, but it feels unfashionably true to itself. Gray has reconstructed a world that he knows, and conjured a mood that no one else would have the nerve to maintain. For good measure, he also stages a great street fight. With Charlize Theron as Willie's despairing girl. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TRAIN OF THOUGHT, February 12, 2004

By 

Michael Butts (Berkeley Springs, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Yards (DVD)

Director James Gray has elicited some marvelous performances from a really eclectic cast: Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Faye Dunaway play domestic characters with the professional verve they always bring; Oscar nominees Charlize Theron, James Caan and Joaquin Phoenix are superb in their roles as Wahlberg's cousin, best friend and uncle-in-law; and then we have Mark Wahlberg, Steve Lawrence and Tony Musante rounding out the cast. This is Wahlberg's shining moment; he has none of the macho bravado usually associated with him, and his performance is complex, multi-faceted and courageous. Caan is also brilliant, and someday he'll get the Oscar he deserves. Phoenix also shows great emotional depth in his role as a borderline sociopath. Theron proves that she is not just a pretty face, but a capable and engaging actress. The film's slow pace is in line with the psychological nuances of the film. I'd never heard of it until I saw a trailer on another video. An outstanding film. Highly recommended.

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GRITTY DRAMA, March 12, 2001

By 

Nick G - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Yards (DVD)

After spending time in prison for auto theft, Leo (Mark Wahlberg), decides it's time to go the straight and narrow.

Returning home from prison, Leo, takes a job at his uncle Frank's (James Caan) company working on contracts with the New York City subway system.

Once on the job, Leo, meets his uncle's top guy (Joaquin Phoenix), and before long, he realizes his uncle is involved with corruption, and payoffs.

"The Yards" is a gritty drama that sports an excellent cast;Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn, and Faye Dunaway. Although, slowly paced, the film puts a smart, and interesting spin on big city corruption. Very much a character driven film, "The Yards" will disappoint those looking for fast action. But anyone looking for an intelligent, well acted movie will be pleased with this one.

Nick Gonnella

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FORGET "GLADIATOR" , TRY "THE YARDS", April 30, 2001

By 

Daniel S. "Daniel" (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Yards (DVD)

After LITTLE ODESSA in 1994, THE YARDS is quite an impressive second movie of american writer/director James Gray who plays in the same league than Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola or Sidney Lumet. Furthermore, James Gray has given two important roles to James Caan and Ellen Burstyn and a choice like this can only be made by a clever and talented person. If you are not so fond of Ridley Scott's bodybuilt gladiators, try for a change a movie with more brains than muscles. In the long run, it gives more satisfaction.

THE YARDS is a movie about ambiguity, a mood created firstly by the images of the movie, cold and almost metallic for the exterior scenes but warm and always red, brown or yellow for the interior scenes. This antagonism is also underlined by the recurrent theme of the electric lights which suddenly plunge the characters in a black no-man's land several times during the course of the movie.

James - Frank Olchin - Caan is the most ambiguous character of the movie. He may appear as a rotten businessman ready to corrupt anything that has power at times but can also develop a "Don Corleone" à la Brando attitude when trying to protect his family. Superb job from James Caan. Mark - Leo Handler - Wahlberg is also not a straight character and one important scene of the movie confirms this point. After having been abandoned by his pairs, he's ready to join the enemy and crucify his former friends.

THE YARDS is smart, beautifully filmed and has a superb cast. Why not try this Miramax DVD ? It offers a - for once - interesting behind the screen featurette, seven or eight extra-trailers, a commentary by James Gray, a french dubbed version and a gallery of paintings that has influenced James Gray for the special lightning of the movie.

A DVD zone your library.