The Yards (2000)

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he ... See full summary »

Director:

James Gray

Writers:

James Gray, Matt Reeves

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Leo Handler
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Willie Gutierrez
Charlize Theron	...	Erica Soltz
James Caan	...	Frank Olchin
Ellen Burstyn	...	Val Handler
Faye Dunaway	...	Kitty Olchin
Steve Lawrence	...	Arthur Mydanick
Andy Davoli	...	Raymond Price (as Andrew Davoli)
Tony Musante	...	Seymour Korman
Victor Argo	...	Paul Lazarides
Tomas Milian	...	Manuel Sequiera
Robert Montano	...	Hector Gallardo
Victor Arnold	...	Albert Granada
Chad Aaron	...	Bernard Soltz
Louis Guss	...	Nathan Grodner

Storyline

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts. Willie Gutierrez, Leo's best friend, is Frank's bag man and heads a crew of midnight saboteurs who ruin the work of the Puerto Rican-owned firm. Leo needs a job, so Willie pays him to be his back-up. Then things go badly wrong one night, a cop IDs Leo, and everyone now wants him out of the picture. Besides his ailing mom and his cousin Erica, to whom can Leo turn?

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Plot Keywords:

prison | friend | corruption | subway | railyard | 

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Taglines:

He's the target of the most merciless family in New York. His own.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc [Japan] Miramax Home Video

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

A bűn állomásai

Filming Locations:

Middle Village, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$57,339 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

$882,710 (USA) (17 November 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Industry Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was based on a real-life corruption scandal in the mid-1980s that involved the father of director James Gray.

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Goofs

When Leo looks in the rear view mirror and sees Willie and Granada taking off their clothes, they are on the driver's side of Granada's car. When he turns around and looks, they are now on the right side of the vehicle.

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Connections

Referenced in Beantown (2007)

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Soundtracks

R.E.A.L.I.T.Y.
(1995)
Written by KRS-One (as Lawrence Parker)
Performed by KRS-One (as Krs-One)
Courtesy of Jive Records

User Reviews

Interesting drama

The Yards is labelled a thriller, at least here in Sweden, but I think that this movie is a drama more than anything else. A very dark drama about crime and family. I was pleasantly surprised when I realised that this was not the Godfather-wannabe that some people have suggested. The Yards stands on its own, and even though it is no masterpiece it is a very interesting and tense drama with a great cast. Mark Wahlberg does a good job, but Joaquin Phoenix is certainly the stand-out. Also, his complex character is by far more interesting than Wahlberg's stereotype. Great performances from Charlize Theron and James Caan as well. (7/10)