The Young Americans (1993)

Experienced New York Police Detective John Harris is sent to London to help a local task force investigate a series of gangster killings organized by a new player in town, an American. Harris uses a teen wronged by gangsters to get to him.

Director:

Danny Cannon

Writers:

Danny Cannon, David Hilton

Stars:

Harvey Keitel, Iain Glen, John Wood

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harvey Keitel	...	John Harris
Iain Glen	...	Edward Foster
John Wood	...	Richard Donnelly
Terence Rigby	...	Sidney Callow
Keith Allen	...	Jack Doyle
Craig Kelly	...	Christian O'Neill
Thandie Newton	...	Rachael Stevens
Viggo Mortensen	...	Carl Frazer
Dave Duffy	...	Louis Carnegie
Geoffrey McGivern	...	Brian Carver
Nigel Clauzel	...	Lionel Stevens
Huggy Leaver	...	Mark Byrne
Dig Wayne	...	Gary Washington
Christopher Adamson	...	Billy Cohen (as Chris Adamson)
James Duggan	...	Dermot O'Neill

Storyline

The London police is having trouble with organized crime commited by juvenile delinquents. Their leader is an American who is an expert at turning young men into ruthless gangsters. American cop John Harris is asked to help the London police to break up the organization.

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Plot Keywords:

male with earring | police | gangster | killing | police siren | 

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Taglines:

No Honor. No Respect. No Remorse.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1993 (UK)

Also Known As:

Young Americans

Filming Locations:

Jacob Street Studios, Jacob Street, Bermondsey, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Live Entertainment,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During one of the club scenes, a remix of Nine Inch Nails' "Gave Up" is playing. This version has never been released officially or unofficially, and the only known fragments can be heard in this movie. It appears to be an alteration of the remix found on Nine Inch Nails' EP "Fixed".

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Goofs

When the Molotov cocktail is thrown through the windshield of the vehicle with the two cops inside, you can easily see, by the way it breaks, that the windshield is not made of safety glass. All vehicle windshields have been made of safety glass for decades.

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Connections

Featured in Björk: Play Dead (1993)

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Soundtracks

Gave Up
(remix by Coil)
Nine Inch Nails
Written by Trent Reznor

User Reviews

OK, but no "Clockwork Orange"

The only "young" American in "The Young Americans" is Viggo Mortensen, who was 35 years old. Otherwise we have a middle aged American (Harvey Keitel), a Zambian (Thandie Newton) and a bundle of Brits.

Harvey Keitel does his usual good job, although in this case he is more polished and less violent than we expect. The film comes out just after his roles in "Reservoir Dogs" (1992), "Bad Lieutenant" (1992), and "The Piano" (1993), all of which won him renewed acclaim and awards. One year later we would shine as the "cleaner" in "Pulp Fiction".

No one else is around much to talk about their performances. Thandie Newton at 20 is cute as a button, and Viggo Mortensen, though in his mid 30s, does look "young". Neither one of them gives us the quality that we later see for both.

The photography is excellent, and it's great to get to see sections of London. But the plot is awkward, and the action seems excessive, especially give the British environment. The core of the message is that American crime is seeping into England and the British need to watch out. I think violence in Britain was handled pretty well in "A Clockwork Orange", two decades earlier.

This was the second film for director Danny Cannon who went on to fame in TV as the producer of a bunch of CSI series as well as Nikita and Gotham.

It's not a bad film, but there is nothing new or exciting or innovative to recommend it.