Young's films are noted for their gritty, unglamorous qualities and fine use of locations. Highlights include "Rich Kids" (1979), a realistic portrait of two upper-class Manhattan juveniles watching their parents' world fall apart, "Alambrista!" (1978), about the exploitation of a naive Mexican after he has crossed the border to the US, and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (1983), based on the true story of a Mexican who killed a US sheriff in 1901.
Young has begun to reach a wider audience in the 1980s with films such as the Farrah Fawcett vehicle "Extremities" (1986) and the concentration camp drama "Triumph of the Spirit" (1989), starring Willem Dafoe.