Year of the Dragon (1985)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Michael Cimino

Writers:

Robert Daley (novel)
Oliver Stone (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

It isn't the Bronx or Brooklyn. It isn't even New York. It's Chinatown...and it's about to explode.

Plot:

Using unprecedented degrees of violence, young Joey Tai becomes the head of Chinese mafia in New York and undisputed leader of the Chinese community...

Plot Keywords:

New York | Violence | Chinese Mafia | Vietnam | Chinatown

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	Capt. Stanley White
John Lone	...	Joey Tai
Ariane	...	Tracy Tzu
Leonard Termo	...	Angelo Rizzo
Raymond J. Barry	...	Louis Bukowski (as Ray Barry)
Caroline Kava	...	Connie White
Eddie Jones	...	William McKenna
Joey Chin	...	Ronnie Chang
Victor Wong	...	Harry Yung
K. Dock Yip	...	Milton Bin
Hon Lam Bau	...	Fred Hung (as Pao Han Lin)
Way Dong Woo	...	Elder
Jimmy Sun	...	Elder
Daniel Davin	...	Francis Kearney
Mark Hammer	...	Commissioner Brendon S. Sullivan

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Mandarin | English | Cantonese | Vietnamese | Polish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG)

Trivia:

This is the first movie ever to feature the now-popular Desert Eagle handgun, according to the gun's manufacturer, Magnum Research, Inc., and Rick Washburn, the film's weapons coordinator.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Scene in Stanley's kitchen, where the sink pipe bursts and water spouts on Stanley - water also gets on the camera lens.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tracy Tzu: Captain McKenna, any leads in the murder of Jackie Wong?
William McKenna: Nothing at this time.
Tracy Tzu: Do you think this killing means there's some kind of war going on in the Chinatown Tongs?
William McKenna: No, I don't. This is basically a situation where the youth gangs are lashing out at the establishment. The community is cooperating. The situation's under control.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Resurrection Symphony n°2 (Fifth Movement)

One of the more realistic films about Chinese Americans

When "Year of the Dragon" was released in 1985, it was ripped to pieces by Chinese anti-defamation organizations as being a very racist film. The film was likewise given lot of bad reviews by critics, who probably wanted to be politically correct.

Being a Chinese American who was raised in Boston's Chinatown, I had expected bad things about this film. Even though "The Deer Hunter" is a great film, the depictions of Vietnamese and Chinese in that film are truly horrendous (no, Chinese DID NOT engage in Russian Roulette!!) I expected the same with "Year of the Dragon." I was totally shocked after I saw the film at how realistic the film was about Chinatown. I do understand many Chinese Americans do not want themselves portrayed as drug dealers, gang members, etc. However, I don't think there has been any film in Hollywood history who portrayed the dark side of Chinatown as accurately as this film. I know because I grew up in the area when there lot of Chinese street gangs and mafia activity.

The sad thing is after this film was released, depictions of Chinese Americans has gotten a LOT worse; they are depicted as chopsocky kung fu gangsters (now isn't that ironic!!) in Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies, or as baby killers, rapists, or domineering bigots in "The Joy Luck Club" (by the way, this film is truly truly AWFUL in it's portrayals of Chinese; the ignorant critics however gave this movie great reviews.) Strangely, Chinese anti-defamation leagues has been very silent during these years.

"Year of the Dragon" is Cimino's unappreciated gem. According to my view, it's his second best film. I understand this film has flaws but Cimino was brilliant in showing the side of Chinese Americans that few Americans know. Not all of us Chinese went to CalTech or MIT and became successful software engineers or research scientists.