Year of the Dragon (1985)

Here's a nice recreation of the Chinese underworld and the Chinese mafia in New York. A great detective movie that combines drama and violence with a touch of film-noir. Nevertheless there's something in the script fails: it looks like Cimino and Stone had written a longer story and the had to cut it or something. The main plot is so solid but there some parallel stories that are not clear enough (Stanley White and Joey Lang's characters are rather confusing).

Mickey Rourke makes a good job, as usual... Tood bad he decided to become a boxer and destroy his own career.

Although Cimino's masterpiece is still "The deer hunter", "Manhtattan Sur" is worth seeing too.

*My rate: 7/10

Fmovies: I first saw this electrifying film when I was thirteen years old. I was way to young to watch it, but it definitely made an impression. Most of it went over my head, but I loved the chaotic feel of the piece and even then I knew Mickey Rourke was fascinating to watch. I have seen the film many times since then and I am still amazed at how fluid and dexterous Michael Cimino's film-making is. The propulsive forward momentum of this movie is not something that just any filmmaker would be able to capture. Cimino goes for a heightened realism that in lesser hands would be laughably over the top. The major characters scream and rage at each other and the dialog scenes are so emotionally violent it is a wonder the characters have strength left for the action set-pieces.

At the center of this wild, carnival ride of a movie stands Mickey Rourke. At this time Rourke was being courted by Hollywood for cross-over mainstream success. He instead took roles that would have scared off more timid actors. For people who relished tough minded movies that pulled no punches every film he did at this time was an event. Year of the Dragon is not a well-regarded part of his filmography, but upon closer inspection it reveals itself to be one of the best vehicles he ever had. His Stanley White is a man at war with the world. For him the job is everything and he throws himself into it consequences be damned. His wife despises him and his cavalier attitude towards their relationship. His superiors hate him because he constantly points out their hypocrisies. To him the job is a ceasless conflict. The fact that he is a Vietnam vet is the key starting point for his character. He wants to win at all costs and he really never left the battlefield. There have been many characters like this, but never played with such world weary and yet heartfelt passion. Rourke's performance is the fulcrum that the entire movie spins around. The way he enters a room or throws his hat around for emphasis is not just actorly business. His characterization is impeccable. Stan White is incapable of speaking in bullshit and he does not care to hear it either. His uncompromising and undeniably racially tinged viewpoint makes the character into a powder keg waiting to explode. He has many showdowns with corrupt local leaders, John Lone's reptilian crime boss and his own police superiors. In all of these encounters it is clear that for Stan White there can be no compromise. He will use every weapon in his arsenal to bring down those who would break the law or attempt to profit from it. His relentless pursuit of a personal brand of street justice gives the character a mythic resonance. Rourke is unafraid to show how truly insane White really is. When an action scene happens it comes as a welcome release from the coiled spring intensity that Rourke brings to his performance.

John Lone matches Rourke measure for measure as the oily, yet seductive crime boss Joey Tai. There is a terrific scene where he basically lays out his world view to the unimpressed Stan White. Joey sees himself as a businessman and if drugs, gambling, prostitution, murder and intimidation are the course of doing business than so be it. He is smarter than Rourke's thuggish cop and what he says makes a lot of sense from a certain point of view. This is not the typical shifty crime boss that we have come to know in gangster movie after gangster movie. He is a civilized and rational man whose stock and trade happens to be drugs and violence. Like all good capitalists he has identified a need

In this entertaining and illuminating 1985 crime thriller,Mickey Rourke stars as Capt. Stanley White,a hard-bitten cop with a weary intelligence far beyond his years.

Transferred to a new precinct,the abrasive detective White soon finds himself involved in a crusade to take down the corrupt,criminally run higher powers of NYC's Chinatown. To boil a complex storyline down to it's basics: White must balance his intense desire to bring the violent Triad leader Joey Thai(John Lone)to justice,despite the protests of his bought-off supervisors, with his crumbling personal life(his wife has grown to despise him and he is attracted to a Chinese-American reporter working his Chinatown expose). Adding color to his predicament is his attempt to stay true to justice by fighting off his racist attitudes towards Chinese. While there is no doubt that the triads are engaged in illegal Mafia-style activity,and that White is justified in pursuing them,there is the strange possibility that his rough treatment of Chinatown as a whole stems from his unwillingness to lose another war "because of politics",like he did in Vietnam.

Directed by the stylish Michael Cimino(recovering quite well from the *bloatatious* "Heaven's Gate") and boasting a strong script from the early years of (pre-P.C.)Oliver Stone,"The Year of the Dragon" is a very fine addition to the cop-on-a-mission subgenre. Mickey Rourke,an ever-underrated talent-gives one of his finest performances in the lead,and,despite all of his character's flaws,we become endeared to the character and enraptured by his pursuit of the oft-overlooked Triads of Chinatown. Rourke is a strong and capable presence here,and it's a shame his career didn't survive the 80's. Only the occasional logical gap or plot hole,and the juvenile performance of the obnoxious(but gorgeous) Arianne as the reporter detract from the film's glory. A little trimming of it's excessive 136 minutes would have helped as well.

Regardless of these few failures,"The Year of the Dragon" is a sumptuous and exciting thriller,and awaits a larger audience to discover it's challenges. Stay tuned for this one. ***1/2 out of ****stars. "It's always about politics.This is Vietnam all over again. I'm not gonna lose another war over politics." -Stanley White

Note: A ridiculous,politically-correct disclaimer has been attached to the film by it's distributers. This is a stupid move as the film is in NO WAY demeaning to Chinese-Americans as a whole. The movie only attacks the old-world criminal elements feeding on the underbelly of a few of the larger Chinese communities in the U.S.-the Triads,youth gangs,etc. These organizations do exist,but are not representative of the Chinese-American majority. In the end,crime does not discriminate between the races,and neither does "The Year of the Dragon".

Year of the Dragon fmovies. Cimino has crafted a tough, gritty policier. I went into this film thinking that it would be mediocre at best. Boy, was I surprised. An intelligent script and passionate performances keep this film moving along. The movie kept me enthralled throughout it's length.

This is the first movie in Rourke's golden years: Year of the dragon (1985), 9 1/2 weeks (1986), Angel Heart (1987), Barfly (1987): every single one underrated IMO. His glory started to erode heavily with Johnny Handsome (1989), really hit an all-time low with Wild Orchid (1990) and confirms that as the Marlboro Man's sidekick Harley Davidson (1991). Nevertheless I'm sorry that his footage was cut out of the Thin Red Line (1998), because I like his style. Michael Cimino (Thunderbolt&Lightfoot, Deerhunter) and cinematographer Alex Thomson (Excalibur, the Keep, Legend) apparently know their way in the eighties as well, although the story plays just before.

Is the recent wave of violence in Chinatown caused by Stanley White, the new (Polish originate) gung-ho sheriff in N.Y. Chinatown, or by the hunger for power by the young chinese gangsters? White, ironically, makes his own job harder because he has serious trouble respecting the Chinese in any way. Stanley hits the crime in chinatown like Popeye Doyle in the tradition of the French Connection, instead of a sheriff with brains. He will have to pay for his callousness and hypocrisy.

'Year of the dragon' depicts some of the the money and gambling problems of the Chinese in an early but profound eighties' style. The score sounds cheap, but fortunately is scarce too. I particularly like the noirish feel of this way-above-average cop-flick. Michael Mann could only wish he made this: it's one of my favourite tv-movies. The few negative points are probably due to interference of producer Dino de Laurentiis. 8/10

Next to "Barfly", this is Mickey Rourke's best performance. His turn as an uncompromising, tough New York cop is unforgettable.

The story is complex and involved, and much more engaging than your average 80's cop movie. The cinematography is stylish, and the acting performances all around are outstanding, especially John Lone and Raymond J. Barry.

There's some very graphic violence and some revealing sex scenes, so not for the kiddies! (I'm sure my parents regret taking me to see this one in the theater as a teen, but I made them!)

Overall I think this movie was misunderstood and overlooked by the "award people" and critics. Michael Cimino always has a gritty way about his films and this one is no different, maybe the brutality and violence in this film turned some people off. But if you haven't seen it I would highly recommend it. I really hope this one comes out on DVD at some point!