Year of the Dragon (film)

Infobox Film
name = Year of the Dragon


caption = Movie poster
director = Michael Cimino
producer = Dino De Laurentiis
writer = Robert Daley (novel)
Oliver Stone
Michael Cimino
narrator =
starring = Mickey Rourke
John Lone
Ariane Koizumi
music = David Mansfield
cinematography = Alex Thomson
editing = Noëlle Boisson
Françoise Bonnot
distributor = MGM / United Artists
released = August 16 1985
runtime = 134 mins
country = flagicon|USA United States
language = Mandarin, English, Cantonese, Polish
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0090350

"Year of the Dragon" is a 1985 film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Mickey Rourke, Ariane Koizumi and John Lone. The screenplay was written by Cimino and Oliver Stone, and was adapted from the novel by Robert Daley.

Tagline

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

Plot Summary

Mickey Rourke plays Stanley White, a decorated police captain and Vietnam War veteran who is assigned to New York City's Chinatown, which he makes his personal mission to rid of crime. John Lone plays Joey Tai, a young man who ruthlessly rises up to become the head of the Chinese triad societies, and as a result of his ambition, creates a high profile both for himself and the triads' activities. Together, they end the uneasy truce that has existed between the triads and the police precinct. The film is an exploration of gangs, the illegal drug trade, ethnicity, racism, and stereotypes.

Trivia

*As with "Streets of Fire," most of this movie was filmed not on location but at soundstages, after meticulous research of various locales which could be passed off as Little China and/or the Orient. Said sets proved realistic enough to fool even Stanley Kubrick, who attended the picture's premiere. Director/co-writer Michael Cimino actually had to convince the Bronx-born Kubrick that no part of Chinatown actually looked the way it did on-screen.

*For the picture, Michael Cimino drew heavily on the real-life boxing prowess of his star Mickey Rourke. But, at first, Rourke didn't take his physical training seriously. So Cimino hired a real-life Hells Angel to be Rourke's instructor, with "spectacular" results.

*Mickey Rourke was only 27 years old at the time of filming, much younger than the character of Stanley White (intended to be a Vietnam veteran in his 50s). Rourke mentioned in an interview that he was hesitant to accept the role due to the vast age difference, but eventually changed his mind because of his willingness to work with director Michael Cimino again.

*The real Stanley White, upon whom the film's principal character is based, went to make several cameos in the films of "Year of the Dragon" co-screenwriter Oliver Stone. In JFK, White plays a member of the assassination team that Jim Garrision speculates was actually responsible for the president's death. In Nixon, White has a brief cameo during the horse-racetrack scene between Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins. White has also served as a technical adviser on many of Stone's films.

Reception

Year of the Dragon received polarizing reviews upon its release in 1985.

John Simon, writing for the National Review, commented that, "The new film is, like everything he has done--including the Oscar-winning "Deer Hunter"--an abomination."

The film was nominated for five Razzie Awards, including "Worst Screenplay", "Worst Picture" and "Worst Actress".

Vincent Canby defended the film for the New York Times and wrote, "Year of the Dragon" is light-years away from being a classic, but then it makes no pretense at being anything more than what it is - an elaborately produced gangster film that isn't boring for a minute, composed of excesses in behavior, language and visual effects that, eventually, exert their own hypnotic effect. "

Influential French film periodical, Cahiers du cinéma, named it in its annual Top Ten list.

Controversy

Upon its release, the film sparked much controversy. It was protested in demonstrations by members of the Chinese American and Asian American communities who criticized the film for giving a stereotyped and inaccurate portrayal of Chinese Americans and Chinatown.

External links

*imdb title|id=0090350|title=Year of the Dragon
* [http://www.dvdtown.com/review/yearofthedragon/16127/2913 film review] by John J. Puccio at "DVD Town"
* [http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=8370 film review] at "eFilmCritic.com"
* [http://www.michaelcimino.fr/film-michael-cimino.php?id_film=4 Year of the Dragon] at [http://www.michaelcimino.fr Unofficial french website]