Year of the Dragon (film)

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Categories: 1985 films | Drama films | English-language films | Neo-noir

Year of the Dragon
Image:Year of the dragon poster.jpg Movie poster
Directed by	Michael Cimino
Produced by	Dino De Laurentiis
Written by	Robert Daley (novel) Oliver Stone Michael Cimino
Starring	Mickey Rourke John Lone Ariane Koizumi
Music by	David Mansfield
Cinematography	Alex Thomson
Editing by	Noëlle Boisson Françoise Bonnot
Distributed by	MGM / United Artists
Release date(s)	August 16 1985
Running time	134 mins
Country	United States
Language	Mandarin, English, Cantonese, Polish
IMDb profile

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

1 Tagline
2 Plot Summary
3 Trivia
4 Controversy
5 External links

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.

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

Year of the Dragon at the Internet Movie Database
film review by John J. Puccio at DVD Town
film review at eFilmCritic.com
Year of the Dragon at Unofficial french website

v • d • e Films Directed by Michael Cimino
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot • The Deer Hunter • Heaven's Gate • The Pope of Greenwich Village • Year of the Dragon • The Sicilian • Desperate Hours • The Sunchaser