reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/27/85)
I will be rather surprised if "Year of the Dragon" gets by
this newsgroup without being flamed at least once. It's a very
easy film to hate. However, I do not hate "Year of the Dragon".
Rather, I am somewhat astonished at it. "Year of the Dragon" is
Michael Cimino's comeback film after his tremendous financial and
critical disaster, "Heaven's Gate". (If you just came in recent-
ly, I should mention that I consider "Heaven's Gate" to be a very
good film, and have never understood why so many critics treated
it so savagely.) "Year of the Dragon" is a violent story of a cop
trying to clean up New York's Chinatown. It's untidy, sprawling,
unsympathetic, perhaps not too intelligent, and, to some people's
minds, racist. On the other hand, it displays an awesome visual
sense and overpowering talent at sheer, pure filmmaking. It's
also tremendously exciting, bloody, and thought provoking. "Year
of the Dragon" is a film which you will either love or hate, or
possibly a little of both. I found it one of the most powerful
films of the year, even though I recognized its many flaws.
Stanley White, the most decorated police officer in New York
City, takes over the Chinatown precinct just as it's beginning to
explode. He is ordered to just close down the youth gangs, but
he intends to stamp out organized crime in Chinatown. Joey Tai,
a young crimelord, is seeking to gain control of all of the
Chinese mobs, which control vast extortion rackets, gambling
rings, and a huge drug trade. Tai is exceedingly clever and
smooth, but just a shade too ambitious. White has very few vir-
tues, but his honesty and tenacity make him a match for Tai.
Between them, Chinatown is soon close to exploding.
The lynchpins of the story are White and Tai. White isn't a
nice fellow at all. He is compulsively, thoughtlessly, destruc-
tively committed to his goals. No matter who asks or orders him
to stop, no matter how much harm results, no matter who gets hurt,
White won't stop. He could, but he won't. Tai is in a similar
situation, but unlike White, once in he has no way out. He is
committed to high stakes, and he couldn't back out if he wanted
to. Tai is utterly ruthless, and extremely charming. These two
men, one who cannot stop and one who will not stop, are rivals in
a struggle that they cannot both survive. Most likely, neither will.
Mickey Rourke plays White, and John Lone plays Tai. There
is no question in any critic's mind that Lone is brilliant in his
role. Every move, every word, every action adds to the depth of
his character. His is the more conventional role, the charming
gangster. Rourke's role is less standard. Many critics object
that they didn't like White. Precisely. The rough and tough ob-
sessed hero is a common figure in film, but White is several
steps beyond that. Unlike the usual driven man, we aren't sup-
posed to like, or even admire, White. Probably the emotion Cimi-
no meant us to feel is awe. I think that Rourke judged the role
very well, and did a great job with it.
"Year of the Dragon" isn't a tidy film, and Rourke's role is
reflexive of the untidyness. The film doesn't project the neat
black and white film world we are used to, nor even the shades of
gray which some few films show. To express it in the terms of
the metaphor, "Year of the Dragon" shows a world of bright, gar-
ish flashes of moral color. While characters are largely con-
sistent, we cannot neatly say that this is the good guy and this
the bad. Those on the side of the law bend it to suit their own
notions of justice. The criminals show some oddly honorable im-
pulses, but cannot be counted on even in those. The characters
tend to follow their own inner laws rather than the conventions
of hero and villain.
Cimino's script, co-written with Oliver Stone, isn't the
most intelligent piece of writing in recent memory. There are
definite flaws in the story, and it would play better twenty
minutes shorter. The basic concept is interesting, and the main
characters are well written. Some dialog is good, some less so.
Cimino does a better job directing than writing. In partic-
ular, the action sequences are practically like a belt in the
jaw. The shootouts, knifings, chases, and fistfights in "Year of
the Dragon" are almost a primer on how to make action exciting.
Cimino also does well with his main characters, but shows a less
sure hand when not focusing on them.
The production design on "Year of the Dragon" (by Wolf
Kroeger) is superb, recreating New York's Chinatown in Dino de
Laurentiis' North Carolina studio. The streets, restaurants, and
sweatshops are brilliantly rendered, utterly convincingly. When
combined with lush photography and sinuous camera moves (both
designed and executed by Alex Thomson), the production design
makes a great impression.
"Year of the Dragon" is certainly not a film which will be
universally liked. Reviews have mostly been strongly positive or
stingingly negative. "Year of the Dragon" is, in my opinion,
worth seeing, if one keeps in mind that it falls far short of
perfection. The display of talent overcomes a plot and some at-
titudes which are questionable. Those particularly interested in
the craft of filmmaking should study it for Cimino's amazing way
with action sequences. Those who are willing to listen to contr-
oversial arguments with the intention of later discussing them
will find ample material. Those who like to see people blown
away with an accompanying thunder of noise will not be disap-
pointed, either. People particularly sensitive about racism,
Vietnam, movie violence, or civil rights are not likely to be
pleased with "Year of the Dragon", but at least it will give them
something to get good and angry about.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDU
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher