A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
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Title: Year of the Dragon (1985)
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Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Mickey Rourke | ... | ||
| John Lone | ... | ||
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Ariane | ... | |
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Leonard Termo | ... | |
| Raymond J. Barry | ... |
Louis Bukowski
(as Ray Barry)
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| Caroline Kava | ... | ||
| Eddie Jones | ... | ||
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Joey Chin | ... | |
| Victor Wong | ... | ||
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K. Dock Yip | ... | |
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Hon-Lam Pau | ... |
Fred Hung
(as Pao Han Lin)
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Way Dong Woo | ... |
Elder
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Jimmy Sun | ... |
Elder
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Daniel Davin | ... | |
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Mark Hammer | ... |
Commissioner Sullivan
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Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Chinatown, New York City. There has long been an unofficial agreement that the NYPD will leave the traditionally run Chinese triad alone to manage the crime issue in the neighborhood, the triad who is the face of organized crime of Chinatown. The triad also has an unofficial agreement with the Italian mafia, still seen as the major player in organized crime in the city, to be cooperative in a win-win situation in their illegal activities. However, the Chinese youth gangs are disregarding these unofficial agreements, being another violent player in the crime scene in Chinatown, they who take a stand by killing Jackie Wong, the head of the triad. To deal with the matter, the NYPD reassign Captain Stanley White from Brooklyn to Chinatown. Stanley, of Polish heritage, is not averse to slinging slurs toward his adversaries, most of those of a racial nature. This reassignment will not help the already deteriorating marriage he has to his long suffering wife, Connie. While Stanley is ... Written by Huggo
Taglines:
It isn't the Bronx or Brooklyn. It isn't even New York. It's Chinatown...and it's about to explode.Certificate:
See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
16 August 1985 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Manhattan Sur See more »Box Office
Budget:
$24,000,000 (estimated)Gross:
$18,700,000 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
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.
See more »
By Frederick Knight
Irving Music, Inc., Two-Knight Music
Arrangement and Keyboards by Marcus Barone
Produced by Raul Rodriguez
Performed by C.O.D.
Courtesy of Emergency Records, Inc.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Caroline Kava and Raymond J. Barry also appeared in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), also written by Oliver Stone. See more »Goofs
Clock in the background of the backup TV studio. See more »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.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The end credits roll over a squeezed image of the Chinese woman restaurant-singer crooning a Chinese easy-listening ditty. See more »Soundtracks
Uphill (Peace Of Mind)By Frederick Knight
Irving Music, Inc., Two-Knight Music
Arrangement and Keyboards by Marcus Barone
Produced by Raul Rodriguez
Performed by C.O.D.
Courtesy of Emergency Records, Inc.
See more »
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.