Year of the Dragon
All actors and roles (10)
Short description
Year of the Dragon is a crime thriller set in New York's Chinatown, where a police captain named Stanley White, a Vietnam veteran with a long record of decorations and a deep hostility toward Asians, takes charge of the district. He quickly comes into conflict with Joey Tai, a young and ambitious figure in the Chinese underworld whose violent rise threatens the established order and the truce between the police and the community's older leaders. White pursues his own investigation, ignoring the limits placed on him, while his wife Connie and his superiors urge restraint. A television journalist, Tracy Tzu, becomes involved in his campaign. The two men push toward an unavoidable confrontation.
Michael Cimino directed, working from a screenplay he wrote with Oliver Stone, and Dino De Laurentiis produced. The film followed Cimino's Heaven's Gate and was his fourth feature. Mickey Rourke plays White, with John Lone as Joey Tai and Ariane as Tracy Tzu; Leonard Termo, Raymond J. Barry and Caroline Kava appear among a credited cast of 86. Made for 24 million dollars, it took in about 19 million worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from roughly 20,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8 out of 10 from around 500 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 20 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Following the release, the Chinese community in America expressed its protest against the inaccurate and stereotypical depiction of Chinese people on screen.
- The New York street scenes were filmed on sets constructed in North Carolina. They looked so realistic that even Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was fooled at the premiere, believing these scenes had been shot on location. These same sets were subsequently used in the filming of many other films.
- Director Michael Cimino and co-writer Oliver Stone wanted Nick Nolte or Jeff Bridges for the lead role. However, after filming Mickey Rourke in "Heaven's Gate" and then seeing him in Stuart Rosenberg's "Papa's Delicate Condition," Cimino decided to cast him.
- Tracy's apartment was not simply a set. It was specially built in the famous Clocktower Building in New York.
- According to one of the film crew, director Michael Cimino managed to stay within the film's budget, for which he had additional motivation. Film producer Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010) promised him a luxurious Mercedes, which the hero played by John Lone drove in the film, if he stayed within budget. Cimino finished filming four days behind schedule, but saved $130,000 of the budget, so he received the Mercedes.
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