Once the most decorated cop in New York – bold and smug Pole Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) – becomes responsible for Chinatown, he resolves to cease a wave of unbridled violence entailed by the head of Chinese mafia Joey Tai (John Lone). Notwithstanding, this task is not that easy to fulfil… After an artistic five-year marasmus, Michael Cimino returned with this wonderfully executed piece of gangster cinema which is so beautifully shot and riveting that Razzie Award nominations seem to be some sort of absurd and satire (It was nominated only inasmuch it was directed by oath-laden Mr Cimino). It bombards its viewer with outstanding visuals and spellbindingly edited action sequences and in addition to this, it is scored by the great composer David Mansfield whose ecstatic and aggressive soundtrack already infuses a portion of adrenaline into one's veins. The rendition by Cimino is indubitably exquisite and there is a tangible touch of aesthetical imagination of Cimino virtually in every scene. Cimino, a director who does comprehend how to conjure up an evocative climax, slowly boils the whole plot and simmers the scolding substance till the explosive and exciting denouement arrives – so suggestive as if it was doused in some nitro-glycerine. The ensemble is meticulously delineated with red, azure hues as well as some contrasted ones such as white and black slightly reminiscent of a palette of film noir which was likewise possibly Mr Cimino's intention. The colourful décor is enchanting and unlike some visually unsuccessful motion pictures, the tints appear to be flowing out of the screen which is something emotionally sensational.Yet, Cimino's movie is everything but perfect. Despite this laudable visualisation, which is pleasant to eulogise over, it has some structural foibles and invariably problematic script. The story revolves around Stanley White – a cop who is a racist owing to the fact that he used to serve in US Army in Vietnam. Thus, he dislikes Chinese and the violence occurring in the district serves him as one of the arguments of his antipathy. Other characters, including Tracy Tzu and Joey Tai, are initiated quite daftly. However, after a period of time, once White and Tai face each other, there is a conversation between them and the nature of this discourse is rather confidential – White addresses Tai by name as if they had known each other for ages, hence, their relationship is pretty shallow, without adequate foreshadowing and furthermore interactions between them lack chemistry. The plot is divided into two quasi-entirely-separate motifs: White's and Tai's. Whereas White has some nuisances with his wife and there are a lot of quarrels transpiring between them, Tai is generally concerned about expanding his power as the head of Chinese mafia and endeavours to expose his ruthlessness and omnipotence. The dichotomous tale is quite engaging, still, there are flawed parts and the texture is permeated by dissonance forasmuch the action intertwines with minor episodes and rarely focuses on those major ones. The material undoubtedly indicates Cimino's tendency to longer flicks, yet it is devoid of textural integrity. There are likewise some redundant scenes e.g. one random-like shot before the assault on a Chinese restaurant – it displays a car with some thugs nearby the building, providing the instant with no depth whatsoever, creating not too much tension and looking more distracting than gripping.Nevertheless, the film works well on account of solid mise en scène and the stunning soundtrack by Mansfield who utilizes apparently Chinese instruments with a view to introducing a viewer into sinister world of Chinatown. Cimino concretises the concept very neatly, exploiting swift montage, chic action sequences as well as drama-driven ones, particularly between White and his consort. Mickey Rourke stands out as Stanley White, conveying lots of charm to his role and he genuinely comes up to one's expectations as the audacious cop. Ariane never succeeds in being sufficiently convincing, notwithstanding, she is likable as the reporter and she isn't this sort of actress which could ruin the whole movie. John Lone, known for his part in Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, is very good as the boss of Chinese mafia, but fades away in comparison to Rourke who simply is the best performer all around.Obviously, it isn't anything that explored something unexposed before, yet, it's a phenomenal piece of action nosh that ought to please both Cimino fans and those searching for some thrills. Apart from this, those seeking for some interesting overtones, there seem to be some parallels between Cimino himself and the character of Stanley White who endeavours to remain an unscrupulous policeman defending justice, but he disregards his faithful wife and the helpful reporter. Arrogant as Cimino was, he possibly attempted to explain and apologise for the financial catastrophe of his predecessor i.e. Heaven's Gate on which he had spent a huge sum of money due to his hubris and overambitious artistic aspirations. Of course, it is only a domain of presumptions, but anyway it is always worth a look what this director chose to film after aforementioned flick and upon being labelled as "the one who sold his soul to the devil" and butchered by a crowd of blood-thirsty critics.

Year of the Dragon doesn't need too much plot write-up. I'll try in a sentence, just to test this: a tough-as-nails-racist-maybe-sexist-don't- play-by-the-rules-but-not-crooked-wannabe-Mickey-Spillane cop (Mickey Rourke) goes head-to-head with the Triads of New York's Chinatown, lead by a calm businessman-cum-psycho (John Lone) while juggling two lovers and a police force who don't like him much. There, let's move on: this movie is frustrating. Simple as it gets, Michael Cimino's rehabilitation from Heaven's Gate to try and get back into Hollywood's good graces (with Oliver Stone as his screenwriter) is preachy, loud, and full of BIG moments that should add up to more. Frankly, Heaven's Gate was more satisfying (if less tonally consistent) on simple entertainment/quality levels. It's a little like the East Coast cousin of 1985's own To Live and Die in LA. But where Friedkin had a firmer grasp of William Peterson's anti-heroism with fantastic action set pieces, Cimino's direction is either just basic stuff (lots of people talking with dialog that is padded and just speaks too heavily on the points over and over again as if we didn't hear it the first time) and the action, with some exceptions like a climactic shoot-out by a train-line, cluttered and just TOO over the top. Yes, even for an 80's action movie. Maybe there is some real interest here, in doing a story on the triads and gangs of Chinatown, or how it spreads to the exploitation of workers in sweat-shops and factories. It dances with that, and I'm sure Cimino and Stone did their research, but it doesn't add up to more than just a simplistic pot-boiler - and not a strong one either. Rourke certainly tries to act his ass off (or, sadly frankly, sometimes over the top as well, or smirking through scenes), and John Lone certainly makes good back-up. Other players, like Ariane as the One Female Reporter who will get the scoop (cause, you know, there aren't any other reporters who might cover a big crime war in New York city except for the one Chinese one), are not very good at all except in one note turns.And maybe more than anything, the consistent tone of just nastiness from this character of Stanley White, which also permeates other cop and gangster characters, left a bad taste in my mind watching it. There are moments where other characters call Stanley on his myriad of faults - and that he uses Vietnam as a crutch for his issues and as another Rambo 'still fighting the war' (how obvious they tell us, more than once, almost makes Rambo: First Blood Part II subtle by comparison) - and yet none of it really stuck with me to have any kind of feeling for the character except distaste. Again, Rourke does try to make him sorta likable... which could make it worse. When he cries in Ariane's character's apartment for not having anyone else to go to, and a tear goes down his cheek in close-up, there was just indifference there between myself and what was going on. Not good.Yet Cimino does pull off moments that do work, shots that can get excited about. Hell, even a scene I didn't expect to work, which is a funeral for a (should be more) significant character as the second plot turn, was touching for how Cimino held back and let the big emotion swell instead of being the same high pitch. But for all that should be well-intentioned in Year of the Dragon, or 'realistic' as based on a Robert (Prince of the City) Daly book, it just isn't. Year of the Dragon is dated, probably racist Hollywood trash which fluctuates too much between something better and something s**t too often.

Cimino shows that he is a crass and hysteric filmmaker here. His sensibilities place him somewhere between Cecil B. DeMille and Francis Coppola. He's got to film big, so even a cop flick about violence in Chinatown has to be a saga. There's no weight to it, it just has to be a sprawling story that's only vaguely about social issues of importance. He's got to have both the scope and relevance, preferably something to brood over. He's got to have lots of people and lots of scenery in the frame. There's a pretty ludicrous scene set in backwoods Thailand that only seems to exist so that a Triad boss can majestically gallop in view of a swarm of soldiers (and later brandish a severed head).There's nothing worse than a filmmaker who can only leverage ambition and control in his art (Coppola once in a while had good intuitions). So at its most profound, cinematic beauty is at perfume ad level here, say a woman in silhouette sliding into a majestic night-view of New York. What's the term, 'elephant art'? I say it doesn't breathe.Worst of all, since he is very much a storyteller, these days a novelist living in Paris, his dramatic sense is a lot of puff and noise on a typewriter. It has no life. It's screen writing 101 like in one of those books that tell you about the 'hero's journey' and where to put the 'inciting incident': the couple is growing bitter and distant, and it's right on the first scene that they have to curse, yell, and throw things as they explain all that's wrong between them: he's never at home, he doesn't care, she wants a baby.And he's got the ideal writing partner for this. Oliver Stone: so angry barbs at the media, school-lessons in American and Chinese history, and Vietnam is behind all of it. It's all abrasive on this end, as is Stone.Mickey Roorke, usually game for roles that call for lots of smirking and boyish thrashing-about, is the violent, crazy, anguished new sheriff in 'Town. He browbeats and ridicules the Chinese journalist girl and of course she goes to bed with him the moment he has finished doing so, because what's more charming than a 'flawed protagonist'.The film is bookended by public funeral processions and that could have been something, connoting obsession, artificial images, false narratives. Watch John Lone in M. Butterfly for that. Watch Fukasaku for chaotic action.

From Michael Cimino Director of Fine American Classics of Cinema 'Thunderbolt & Lightfoot', The Deer Hunter & 'Heavens Gate' comes 'The Year Of The Dragon' Mickey Rourke is Police Captain Stanley White a Polish American and a Vietnam War veteran assigned to New York City's Chinatown, where he vows to come down hard on Chinese organised crime. Rourke becomes embroiled with Joey Tai John Lone, who ruthlessly rises to the top of the brutal Triad societies. The film has excellent Cinematography courtesy of Alex Thomson, which juxtaposes the two warring cultures, 'The Year Of The Dragon' & it's star Mickey Rourke are nothing short of excellent. I hope that this film may long continue to become further recognised as an American Classic of Noir.