It may sound like just another maverick cop film, but Michael Cimino’s 1985 thriller is a fascinating footnote in Asian-American cinema history. Set in New York’s Chinatown, and starring Mickey Rourke as a police captain taking on the triads, it features breakout roles for Chinese-American actors such as John Lone and Dennis Dun, as well as an explosive combination of behind-the-scenes talent. was produced by Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010), the flamboyant Italian behind everything from (1974) to (1984).
Co-writer Oliver Stone, meanwhile, would go on to court both controversy and acclaim with the likes of (1986), (1987) and (1994). But what might have been a powerful exploration of clashing cultures feels more like a clash between competing voices, with each of the filmmakers trying to tell a different story. For De Laurentiis, it seems, Robert Daley’s 1981 source novel offered the chance to make an exciting epic about a crime organisation rarely seen on screen.
Cimino’s talent was in delving into the day-to-day lives of macho men, making them feel as real and vital as the brutalities they commit. Vietnam veteran Stone, meanwhile, has never missed an opportunity to examine the deleterious effects of war and the media. Beginning with a dragon parade that quickly descends into violence, sees Captain Stanley White (Rourke) tasked with cleaning up Chinatown as Joey Tai (Lone), an ambitious new triad boss, rises to prominence.
Caught up in White’s mission, whether they li.