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IMDbPro

Year of the Dragon

  • 19851985
  • K-16K-16
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
16K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,170
1,085
Mickey Rourke in Year of the Dragon (1985)
Trailer for Year of the Dragon
Play trailer2:07
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionCrimeDrama

A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.

IMDb RATING
6.8/10
16K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,170
1,085
  • Director
    • Michael Cimino
  • Writers
    • Robert Daley(novel)
    • Oliver Stone(screenplay)
    • Michael Cimino(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Mickey Rourke
    • John Lone
    • Ariane
Top credits
  • Director
    • Michael Cimino
  • Writers
    • Robert Daley(novel)
    • Oliver Stone(screenplay)
    • Michael Cimino(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Mickey Rourke
    • John Lone
    • Ariane
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 100User reviews
    • 71Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 10 nominations

    Videos1

    Year of the Dragon
    Trailer 2:07
    Year of the Dragon

    Photos101

    Hannah Kozak on Year of the Dragon
    Hannah Kozak on Year of the Dragon
    (L-R) Paul J.Q. Lee, Ariane
    14" x 22" movie poster
    Mickey Rourke in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Mickey Rourke and John Lone in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Caroline Kava in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Mei Sheng Fan in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Daniel Davin in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Ming C. Lee in Year of the Dragon (1985)
    Caroline Kava in Year of the Dragon (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mickey Rourke
    Mickey Rourke
    • Stanley White
    John Lone
    John Lone
    • Joey Tai
    Ariane
    Ariane
    • Tracy Tzu
    Leonard Termo
    Leonard Termo
    • Angelo Rizzo
    Raymond J. Barry
    Raymond J. Barry
    • Louis Bukowski
    • (as Ray Barry)
    Caroline Kava
    Caroline Kava
    • Connie White
    Eddie Jones
    Eddie Jones
    • William McKenna
    Joey Chin
    • Ronnie Chang
    Victor Wong
    Victor Wong
    • Harry Yung
    K. Dock Yip
    • Milton Bin
    Hon-Lam Pau
    Hon-Lam Pau
    • Fred Hung
    • (as Pao Han Lin)
    Way Dong Woo
    • Elder
    Jimmy Sun
    • Elder
    Daniel Davin
    • Francis Kearney
    Mark Hammer
    • Commissioner Sullivan
    Dennis Dun
    Dennis Dun
    • Herbert Kwong
    Jack Kehler
    Jack Kehler
    • Alan Perez
    Steven Chen
    • Tony Ho
    • Director
      • Michael Cimino
    • Writers
      • Robert Daley(novel)
      • Oliver Stone(screenplay)
      • Michael Cimino(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Michael Cimino was officially allowed final cut of the film, but was forced to make one change to the ending. "The only change they asked me to make, which to this day I still find inexplicable because I think it sums up the movie, was to the very last line. At the end of the movie, there's another fight that breaks out on Mott Street, during a funeral parade. Mickey is in the middle of the mêlée, Tracy runs in and picks him up off the ground, they both look like survivors of a war. The camera closes in. If you look closely, you can see that they're not saying the line that you're hearing. The last line of the movie was, Stanley looks at her and says, 'Well, I guess if you fight a war long enough, you end up marrying the enemy.' Oliver Stone himself is married to a Vietnamese girl right now. I'm sure you'll see American's with Iraqi women at some point. For reasons that I can't understand, that line was not acceptable, so I took a line from some other place in the movie and I slipped it in and it doesn't make any sense at all. But that line, that sums up the whole movie."
    • Goofs
      The first time Stanley is shown on screen his hair is gray and white all over. The next time Stanley is shown in the police station his hair is brown with gray only visible on his temples. In other scenes of the film his hair changes color from gray/white to brown with graying at the temples.
    • Quotes

      Tracy Tzu: You're acting like a child.

      Stanley White: Well, a great man is one who in manhood still keeps the heart of a child.

    • Crazy credits
      The end credits roll over a image of the Chinese woman restaurant-singer crooning a Chinese easy-listening ditty.
    • Connections
      Featured in Slaying the Dragon (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Dream Dance (Tian Mi Mi)
      Composed by Lucia Hwong

      Performed and arranged by Yukio Tsuji and Lucia Hwong

      Recording engineering by Gene Ricciardi (as Gene Ricardi)

    User reviews100

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    very good eighties movie, not yet cinema
    This is the first movie in Rourke's golden years: Year of the dragon (1985), 9 1/2 weeks (1986), Angel Heart (1987), Barfly (1987): every single one underrated IMO. His glory started to erode heavily with Johnny Handsome (1989), really hit an all-time low with Wild Orchid (1990) and confirms that as the Marlboro Man's sidekick Harley Davidson (1991). Nevertheless I'm sorry that his footage was cut out of the Thin Red Line (1998), because I like his style. Michael Cimino (Thunderbolt&Lightfoot, Deerhunter) and cinematographer Alex Thomson (Excalibur, the Keep, Legend) apparently know their way in the eighties as well, although the story plays just before.

    Is the recent wave of violence in Chinatown caused by Stanley White, the new (Polish originate) gung-ho sheriff in N.Y. Chinatown, or by the hunger for power by the young chinese gangsters? White, ironically, makes his own job harder because he has serious trouble respecting the Chinese in any way. Stanley hits the crime in chinatown like Popeye Doyle in the tradition of the French Connection, instead of a sheriff with brains. He will have to pay for his callousness and hypocrisy.

    'Year of the dragon' depicts some of the the money and gambling problems of the Chinese in an early but profound eighties' style. The score sounds cheap, but fortunately is scarce too. I particularly like the noirish feel of this way-above-average cop-flick. Michael Mann could only wish he made this: it's one of my favourite tv-movies. The few negative points are probably due to interference of producer Dino de Laurentiis. 8/10
    helpful•25
    13
    • rogierr
    • May 28, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 10, 1986 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • English
      • Cantonese
      • Vietnamese
      • Polish
    • Also known as
      • Lohikäärmeen vuosi
    • Filming locations
      • 1 Main St #16, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Dino De Laurentiis Company
      • AMLF
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $24,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $18,707,466
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,093,079
      • Aug 18, 1985
    • Gross worldwide
      • $18,707,466
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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