Watch Year of the Dragon For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

To me, this movie is perfection.

i must have seen a different film!!

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

'Year Of The Dragon' is a dark, brutal thriller about the Chinese mafia's turf wars in the United States. This was once celebrated director Michael Cimino's last attempt to create something daring in Hollywood after his previous film 'Heaven's Gate' infamously bankrupted studio United Artists, but while 'Year of the Dragon' might not the be the masterpiece Cimino's multiple Oscar-wining epic 'The Deer Hunter' was, it is still a very good film and remains one of the best cop thrillers of the eighties - plus it features a Mickey Rourke in absolute top form. And it's an interesting film for some other reasons as well. For one, the script was written by none other than a young Oliver Stone. For another, it was the first time a Hollywood movie addressed the topic of Chinese gang violence in America, and although it seems rather tame now when compared to the reality of Triad wars, at the time, it was accused of being racist towards the Chinese community. The controversy it caused when it opened, plus the fact that it flopped badly, were the final nails in Cimino's career (he only made 3 more films until his death in 2016). But it's a very well crafted, gripping cop thriller that deserves to be re-discovered. 8 stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated gems, here's a list with some of my favorites:imdb.com/list/ls070242495

Mickey Rourke ignites the screen with his flamboyant portrayal of a vigorous-but-veteran, emotionally scarred, determined, charismatic, bigoted, and intensely arrogant police captain Stanley White. Anchoring him with similar intensity we get John Lone as his ruthless Chinese underworld rising boss antagonist and Raymond J. Barry as his cynical superior. Sure things get a little weighed down with the subplot of White's relationship with his particularly shrewish wife falling apart while he dives head-first into an affair with cold fish reporter Arianne, but YEAR OF THE DRAGON never loses its intensity and unpredictability.I love the little side touches like how the deeply profane and immoral Rourke brings in two easily offended nuns as translators, plus how one of his superiors taunts and stares at him like an angry playground bully while his closest underlings consist of a sloppy middle-aged loafer and a barely competent academy flunky as his undercover informant. At times the proceedings become fairly humorous, especially given Rourke's very random reactions. Sometimes he comes off as a noble hero and sometimes like a total racist sociopath but a more human, well-rounded character than, say, William Petersen's equivalent character in the very similar film TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA from the same year. That said, YEAR OF THE DRAGON never loses its seriousness despite a couple out-of-place and over-the-top musical cues. Cimino artfully handles the plentiful action scenes especially one involving Rourke vs. two hoodlums. He also displays a lot of his same penchant for spectacle with the drug-buying scenes in The Golden Triangle, which I'd wager accounted for half the budget as it features a corrupt general leading a very large and heavily armed private army.I find the film fits comfortably as a tonal bridge between the gritty NYC crime films of the 70's (FRENCH CONNECTION, TAXI DRIVER, etc.) and the glossier 90's (KING OF NEW YORK, GOODFELLAS, etc.). In some ways, the dark, uncompromising atmosphere and misanthropic cruelty remind me more of KIDS or THE CROW. Certainly (and very unfortunately) overlooked, YEAR OF THE DRAGON remains a masterpiece of its time and a window into the equally brilliant and warped mind its writer of Oliver Stone just prior to the start of his directorial career.

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.

Using unprecedented degrees of violence, young Joey Tai becomes the head of Chinese mafia in New York and undisputed leader of the Chinese community.Stanley White, the most decorated cop in New York, who hates Asian people since his service in Vietnam, is put in charge of Chinatown.Both men are prone to breaking long-established rules and both men are unlikely to make compromises with each other, which leads to unavoidable and bloody conflict....Despite the presence of Rourke, a cracking screenplay by Stone, and an underlying tension that rumbles throughout the film, it loses a lot of gravitas thanks to a very strange final scene, and stark use of racism throughout.Instead of the eve increasing danger to Rourke and his nearest and dearest, the films narrative focuses more on the next use of violence and how far they can depict on screen. At the time, te film may have been controversial, and a little bit original, but twenty six years later,one cannot help but finding the film a little too slow, and snickering at Rourkes hair.There are speeches aplenty and lots of shouting at seniors, but these are overshadowed by silly characters, unbelievable sets, and strange connotations to the fairer sex.But Rourke is good in the lead, and Stone delivers a good script.