Year of the Dragon

In New York a police captain and Vietnam veteran starts his own war against the criminal order in Chinatown. He consults nobody and turns the whole neighbourhood against him. The film does not make its lead likeable; the narrative builds his obsession as openly destructive. But in doing so it draws the Chinese American characters and the neighbourhood largely as a threat, and that is its real problem. Michael Cimino directed, with Oliver Stone among the writers. Mickey Rourke and John Lone lead. A real warning: on release it met protests from Asian American organisations and the studio had to add a disclaimer to prints. It also contains a rape scene and sustained racist language. Watch it knowing that.