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The Tong-Man with Year of the Dragon
Sat, Nov 12 | 7:30pm | TMT
Ever since the Chinese began arriving in America in the 1800s, racist paranoia has long colored Chinatowns as exotic dens of vice and violence. The two films here, produced six decades apart, both illustrate Hollywood’s interminable obsession with tong wars and also point out the Chinese American community’s resistance.
The Tong-Man
Japan-born silent screen idol Sessue Hayakawa produced and starred as the titular Tong-Man. Ostensibly a love story set in San Francisco Chinatown, the film’s infusion of lurid hatchet murders and opium tong wars sparked the first legal action known to be filed by the Chinese American community against Hollywood’s depiction of the Chinese. The effort failed, and instead created free publicity and soaring box office receipts. Ironically, the film was supposed to be Hayakawa’s path away from racialized Hollywood typecasting.
DIRECTOR: William Worthington.
CAST: Sessue Hayakawa, Helen Jerome Eddy, Marc Robbins, Toyo Fujita. 1919. 58 min. USA. B&W. Silent. Digital. Restored by the Academy Film Archive through a generous grant from the estate of David Shepard, from material in the Blackhawk Films / Lobster collection.
Year of the Dragon
With a screenplay co-written by Oliver Stone and director Michael Cimino, this violent vision of 1980s New York Chinatown gang wars triggered nationwide protests by the Asian American community for its racist and sexist portrayals. Bowing to pressure, distributors added a disclaimer denying any intent to denigrate Asian Americans. No yellowfaced white actors were used, but Asian American cast members were caught in a controversial crossfire. The film, ultimately, was a box office flop.
DIRECTOR: Michael Cimino.
WRITTEN BY: Oliver Stone, Michael Cimino.
CAST: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Dennis Dun. 1985. 134 min. USA. Color. Scope. English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese. Rated R. 35mm.
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