New York Chinatown

                                                   
Director: Stanley Siu Wing
Year: 1982
Rating: 6.0
My old home town back in the 1980s where apparently there were vans parked at Times Square in which girlie shows were taking place inside, gay raves were being held outside, all the cops were corrupt and Chinatown was a grungy hellhole of bullet strewn streets. Hong Kong cinema comes to New York to produce a Heroic Bloodshed triad tale of rival gangs. It is an ambitious attempt though it ultimately fails through poor pacing and its absurd portrayal of the city. Still it is enjoyable for its location shooting and the recognizable landmarks of the city. I have been to Chinatown often enough to be familiar with the streets and shops. Though I never came across a shootout. The film has a lot of those and I wish I had come across the filming of them. The logistics could not have been easy.



The filmmakers are aiming for the Godfather but end up with a standard bloody triad rivalry with one group trying to take over Chinatown. The various Tongs are governed by the elders under the leadership of Fung (Fung Ngai), but one gang headed by Chao (Melvin Wong who was brought up in San Francisco's Chinatown) wants more. Much more. All of it. Standing in his way is Lui (a very dapper Alan Tang who was a big star at the time and whose father headed a Tong in China) who is by triad standards the good guy. He is honorable, respectful and takes care of everyone. The protection money he demands is fair. Everything that Chao is not though Wong plays him very contained rather than a bad triad maniac. He has also paid off a corrupt cop to help him. The cop is played by Don the Dragon Wilson in his film debut. It is a secondary role, but he gets in on the action. For some reason he and all the other Gwielos seem to be dubbed in English by the same guy who sounds like Arnold with his Austrian accent.



The two rival gangs tussle over territory and girls until Chao finally goes for it. He frames Lui for murder in Coney Island and once he is behind bars begins killing the members in his gang. In one nifty scene chasing them through the streets of the city. Lui gets out and when he returns to Chinatown it is like Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life showing Baily what the town would be like if he had not been born. All the shops have gone out of business, prostitutes roam the streets offering oral sex, drug dealers are hooking customers. It is time for payback. And the streets of Chinatown are soon covered in blood.