Customer Reviews

The Year of the Dragon (Broadway Theatre Archive) [VHS]

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This is a dynamic, excellently acted filmed version of one of Frank Chin's greatest plays. The explosive interaction of a family of Chinese-Americans set against the explosive background of Chinese New Year celebrations makes for great drama. The actors really rise to the occasion, particularly George Takei, whose performance is a tense, volatile bundle of energy - always threatening to go over the edge- but with a reserved and collective melancholy that is truly compelling. The tension between the good Chinese-American who keeps quiet, plays the fool, and knows his place and the revolutionary spirit of the young is etched in Takei's face. He is a walking contradiction, and filled with turmoil. This inner struggle culminates in a devastating climax. Takei's performance is like watching a nerve being shredded and is very powerful. It helps raise this play (which gives voice to feelings held quiet for too long) above the ordinary.

This is not the racist-sexist movie starring Mickey Rourke from the early 1980s. This is a play recorded for television from the 1970s.

Speaking of the 1970s, this is very much a representative of its time. The filming reminded me of old Muppets episodes. The stage has an armchair as the focal point, very symbolic of Archie Bunker's armchair. In fact, the setting looked a lot like the set in "Sanford and Son."

So "The Joy Luck Club" is not the first artistic work to talk about generational divides among Chinese Americans; and it doesn't just exist as a problem for women. This play was hard to watch because some of the characters babble and talk a mile a minute. Other characters constantly speak at the same time. I think the uneven flow of the dialogue is meant to illustrate the rocky relationships between the family members. Still, it was difficult to tolerate as a viewer.

I'm glad that Frank Chin's work is being preserved in various formats. Yes, he is sexist, homophobic, and totally from the phallocentric, heteropatriarchal old school. Still, he is a father of Asian-American letters.

Like Spike Lee, you can tell that Chin is concerned how artists fare. George Takei bitterly explains how his father looks down upon him for being a writer, rather than an engineer. Just as the 1970s had many dark movies, such as "Taxi Driver," I'm guessing that plays from that time may have been equally noir.

This work is certainly only for people that want to see it for historic purposes.