Year of the Dragon (1985) Movie Script
Come on, back up.
move back a little bit.
Let the funeral through. Stay back.
Get Laura. That's the daughter.
Get a close-up. Go to her.
Come on. Excuse me.
Hey. Don't touch the camera.
miss, please don't cause any problems.
We're not causing any problems.
John, let's get mcKenna.
Captain mcKenna?
Any leads in Jackie Wong's murder?
- Nothing at this time.
Do you think this means
there's a war in Chinatown?
No, I don't.
It's a situation where the youth gangs
are lashing out at the establishment.
The community's cooperating.
The situation's under control.
Hey, kid. What's going on?
- We gotta talk, Lenny. Privately.
Sure. Some funeral, huh?
So, what's new, kid?
Listen, no news this week.
But I got some uptown you should try.
Give you a taste, for nothing.
You greaseballs don't listen.
- What?
You want to play games with me?
I thought it was loud and clear,
this is our street now.
You wanna stay on this street,
pay us.
Come on, Ronnie, me?
You wanna extort money from me?
You know who you're talking to?
You know who my cousins are?
I know what I need to know.
You listen to me.
Fuck your cousins. No one rides
free anymore. You owe me money.
It's 300 a week to operate here.
Four weeks, that's 1 200 bucks you owe.
You come across Canal Street,
throwing your weight around?
Little Chink. You'll end up
with a wire around your neck.
Now get out of here before
I kick your ass. Hey, kid.
The rumor is that Jackie Wong was more
than the unofficial mayor of Chinatown.
That he was also the head of a secret triad.
Jackie Wong, no question, will be missed.
He was loved.
He made money for his people.
But the head of a secret triad?
There's no triads in New York.
I'm sure you've heard old rumors
that Wong's successor, Harry Yung...
...was a corrupt Hong Kong policeman
who came here with $1 5 million.
Fifteen million dollars?
That's a good one.
Somebody should tell Harry Yung that.
I have no further comments.
- You have that?
Yep.
- okay.
You're a hell of a reporter, honey.
You're talking to a guy with a bag
on his head and cotton in his ears.
Stick around, you might learn something.
Who are you?
Just ask for Stanley White.
- Which Stanley White?
There's only one Stanley White.
Hello, Will, how's the view up there?
- You can see a long way.
Still believe in keeping
a high police profile, huh?
If you wore your uniform, you'd know...
...that police visibility is
the strongest deterrent to crime.
It doesn't look like you're
deterring much around here.
Aren't you in the wrong precinct?
- No. They gave me a new command.
oh, yeah? What'd they give you?
- Chinatown.
That's right,
they just cut off your oats.
Why? Because of this?
How was I supposed to prevent this?
How am I supposed to prevent anything
around here?
Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
- Now what the hell?
Like I told you before,
man, no pictures.
John.
Go to her. Right there. Get Laura
Wong. Get the close-up, come on.
That's the daughter.
l'm not gonna tell you--
- Don't touch the camera.
Get rid of the camera.
Lose the camera.
This camera is none of your business.
Go away.
Hey, that's enough. Hey. What'd l
tell you before? Get on out of here.
Come on, move aside. move aside.
- He's over there in the back.
Tell me when, okay?
Tell me when.
okay?
And so with the passing
of Dai Jackie Wong...
...a piece of Chinatown history
passes with him.
This is Tracy Tzu. WKXT News.
mott Street, Chinatown.
What are you assholes
doing around here?
Just hanging out.
Yo, man. What the fuck are you doing?
Get off, you fucking bastard. Get off.
You can't come down here.
Get the fuck off me.
It's no raid. Keep on playing.
No problem.
I'm looking for Uncle Harry.
Not here, white devil, get out.
Where's Harry?
- Not here. maybe bank.
Hey, he's going to be back soon.
You tell Harry, l'm coming over.
Get out.
Let's play.
You let the white devil into our place?
What the--?
What's going on with you?
I'm looking for Uncle Harry.
Where's Harry Yung?
Where are you going?
- Harry in there?
Where are you going?
Thought we should all have a little
talk since we're both new at our jobs.
Why did you go
to the gambling place, huh?
We had the same arrangement over
a long period of time.
No policeman ever go to gambling club.
Foolish man. Rude. I'm going
to have to tell your superiors.
Well, it won't be the first time,
Uncle Harry.
I'm glad you guys are here.
Saves me some lung power.
This is it. I'll give it to you fast.
There's a new marshal in town.
me. New marshal means new rules.
New rules means no more street
violence. You collar the gangs.
I don't wanna see their fucking faces
unless they're serving me in a restaurant.
I don't care what you do.
Get them jobs catching cockroaches.
Get them off the streets.
- Nobody can control the gangs.
Everybody knows that.
Too big a problem.
Captain, Chinatown behind you
all the way.
In favor of what you do.
You take gang kid in the alley.
You put bag over their head.
You beat them with club.
Chinatown behind you 1 00 percent.
- one hundred percent.
Good, because l'm gonna need your help.
I'm gonna put a stop to all this
bribe-paying and extortion to gangs.
I want the help of all 60 families...
...and merchant associations.
I want you people--
Wait a minute, captain. This is
very difficult. Very, very difficult.
There's a long history.
For thousands of years,
Chinese do not go to the police.
If they go to the police,
they'll get in trouble.
So I'll tell you straight.
Nobody will come to see you.
You tell him what we mean.
No disrespect is intended
to the police by our remarks.
But if the citizens of Chinatown regard
what you call extortion and bribery...
...as part of the cost of business, and have
felt that way for thousands of years...
...why should you be so concerned?
What about the ones
that don't wanna pay?
You tell him.
When I first came to New York,
I worked as a waiter in a restaurant.
Something terrible happened
because my boss did not want to pay.
I signed a complaint against
a gang leader who was arrested.
Next day, he was out on the streets again.
Now, six months go by before his trial...
...and the police chief was transferred
to the Bronx.
This was, what, six or seven
chiefs before mcKenna?
Seven.
And the new chief dropped the charges.
Three months later I
got stabbed right here.
Show him. See?
You must understand, captain. To us,
your Good Samaritan was a fool...
...to risk the security of his family
to help a stranger.
You're too impressed with yourself.
Fuck you.
What did you say?
- I said, fuck you.
I'm tired of all this
'Chinese this, Chinese that.'
You people, you think gambling,
extortion, corruption are kosher?
Because it's 1 000 years old?
Well, all this 1 000-year-old stuff,
it's a lot of shit to me.
This is America you're living in,
and it's 200 years old.
So you better get your clocks fixed.
You're not special,
and you're not beyond the law...
...any more than the Puerto Ricans
or the Polacks.
So we're all gonna obey the law
the way it says.
So start doing something about it,
and fast. or you're all gonna suffer.
You can believe that.
How will we deal with this?
morning, Stan.
morning, Stan.
- Hi, Stan.
morning, Stan.
- morning, Stan.
He's early.
- He's always early.
I got a complaint about you already.
- There's a line around the block.
Harry Yung is very upset
about you busting...
...into his place of business
on a day of mourning.
He says you're threatening
the arrangement we've always had.
What is this arrangement? Is it carved in...
stone? Did it come
out of a burning bush?
What the hell did you rush in there for?
You made them lose face,
you made us lose face.
They were just sitting there,
having breakfast.
What kind of evidence
did you have to go in there?
With these people, you won't have any.
- You're talking shit, Stanley.
Lou, I didn't buy this job.
You gave it to me.
I told you to kick ass
on the youth gangs, not the old guys.
You lay off them, you hear?
The 5th Precinct's a nice,
quiet area, Stanley.
Good springboard for promotion.
Lou, l've been down there one day.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out
something's going on.
Blood's gonna flow in the gutters.
They're gonna muscle across Canal.
They're gonna push the mafia out.
I'm talking banks, real estate, drug money--
Who told you this? The DEA?
They've been peddling that
Chinese mafia theory for years.
And they never made a case
in Chinatown. I wouldn't believe nothing.
You don't know what you're talking about.
The mafia concept's not even ltalian.
It's Chinese.
It's Chinese.
It was invented in China 1 000 years ago.
They call them triads.
That's what we have here. We have
the offshoots of the Hong Kong triads.
You're letting your imagination run.
- No, Lou, like hell I am.
These people are the biggest overall
importers of heroin in this country.
And the fact that we don't have
one single bust...
...against one of these guys
tells me something.
They're smart, Lou. They're smarter
than you and Kearney, this lrish Sphinx.
At least I didn't change my name, Wizynski.
What do you want?
You want to attack Chinatown
with the 82nd Airborne?
You're not in Vietnam here, Stanley.
There, I never saw the enemy. Here,
they're right in front of my eyes.
They got no place to hide, no jungle.
This is just like the South Bronx.
You got a bunch of juvenile delinquents.
Youth gangs. Call them what you want.
Snot-nosed Chinks, scumbags.
Now go and kick their asses.
You're good at it.
Youth gangs? These are midget hit men.
- You know what your problem is?
You move through this department
like heavy machinery.
Nobody likes you, Stanley.
They tell you you're a great cop,
but they don't like you.
So what?
Just put my request through, will you?
Kearney, talking to you
is like one hand clapping.
All of a sudden this job's
made you an expert.
He's got a thing for Chinks.
Connie, l'm home.
- ln here.
Where you been? I've been calling
for two days.
You don't answer the phone anymore?
Connie?
What the hell's going on here?
Don't ask. It's the washing machine again.
And while I was at it, I fixed the sink.
Jesus. Connie, why don't you
ever call the repairman?
You're living in the past, Stanley.
You find one.
Hey, look at this mess.
Buy me a new machine.
But don't break my balls, Stanley.
Been trying to fix this thing
for three hours, and l'm not in the mood.
I didn't say anything.
- You were gonna, weren't you?
I can always tell.
What the hell's wrong with you? I walk
in the door, you don't even say hello.
You don't smile. All you do is say,
'Stanley, don't break my balls.'
What kind of relationship is this?
- You don't care about our relationship.
I do care.
I do care about our relationship.
oh, come on.
I just wanna know why
you're so angry all the time.
Well, Stanley, it's because you have
become an arrogant, self-centered...
...condescending son of a bitch.
There's a lot to be arrogant about--...
oh, don't start, okay? I'm not
taking any more of your shit, Stan.
You wanna fix the fucking washing
machine? You go ahead and fix it.
You fix it. I gotta go to work.
Hey, look, l'm not having
such a great day, either.
I thought you said you had the night off.
I thought maybe we could go out.
- They shifted me back to nights.
What is biting your ass?
Don't tell me it's the washing machine.
No. Nothing.
I don't expect anything from you.
- What is that supposed to mean?
It means you bombed out.
You forgot. You weren't here.
You missed target practice.
What?
- Wednesday.
Wednesday.
It's the day of my ovulation.
I guess I forgot.
Don't bullshit me, Stan.
I don't like it.
I'm getting the picture, okay?
It's clear as ice.
lf you really wanted a kid--
- of course I want a kid.
No, no. You'd take care of yourself a bit.
You'd sleep decent hours, you'd eat
regular, you'd take your vitamins.
You promised me you'd
take your vitamin E.
I paid 50 bucks for this.
You'd screw me once in a while
at the right time of the month.
How do we stand a chance?
Hey, l'm sorry.
- I know.
You said that last month
and the month before that.
I'll tell you what, next month,
we'll take a weekend off.
We'll go up to that place in the Poconos.
The place your brother-in-law's
always talking about.
The place with the heart-shaped tubs?
We could try there.
Don't give me all that.
Don't treat me like an idiot.
It doesn't work anymore.
It doesn't work.
Shit.
Good evening, miss Tzu.
- Hi. How are you?
We're very happy you
are joining us tonight.
Thanks.
- This way, please.
This is miss Tzu.
How do you do?
- Hello.
We're so pleased you've come.
- Thank you.
I didn't think you'd show up.
I wanted a closer look at the jerk
who insulted me on the street.
What would you like to drink?
- Tea.
Why didn't you tell me who you were?
- Hostile, aren't you?
I showed up, didn't l?
Why don't you have some spareribs.
They have great spareribs here, but
lousy lighting. Ever wonder about that?
Why the inside of a Chinese restaurant
makes you feel like you're at the DmV?
Feel like l'm waiting for an eye test.
You know, the atmosphere is not the thing.
Besides, I like ltalian food better anyway.
I'm impressed.
Are you doing your homework?
Scratching the surface.
You're from Hong Kong?
No, American-born.
San Francisco, the Bay area.
How many generations
have your people been here?
my great-grandfather came,
worked in the railroads, went back.
my grandfather worked in a gold mine.
He also went back.
They went back because the law
wouldn't allow their wives to come.
my father married a Japanese woman
and settled here in the '40s.
Yeah, I know the story.
It's a pretty sad one.
Thousands of you Chinese
came over here...
...and died building the railroads
in this country. Says so right here.
Their bones are scattered all over
the West. We don't even know their names.
There's a photograph here.
Promontory Point, Utah, 1 869.
That's where the Union
and Central Pacific first met.
Take a look at it. What do you see?
What do you see? You
see the bosses. You...
see the politicians. You see the bankers.
You see the lrish workmen. There's
not one single, solitary Chinaman.
They weren't even asked to show up.
They died anonymous.
Goddamn people,
you keep everything a secret.
I know the story, captain.
most people don't. Because no one
remembers in this country.
No one remembers anything.
You sound just like my father.
- He sounds like a great guy.
What does he do?
He's in shipping. Now what's your story?
me? What's there to say?
I'm Polish.
I'm from Brooklyn. I'm a cop.
But I happen to be the most decorated cop
in the city of New York.
I'm talking action-decorated,
no desk citations here.
l'm sure about that.
- I saw you a few times on the tube.
I don't watch much television,
but I think you're pretty good.
And a whole lot sexier than
those broads on other channels.
Well, captain, very pleased
you've come. Hello.
Uncle Yung, you know Tracy Tzu?
- oh, yes. Very pleased you've come.
This is my wife, Su Shin.
Captain, do you like Chinese champagne?
This is very good.
This is on the house, huh?
Thanks, Harry, but no, thanks.
I pay my own way.
Fish stinks from the head, right?
The Chinese eat the head, captain.
Enjoy.
Let's go.
Looks like champagne, anyway.
I think you upset him.
- I certainly hope so.
Look at it this way.
Harry Yung...
...is the head of the richest tong
in Chinatown.
He's gotta be involved
in the Chinese mafia.
Even if he isn't doing anything,
he's gotta be doing something.
And if I can nail the son of a bitch,
and he's got face, I get face.
And if I get face,
I can win the war in Chinatown.
Captain? Why did you call me?
What do you want?
I'll tell you what I want. I want
the rice to boil over in Chinatown.
I wanna change things.
Why? Is Chinatown so bad the way it is?
It stinks. Harry Yung's got this place
locked up like a jail.
Got a slave population of sweatshop
women working for 1 2 cents a piece.
You got shopkeepers paying bribes
to every punk that comes along.
You got 30 people living in a room.
You got the highest rate
of TB and mental illness...
...in any city neighborhood.
You got a male population--
Look, l'm a reporter.
I am not a crusader.
You're an actress. I can help you.
- How?
I'll give you hard facts off the record.
You do one of those
exposs on Chinatown.
one week you do
the gambling connection.
The next week you do
the youth gang extortion racket.
You move up the ladder
to the bosses that own the places.
You splash their faces on the tube.
Take a little journalistic license.
Each week we peel another layer
off the onion.
If it was some white broad, they'd say it's
racist. But with you, it's on the up and up.
This is outrageous. There are
boundaries, captain. Ethics.
The press is independent,
not just another undercover cop.
What you're asking is absurd.
It's almost criminal.
You wouldn't know a real criminal
if one bit you on the ass.
I don't think there's any point
in going on with this.
You sit down. You get smart.
And you listen to me.
Go fuck yourself.
Stanley.
Didn't see nothing happen.
Two men. Ski masks.
Ran up the stairs.
It was all over.
It's all right. It's all right.
It's all over now.
It's all right. It's all right.
Stop crying. Stop crying.
Stop crying.
Right?
our banking and shipping profits
are all down.
Gold prices are slumping,
our stocks are sluggish.
our commodities have slipped.
There's no new money coming in,
gentlemen.
Soon the Vietnamese will start competing
with our gambling profits.
And this new policeman...
...making rude noises about Chinatown
and justice, and all.
Right?
Then there's the matter with the ltalians.
It is perhaps time to consider ending
the old arrangement with them.
Do like they do. Sell directly
to the blacks and Puerto Ricans.
Good morning.
- Good morning, chief.
Good morning.
- morning, Frank.
morning, commissioner.
- morning, commissioner.
Anything to tell me on the Wild West show
at the Shanghai Palace last night?
Yes, sir.
our information is that it was
an East Broadway gang.
We're checking on it right now.
I wouldn't bet on that information, sir.
- You know something they don't?
No, sir, but just that our street information
in Chinatown hasn't been right so far.
We're the last ones to know
what's going on. The important thing is...
...both of these punks were hit,
and it's gonna be hard to hide.
And if I can get to them, and I will,
then I got one hand on their balls.
Captain White is speaking for himself, sir.
I don't care who he's speaking for.
I know this:
These punks are whacking out people
left and right. Tourists.
I just got my ass chewed out by the mayor,
who's mighty pissed off.
And so am l. What the hell has happened
to Chinatown? It was never like this.
The causes of this run deep, sir.
Be that as it may, I want this crap
stopped, and I want it stopped now...
...or heads are going to roll.
Am I making myself clear to you people?
Yes, boss.
You want some fast results,
commissioner, and no bullshit...
...Iet me have
one Chinese undercover cop...
...and I'll penetrate these fuckers.
What are you talking about?
You took this request to your C.o.?
- Yes, sir, and it was ignored.
As was my warning that the gutters
were gonna run red with blood.
The request is under consideration,
commissioner.
This kid he wants is a trainee.
He's already got six Chinese cops.
I got six too many.
I got six Chinese cops down there...
...no one talks to. They're like lepers.
This kid, Herbert Kwong, he's from China.
No one knows him down there.
And he don't know shit from Shinola.
He needs another 1 00 hours, minimum.
We don't have another 1 00 hours.
Give him what he wants. Now.
And get some results.
That's it.
Nobody does what you did in here.
Nobody.
Look down the muzzle of the gun.
make sure it's aligned with the target.
on the whistle, you're going
to fire six rounds...
...from the close-combat position
and freeze.
Your time limit is...
Are you sure about this?
- Yeah.
... three seconds for six rounds.
You will freeze in that position.
You will not move.
okay, see you.
How'd you get a name like Herbert?
my Chinese name is too complicated.
I looked in the phone book.
I found ' Herbert.'
You know anything about Go Joey Tai?
Harry Yung? Fred Hung?
Uncle milton Bin?
No, sir.
- Well, you're going to.
You're gonna put them to sleep at night,
wake them up in the morning.
I wanna know where they go, who they
see. When you're not doing that...
...you're gonna monitor a wiretap
on these guys.
Watch it, will you?
You drive worse than you shoot.
Stay out of the left lane, all right?
- Yes, sir.
What hours am I working?
You're on 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
What about sleep?
- Forget sleep.
But I got a second job.
- Herbert, quit. I'm serious.
You wanna be a cop or fuck around?
What's the point of the exercise?
- lt's not an exercise, it's the Chinese mafia.
They eat people like you for breakfast.
I told you to stay out of the left lane.
Ever notice Chinese guys
always block traffic?
They drive like their music,
from right to left.
Ever see a Chinese Grand Prix driver?
No.
Goddamn cab doesn't know how to drive.
Come on.
Central to 2-7 Adam Boy.
Two male Asians shot dead
in a cellar at 6 Eldridge.
They match the description
of the Shanghai Palace suspects.
That's us. out of the car.
You're undercover now.
Where's White?
Alan Perez, captain.
Nobody, of course, saw nothing.
most of these people are illegal.
They're sweating a bust.
Building's registered to Tan Wan Lo.
He lives in Hong Kong.
If you ask me,
he's probably been dead for 1 0 years.
Building ownership down here makes
a Chinese fire drill look organized.
Where are they?
- Tony, get out here.
This is the guy that tipped us.
Calls himself Tony.
Says he's been working
down here 40 years.
Tony, you wanna show the captain
what you showed me.
Come on.
You people.
You can take off your shoes.
Right here. Go look.
Get a flashlight.
You're a good man, Tony.
Not too many of you left.
I know.
You don't have to tell me. I know.
All good men gone.
Long time.
Everything change.
Young people, no respect.
Steal, shoot, kill,
like white man.
Chinese man is not afraid to work hard.
I work 40 years here.
I put every dollar in Chase manhattan Bank.
Young people have no respect no more.
old men afraid.
Not me.
Not me.
I been here long time.
I have seen many things.
I see things lot of people
don't even think I see.
Tony, there should be more men like you.
Bullshit.
Some say it was an act of revenge
linked to the restaurant massacre.
In this once quiet community,
tourists are beginning to stay away...
...and the people here
are beginning to ask:
'What's happening to Chinatown?'
Connie's waiting at the restaurant.
- Where's the place?
Captain White?
Can you give us any idea who and what's
behind this wave of violence?
Who? What?
A thousand years of civilization. That's
who, that's what. You ought to know that.
Now get that goddamn thing
out of my face.
What's the matter?
- lf you don't know, you don't know.
You're acting like there's
something between us.
Auntie, stop worrying.
I have to go.
Have something to eat.
Don't worry.
mr. White, l'm so glad you came.
Joey, congratulations. I hear
Harry Yung's out and you're in.
Stuart, hi.
Have you met my favorite lady, Connie?
This is Joey Tai, he owns the place.
my wife.
lt's a pleasure to meet you, mrs. White.
- Hi, how are you?
Look, l'm sorry l'm late, something
came up. Why don't we just order--
I told you, I got a late shift tonight.
We can talk after dinner.
- lt might disturb my digestion.
You really are something, Stanley.
Just come over here.
Let's call it a truce.
How about some good
champagne, Joey?
Sure. mrs. White, come this way.
Harvey, get me
the best champagne in the house.
You have an eye for beauty, captain.
- She's a real rock. She's the best.
You must've heard we dug up
those two midgets that hit Harry's place.
Found them in a soybean basement.
- No, I didn't.
my guess is, somebody didn't
want us to find them.
You think it was the friends of the boy
who was killed?
If you accept the surface of things, Joey,
which most people do.
Why the bodyguard?
Does it come with the new title or what?
Just a precaution. There's been
too much violence lately.
I agree.
What are we gonna do?
How's it going?
Are you enticing those to be conquered
in coming to the conqueror?
You should try our exploding lobster.
my chef does it better
than anybody in the world.
Hey, what do you want, Joey?
Spit it out.
Cigarette?
- No.
This is not the Bronx or Brooklyn.
It's not even New York.
It's Chinatown. It can be very easy,
or it can be very hard.
Well, why don't you make it easy?
I'll help you get
some of these renegade youths.
Witnesses, evidence,
everything you need.
You get headlines, your superiors
will relax, everybody happy.
Then you can stay in Chinatown,
no transfer, and we can do business.
You understand what l'm saying
to you, mr. White?
Yeah. I get the punks.
What do you want in return?
Nothing.
Just work with us.
Chinese people come here to prosper,
not to change things.
This cross-eyed conversation
we're having, Joey...
...gets me confused.
See, l'm a stupid Polack.
A peasant.
You gotta make things real clear to me.
- Sure. How clear do I make it?
oh, I don't know.
I'm thinking.
Would a contract with us for security work
after you retire be what you need?
We got some late-night clubs
you could keep an eye on.
Could mean 1 00,000 a year.
And we could put it anywhere in the world.
I don't think 1 00,000 is gonna be enough.
okay.
How much, then?
I'll take the same amount that you're gonna
make off your next 50 keys of heroin.
At last.
The clouds part to show the true sky.
most drug dealers are morons, Joey,
but I gotta hand it to you.
You're one silky son of a bitch.
This the way you deal with the ltalians?
This the way you moved out Harry Yung?
How about your father-in-law,
Jackie Wong?
Rumor has it, it your hand that
was on the knife that killed him.
You're a smart guy, Go Joey,
but you made one mistake.
I'm not ltalian.
I'm a Polack.
And I can't be bought.
I'm gonna burn you down.
I'm gonna drag you...
...and your dirty laundry out on the street.
And l'm gonna humiliate you.
You are very stupid...
...and you're not gonna last.
I'll last long enough to piss on your grave.
Connie, what's wrong with you?
I was only 20 minutes late.
What's the matter with you?
Hey, look, you're right.
I thought it over.
I tried very hard to suppress it...
...but I think there's definitely
something between us.
Get in the car.
I'm not some gook hooker
on the streets of Saigon.
Does that work with all the girls?
- Comme ci comme ca.
Give me a break. It's not every day
I get to meet a famous person.
Listen, I got a legitimate story for you.
Want some wine? White or red?
Both.
Wow, this is some place.
Hey, listen, forget what I said
in the restaurant.
I know you got your ethics.
I respect that.
Listen, you got a great human
interest story in Joey Tai.
Kid from the slums of Kowloon
comes over here...
...works his way up...
...marries the boss's daughter.
maybe knocks off the boss,
becomes the boss.
That's the American dream. Why don't
you shine a light on the son of a bitch?
What if he's involved in nothing?
What if he's just a successful
businessman, like my father?
The Chinese are always involved
in something.
They're never involved in nothing.
You remember that.
You're really cracked, you know that?
The first time I saw you, I knew
you were cracked. And a racist too.
Were you in Vietnam?
Yeah, why?
- I knew it.
It ruined you.
The first time I saw you,
I hated your guts.
I think I even hated you
before I ever met you.
I hated you on TV.
I hated you in Vietnam.
You wanna know what's destroying
this country? It's not booze.
It's not drugs. It's TV, it's media.
It's people like you. Vampires.
I hate the way that you make your living,
sticking microphones in people's faces.
I hate how you lie every night at 6:00.
I hate the way you kill real feelings.
I hate everything that you stand for.
most of all, I hate rich kids.
And I hate this place.
So why do I wanna fuck you so bad?
maybe you're right.
maybe I got no ethics.
I can't. Stop it.
- What do you mean, you can't?
I spent all afternoon here making
love with my boyfriend. I can't.
So why did you invite me here?
What year are you living in?
We're not in the back seat of some car
at a drive-in.
You don't have to get
your money's worth.
Who is he? What's his name?
What is he, rich?
You wanna know if he's Chinese, right?
That's what you wanna know. So ask it.
That's the question,
so why don't you answer it.
He's white, all right.
He went to Princeton.
His name's Roger. And he's a lawyer.
Well, I hate lawyers.
I wouldn't wanna make love to a woman...
...who just got done screwing
a lawyer anyway.
What's he got, money?
Roger Pumpernickel lll?
And he's not a crackpot racist.
He's a gentleman.
oh, yeah? What does he do?
He plays tennis and golf
and goes out sailing on a yacht?
What's with all these machines?
What are you, at AT&T?
You got everybody in town jumping
in and out of your bed?
You're acting like a child.
A great man is one who, in manhood,
still keeps the heart of a child.
Why don't you go home?
I can see this was a big mistake.
Yeah, it was a mistake,
it was a giant mistake.
It was a giant mistake.
I'm gonna go home to a woman
who at least acts like a woman.
If this Roger's so great,
how come he didn't he marry you?
He didn't want a little slant-eyed
Roger lV at Princeton?
We've never discussed it.
We just meet here to fuck.
I wanna arrest the gang members for
loitering, spitting in the gutter, anything.
What about their civil rights?
- Fuck their civil rights.
I want the honchos around here
to go ape-shit.
I wanna disrupt the entire commerce
of Chinatown.
Do you understand me?
I want chaos.
You know, you people, you're starting
to look like the Chicago Cubs.
I'm not kidding.
You look like you already lost.
The world has fucked you over.
So now you don't give a shit.
I know. I've been there.
I've been in the job 1 5 years.
I know all the stories.
my heart has been broken 1 00 times.
I've got scar tissue on my soul.
But let me tell you something.
I give a shit.
I'm gonna make you people give a shit.
I don't care what you think of me.
You guys are gonna go
through the numbers
on this one. Now, that's it. Get out of here.
Whoa. one last thing.
The next cop...
...that I hear about who's
taking money in this precinct...
...I'm gonna personally bust their mouth.
Are there any questions?
What if it's a woman?
She better bend over.
mr. Wong, do you think Joey Tai is
responsible for the death of your father?
No way. I want my lawyer.
Double-parked cars have been towed.
Captain Stanley White, the most
decorated cop in New York City...
...has declared war on Chinatown.
Today there were 43 gang arrests...
...three gambling parlors raided,
six sweatshops busted.
And now in an opening blow at the man...
...who's been called the Godfather
of Chinatown, Joey Tai...
...Captain White closed his restaurant
on a health violation.
Needless to say, a crackdown
is in the works.
And although the district attorney
denies it...
...a major drug conspiracy case
is rumored to be pending...
...against various respected
older members of the Chinatown elite.
mr. Tai, can you tell us if there is
such a thing as the Chinese mafia?
It sounds very exciting.
Like a comic book.
The existence of triads is documented
by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Documentation without proof.
This farce is further evidence
of the consistent discrimination...
...against Chinese in this country.
mr. Tai, are you saying there is no
criminal element in all of Chinatown?
of course not.
But why do you media people insist
on emphasizing...
...this sinister Charlie Chan image?
Why don't you talk about the chair
in Chinese history...
...our association has endowed
at Yale University...
...or our $1 2 million fund
for our 1 0,000 members...
Positive things.
- What is your comment on Jackie Wong?
mr. Tai, do you have any comment
on Jackie Wong?
I'm happy you could make it, Teddy.
I'm really happy you are okay.
my doctor would kill me
if he knew I was here.
They just took my voice box out.
They keep taking things out.
I have nothing left, Fred...
...but my brain.
my brain says I'd rather do business...
...with a smart thief than
an honest man who is stupid.
A stupid man is dangerous,
like a defective time bomb.
You never know when
it's gonna go off on you.
But a thief, you can control what he steals.
I think, Teddy, you are going
to find Joey a very smart young man.
Not cautious as Jackie or Harry,
but aggressive.
He wants power.
All young men want power.
That's what it means to be young, Fred.
I wanna see his face, his eyes.
I wanna know if he's reckless.
one look in his eyes, I will know.
Bring him in.
But leave the nigger outside.
my esteemed friends are diplomatic.
- How's the sound?
A little background noise,
but not too bad.
The point, mr. Tedesco...
...is that we are happy to let you
continue the distribution of our software.
But, with a 50 percent reduction
in volume...
...and at a reduced fee.
Something like 1 7 or 1 8 percent.
The rest stays with us
till we weigh other offers.
Jackie Wong made these arrangements
with me.
We were pioneers when you
were sucking your mother's tit.
And I don't see
why anything should change now.
Because Jackie Wong is dead.
And Harry Yung has stepped down,
and I am the Cho Kun now.
Hey, Joey.
And I say we can't afford to sell
to old men the old way.
You know, Fred, in all my years...
...nobody, and I mean nobody's
ever talked to me like that. Nobody.
No insult was intended, mr. Tedesco.
But you people don't control
Canal Street anymore.
We do.
I think when you think
through my offer to you...
...you'll see that it's not unprofitable
to both sides.
Who you gonna sell to?
The niggers? The spics?
You people don't have
that kind of weight here.
They will bury you so fast
like you never was here.
And if they don't, I will.
Don't talk like that.
- Don't sweat it.
You're flying too high, kid,
and the air is very thin up there.
We got anything?
It seems to be mostly financial talk,
captain.
There is mention of some problem
in Thailand.
A man in Bangkok is saying
something about....
I'm not quite sure about what.
But he's very angry about a group
from Toronto called the Nam Soong.
Sister, you gotta be more precise.
That's going to be very difficult,
captain.
It's been many years since we've heard
the Hakka dialect spoken.
They're talking around things,
not about them.
Damn it, Sister, that's the point.
They're not gonna spell it out for you.
This is drug talk.
You gotta use your imagination.
Listen.
You look like you don't eat enough
to keep a bird alive. Have some real food.
Captain White, I've managed to live
for 75 years without your help...
...eating precisely what l'm eating now.
my body fat is 1 2 percent.
my blood pressure's 1 20/80.
my lymphocyte count is 22 percent.
And if you want to compare white
blood cells and red blood cells...
...I might even outlast you,
captain...
...red-meat eater that you obviously are.
The perpetrator is saying
he's flying into Bangkok next week.
Under another name.
He's making his move.
I want you to get the DEA on him.
Call the Bangkok police. Whatever you
gotta do to eyeball this scumbag.
I'm sorry, Sister.
I just wish the fuck I could go there myself.
Come on. Back on the street.
That'll be the day. The N.Y.P.D.
springs for a ticket to Hong Kong.
You guys are doing a great job.
Keep it up.
Rizzo, come on.
Hit Chinatown like Genghis Khan.
I want restaurant health violations,
immigration busts....
You were meant to shake up the gangs,
not turn the whole city upside down.
Let me make this real clear to you
right here and now.
Joey Tai goes to
the manhattan borough president...
...who he contributes
$1 00,000 a year to, right?
The borough president goes to the mayor,
who goes to me.
And the word is, 'Lay off.'
That is the way the game is played, okay?
No more wiretaps on Joey Tai.
And you don't go to the DEA.
Going to outside agencies
isn't your job, it is Lou's job.
What about the dead tourists,
commissioner, huh?
I guess they don't add up
to a can of sardines, do they?
You change your tune fast just because
that slimebag has tea with the mayor.
You can't link Joey Tai to that.
The point here is, you cease and desist.
What if I don't? What are you
gonna do? You gonna suspend me?
What will that look like
in the papers? You tell me.
First, you suspend me.
Second, you call off...
an investigation into the Chinese mafia.
What investigation? What Chinese mafia?
The investigation's in your mind.
What's it gonna look like? You tell me.
Your department's gonna look
like shit, that's what.
ls this blackmail?
- Call it what you want.
I've been swallowing the bullshit around
here for 1 0 years, and l'm choking on it.
You ever think about your pension?
- Fuck it.
That's what's wrong with this department.
Everybody's so worried
about their pension.
Stanley--
Never have I ever heard anything like this.
This is a fucking disgrace.
- No, Lou, this is a war.
I'm not gonna lose it. Not this one. Not
over politics. It's always fucking politics.
This is Vietnam all over again.
Nobody wants to win this thing, do you?
Just flat out win, do they, Lou?
You go to the press again, White,
you know what you're doing?
You're putting a gun to my head, Stanley.
That's what we are.
We're four guys in a room
with guns to our heads.
Kearney, will you step outside
for a minute?
I can't listen to this crap no more,
Stanley.
I can't watch a good man piss
his career down the drain like this.
You never had any respect for anything.
You throw away your wife--...
Shut up.
- And now you're turning on us.
You got delusions of grandeur.
Sucking up to this Chink reporter
to get your face on the tube.
What is it with you? You gone Chink
on us? She do it sideways?
Take it back.
- Don't tell me that.
You got no shame. Connie was
the best thing you ever had--
That wasn't between cops, that was
between two guys from the old days.
Lou, l'm sorry.
Look, I don't know why we're fighting.
I love you, I love Connie.
When things aren't working at home, you
start overreacting to things on the street.
We all had flings when we were young.
I'm not a prude.
Why don't you at least sit down with
Connie and try to straighten this out.
Even if you walk away,
you walk away friends.
Because no one's gonna care when you're
lying in your grave but Connie and me.
Well?
What are you gonna do, Stanley?
I don't know.
All I know is that when I give up...
...the system gives up.
Tracy.
Tracy, open the door.
Tracy.
Tracy.
- l'm coming.
Tracy.
Come on, open the door.
Who do you think you are?
And what are you doing with that?
These are my Chinese books.
I'm moving in.
You what?
Did I misinterpret what you were saying
to me when I was on top of you?
Fuck you.
What's wrong with you Chinese?
Why don't you say what you think?
l'm calling Roger.
- Call him. I've got things to say to him too.
Go away, will you, Stanley?
You're cracked. You're really crazy.
Do you ever listen to yourself?
Tell me the truth. There is no Roger,
is there? You know how I know?
It's because when you talk about him,
your eyes aren't real.
There is a Roger.
Tell me what you see in this guy.
Come on, tell me, I wanna know.
I want you to look me in the eyes,
and I want you to say it.
What do I have to do to get you
out of here? Holy God.
Nothing. It's hopeless.
Surrender.
Why am I laughing?
I'm becoming a crazy, like you.
I'm tired.
I think I need to sleep.
maybe everybody's right.
I'm chasing something that doesn't exist.
I ought to stop.
Jesus, l'm tired.
It's the same thing as in Nam.
We lost because you were smarter than us.
And you couldn't even
have a decent parade.
A fucking Chinese parade.
They come at you
in 1 5 different directions.
Fucking joke.
Stanley.
You can't stay here.
Don't you have a friend I could call?
or somebody you could
stay with tonight?
You're the only friend I have left.
I just wanna be with somebody
tonight. I just....
I don't know anybody else.
Isn't that a real laugh?
I don't know anybody.
I feel like such an asshole.
Tracy, l....
I love you.
Did you hear what I said?
I thought there was
no Chinese word for love.
I'm serious.
I know you are.
It was bad enough doing business
with the old general.
Ban Sung's even worse. But you lose
all face by dealing with him direct.
Ban Sung's got an ego like an octopus.
- I know.
But I don't trust his agent here.
White Powder ma knows Ban Sung has
got a bumper crop of 1 50 to 200 tons.
ma offered him 6000 a key,
plus a shipment of Kalashnikov rifles.
All right.
I'll see you tonight.
- See you.
Thanks, bye.
Will you open the door?
open the door. What do I gotta do,
break it down?
We gotta clear the air between us.
We gotta talk it out.
So talk.
I don't know what got into me
with this Chinese girl.
I care more about you
than anybody in the world.
I mean, if you don't know that,
Connie, then....
So, what do you want me to say?
Do you want me to forgive you, Stanley?
Is that what you want?
The truth is,
I don't know what I want.
You wanna marry her?
You wanna have babies with her?
Look, I didn't plan for things
to happen this way.
It just happened.
How do you think that makes me feel?
It makes me feel pretty low, Stanley.
I feel pretty low myself.
- lt's about time.
You used me up, Stanley,
and then you burned me down.
And I was a rock. I carried the cross
with you in Brooklyn and queens.
I lived in a fucking war zone with you.
Now you're gonna go off and have babies
with a woman 1 0 years younger than me.
I don't have any pity for you, Stanley.
I hope you feel bad.
Look, why don't we just
let things ride for a while.
Just let some time pass.
I don't have any time.
- I just need some time to think.
I'm out of time.
I'm 35, sliding into 40.
So, what do you want me to do?
You want me to just walk away,
just like that?
Is that what you want?
It's over, Stanley.
Don't you get it? We're not playing
from the same sheet music anymore.
Now, will you get out of here
before I start to cry?
And I don't want to do that.
Not in front of you.
I got my pride.
Are you okay?
I'm washing my face.
Look, Connie.
I'd feel a whole lot better if you'd just
keep the house and the bank accounts.
I mean,
whatever's mine is yours.
I don't want the house, anyway.
Stanley?
What the hell is going on?
- They got Connie.
Stanley. What are you, crazy?
Stanley.
Stanley, get out of there.
Stanley.
Are you crazy?
- He's evidence.
He's dead.
Long time no see, Joe Tai.
It's an honor and a pleasure
to see you again, general.
Time looks like it's been good to you.
- And to you too, honorable cousin.
The last time, as I remember,
both of us were taking orders.
Now we give them.
How is the health of our old friend,
the great Sao mong Khawn...
...who paved the golden road
of our success together?
Truly, he is one of the great ones.
He'll be happy to see you, Go Joey.
I think so.
Come.
I think we'll surprise him.
Perhaps the general
doesn't recognize you.
The general likes heroin in his soup.
Keeps him happy.
Thank all gods,
he feels no pain.
Come, Go Joey.
A Kalashnikov.
Best rifle ever made.
The Russians used to give them
to us to fight the Burmese.
But now it's harder to get.
They want dollars.
Everybody wants dollars.
one bullet,
by the time it gets to me...
...costs me one American dollar.
Dollars are like small fish.
Difficult to catch.
But not to be thrown back,
except as bait for something bigger.
l'll make it 4500 a kilo.
- You give me 6500.
And I'll refine it to number four right here.
- No, no.
You'll have 200 keys
in Bangkok in two weeks.
We can't control the quality unless
we refine it to stage four ourselves.
We've always bought stage three.
You don't think my dragon pearl is good?
I have the best chemists in the world.
- maybe.
Better than your people in Hong Kong.
- Lin Shin Sao.
But then we would be forced
to unemploy our chemists.
Go Joey.
I offer you the chance of putting
your old friend out of his misery.
He was going to betray us
to the American.
Hold him.
Save me. Save me.
No, don't.
Don't shoot me.
You don't have the bullet to spare.
Each bullet can kill one Burmese soldier.
Then you don't have to use a gun.
Don't do this to me.
I'll buy him from you, $5000.
Buy?
U.S. dollars. Cash. Now.
- Why?
Why not?
If you think this shit-faced old worm
is worth $5000...
...you can have him.
- Good.
The food's been great...
...and your hospitality has left
an impression, general.
But time is pressing.
I must be in Hong Kong...
...before the banks close on Friday.
my final offer.
I'll make it 4900 a key
for your number three dragon pearl.
I'll take 200 kilos deliverable
in Bangkok early next week.
Another 800 kilos for the next
three months. Nothing beyond that.
White Powder ma's offer
makes yours insignificant.
Piss on him. Nam Soong triad is like
dog shit littering the streets.
They'll be extinct in two years.
I think perhaps I put my money
on White Powder ma.
I think so.
I think White Powder ma
will be pleased to hear this.
Tell him yourself, general.
I give to Ban Sung...
...in honor of our association.
Let no motherless fuck ever raise
his head again between us.
Come on,
let me get a shot.
Come on.
Press. Come on, let us in.
I'm sorry, Stanley.
She looks beautiful, Stanley.
Let me through.
Let me through.
Let me through.
Let me in.
Let me in now.
my deepest condolences
to you, mr. White.
If it makes you feel better,
she said it wasn't the Chinese girl.
Connie was a bigger person than that.
She knew what was gonna happen.
You should've listened to her.
You were talking to Connie
behind my back?
Yeah, I was talking
to Connie behind your back.
I know Connie even longer than you.
Why shouldn't I talk to her if I want to?
You and I don't agree on anything
anymore.
That's your problem.
You're fighting the whole world.
I'm sick and tired of Vietnam
as an excuse for everything you guys do.
You act like everyone in WWll and Korea
came home to a picnic.
Well, it wasn't.
We lost 50,000 men in Korea too.
Nobody gave a shit.
But we fitted in.
Why can't you fit in?
What is it that's so different?
I don't know what you're talking about.
- You know what l'm talking about.
You're not one of them
professional veterans...
...making a career of pissing
and groaning about the war.
You made something out of yourself.
But you're still acting like you're
on a crusade.
You think you got the right
to trample over anything.
We got an arrangement,
a treaty with these Chinese.
However tarnished it is, it works.
Life is arrangement, Stanley.
Life is getting along. That's why
this neighborhood is what it is.
That's why 8 million people
every day in this city can function.
Lou, I don't wanna argue with you
anymore, all right? Honest, I don't.
Take it easy.
You need anything, you call me,
you hear?
There's always a bed at my place.
You know, your arrangement
is what killed Connie, Lou.
mr. Tai?
- mr. Tai?
mr. Tai, people in Chinatown are saying
Ronnie Chang was your protg.
And his involvement in the murder
of Captain White's wife implicates you.
That was a terrible tragedy.
But I hardly knew Ronnie Chang.
Ronnie Chang represents much
of what is bad in Chinatown.
We are trying to get rid of this element.
my sources say you're
back from Bangkok.
Was there a business
purpose for this trip?
I have interests there.
I import foods from the Far East.
I also have a company that distributes
films in Thailand. Why do you ask?
Would this business take
you into the jungle...
500 miles north of Bangkok...
...to meet with a reputed drug lord
by the name of Ban Sung?
Do you know there are ethical
boundaries, even for the press?
Then does the name White Powder ma
ring a bell?
All right, cut it.
I know your sources. And l'm gonna raise
the issue with your legal department.
I don't give a shit.
I got the new lady district attorney
behind me on this thing now.
Do you think the N.Y.P.D. is gonna
lift a finger for me? No.
I'm not gonna tell you where I am.
I'm gonna make this case with the DEA,
Customs and lmmigration if I have to.
The goddamn lnternal Affairs,
sniffing around again.
I'll bet you it's that fuck, Kearney.
Get me Scappy Peck at Customs.
He owes me favors.
What did Tai say about White Powder ma?
What is all this?
What's happened?
I can't use my office.
The walls have ears.
I let you use this place,
but this is ridiculous.
Get off the phone.
And get these people out of here.
Right now.
Scappy Peck's on the line.
- No. No more calls.
Look at this place.
I give you an inch, and you take a mile.
I want these people out of here
right now. I mean it.
I don't have time to write thank-you notes.
I'm going for Joey Tai's throat,
and nobody will stop me.
So just don't break my balls, all right?
Just hang in there a little while, and
you'll be famous. That's what you want.
You ungrateful, overbearing,
self-centered son of a bitch.
Don't tell me what I want.
- That's it. Let me hear it.'lgnorant Polack.'
Everybody, get out.
Sit down.
What's so funny?
You drive everybody crazy, not just me.
But she's an aristocrat.
You can't push her around.
That's an aristocrat?
From the North. mandarin.
They're like that.
Call Wainwright back. This is bullshit.
We're not getting anywhere.
Look, that dope is between here
and Thailand. It's on the move.
We gotta get a tap in Tai's restaurant office.
You must be kidding me.
A white face would never get in there.
lmpossible, captain.
- Come on.
You could get in there as a busboy
or something.
After that, plenty of time off
for sleep, a promotion....
No way, captain.
- A tough kid from Kwangtung?
Whose ancestors used to hang
in baskets in the Sierras...
...poking dynamite sticks in cliff faces.
All l'm asking you to do is
be a fly on the wall.
Your ancestors are rolling in their graves.
Goddamn bullshit, captain. You're pushing
too much. I'm no slave.
I gave up my security job.
I gave up my chauffeur job.
I send less money home.
I'm tired all the time. I don't eat right.
I'm getting sick. I die, l'm fucked.
my family is fucked.
For what?
- What do you mean?
You don't care nothing for people.
You make us all die for you.
Let me tell you something, captain.
When your ancestors were living
in caves in Poland...
...the Chinese were sailing their ships
across the Pacific.
What do you know of my ancestors?
- What do you know about mine?
We were traders, shipbuilders, explorers.
We taught you agriculture. We gave you
the orange, the irrigation system.
We dug your gold and silver, Stanley.
We taught you how to fish the Pacific.
And still we were barred
from American citizenship until 1 943.
We worked so hard to
build your railroads,
then when our opium was late...
...we were so desperate,
we helped each other kill ourselves.
But l'm not gonna kill myself for you,
Captain White.
No more Chinaman Joe.
Those days are over.
He'll be back. He loves me.
Look, Stan, the kid's pushing it to the limit.
I don't know, maybe we should take him
off the case.
No undercover has lasted
more than a month in Chinatown.
Let me tell you something.
That kid is tough as nails.
And l'm gonna make it up to him.
mind your business.
You have to remember to call.
Why don't you call now....
Watch what you say.
No problem.
- Easy to take care of.
Which new company?
Shit.
The goddamn name of the ship.
White has a wire in your office.
Who?
- I don't know, but l'll find out.
Hey, Perez.
I don't want anything to go wrong
with the shipment. It's important.
Don't worry.
- I want you at the pier.
All right, where?
- The Kazimierz Pulaski. Polish.
It docks Tuesday. Pier 1 1.
l'll be there.
- Thanks.
Stanley.
Hey. Hey.
You're gonna be all right.
I'm proud as hell of you.
Eleven.
What?
- The dock.
Get to Beekman, for chrissakes.
What was the name of the ship?
- Dear God....
Kazimier...
...Polki....
He's at the bar.
You and me are gonna have a talk
about Herbert Kwong.
Get off me. You fucking....
I'm gonna fucking kill you,
you little cocksucking bastard.
Get the fuck in there.
- l'm gonna press charges.
I'm begging you.
Come on, Joey, call a cop.
Come on, let's go to court.
I'm begging you.
No more now, Stan.
oh, shit.
Get out. Get out.
Aileen. Come on. Let's go.
Get the fuck out of my way.
Get the fuck out of my way.
motherfuckers.
Let's go.
Get your fucking ass in--
Hurry up, Aileen.
Fucker.
Bastard.
You look like you're gonna die, beautiful.
oh, yeah? Don't count on it.
- You are.
You're not gonna make it.
Was it worth it?
Anything you want to tell me
before you go, sweetheart?
Yeah. Fuck you.
What happened, captain?
Got one in the chest.
- Captain, what the hell happened?
I'm talking about a ship out of Rotterdam.
The Kazimierz Pulaski.
What the hell's the problem?
You know how big that ship is, Stanley?
We can't go ripping up floor plates...
...cutting boilers open, poking
through 1 0,000 Edam cheeses...
...or drilling in a shipment of Danish
furniture on your say-so.
It's a lot of money involved. We got
passengers, we got waiting time.
Besides, it's the flagship
of a foreign government.
All l'm asking you to do
is go through one ship.
I got a deathbed confession.
A cop died for this.
You're pissing against the wind, ace.
Get a live informant.
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
You shouldn't be here.
You embarrassed
your friends are gonna see me?
Tonight's the night.
Get your crew to Pier 1 1.
We'll watch rice boil over in Chinatown.
I have to talk to you.
- For what? What is it? What is it?
Are you gonna weasel out on me?
What? Spit it out.
I can't go there. I've been told
not to do any more stories on this.
You've been told? By who?
- By the network.
There's a war going
on down in Chinatown,
and you're not gonna cover it?
Look, I don't think this is
the time or the place.
Tell me the time and the place,
and we'll go to that place and discuss it.
Would you just quit? There's times
you have to know when to quit.
oh, yeah? Did Herbert quit?
What's wrong with you?
He's dead. Connie's dead.
I'm putting my life on the line,
and you're sitting here...
...acting like some phony,
white-bread cunt.
You're not even white, you're Chinese.
Those are your people down there.
Are you a reporter,
are you a whore, what?
You're a son of a bitch, Stanley.
The day you put your ass on the line,
that's the day you'll be a real reporter.
my ass on the line?
Goddamn you, Stanley.
I was almost killed for you.
I was raped.
And l'm not gonna die for you.
I'm not gonna be pushed
like Connie and Herbert.
They're dead because you--
- What do you mean, you were raped?
You're like poison, Stanley.
- Who did this to you?
Rape is rape.
- Who? Who raped you?
Three boys.
- Who?
Three boys.
- Who raped you?
Three Chinese boys, Stanley.
He went too far this time,
that fucking Joey.
It didn't happen to you,
it happened to me.
You don't give a shit about me, do you?
l'm gonna kill him.
- Leave, Stanley.
Go away and leave me alone.
You should take a look
at yourself, Stanley.
You're selfish, you're callous...
...you're indifferent to suffering.
Your wife was right.
And you still don't get the message.
How many more people are you
gonna kill before you do?
Tracy, l--
- No, Stanley.
Just go away and leave me alone.
Don't say anything. Just go away.
Hello, Stanley.
You weren't in your office.
Hello, Lou.
Francis, l'm disappointed.
You didn't show for Connie's funeral.
- You were warned about Joey Tai.
You clean your desk,
you're going back to Brooklyn.
You've been properly served.
I'm sorry, Stash.
You were told to lay off.
If you think that l'm gonna stand
for that, you're wrong.
You don't like it, resign. You're through,
anyway. It's all over for you.
Your balls will be cut off Friday.
You're not cops, you're liars,
both of you.
You don't bend, you break, Stanley.
- Then l'll break.
You care too much, Stanley.
- How can anybody care too much?
Go on, go on.
Jesus.
Get the-- Get out here.
Get out of my sight, get the--
- Hey, what is this?
What do you want?
- You tell me...
...where the heroin is on the ship...
...and you get a head start.
- Hey. Stan White.
You cocksucker.
Joey.
Joey.
Joey.
What?.
Come on.
Come on.
Give me your gun.
For pity's sake, please.
Tell me where it is.
mercedes. Please.
There are those who liken Chinatown
to a skating pond.
on the surface, we see a lovely landscape
of snowflakes and skaters.
But underneath, the cannibal fish: gangs.
The sharks: those who control the gangs.
And the whales: the big bosses.
All move in deadly swarms.
These bosses, some are beginning to say,
are part of an international crime network...
...with its headquarters in Hong Kong.
Everyone denies it, but in the wake of the...
shootings of Joey Tai
and Ronnie Chang...
...questions are mushrooming
left and right.
Charges of illegal wiretapping
have been leveled by H.J. Yung...
...head of the Hun San...
...resulting in the removal
of Captain Stanley White.
one wonders if this is not a smoke screen
to distract from the main issue...
...which is what part the Hun San
plays in this Chinese opera.
Tracy Tzu, Chinatown.
okay, that's it.
Stanley. Stanley.
- Follow him, John, follow him.
Where is he going?
- He's a great cop, but he won't stop.
He won't stop. White, goddamn it.
What the hell is going on?
I'm arresting these people.
You wanna do something
they'll remember?
Book them. Be a cop again.
Stanley.
Stanley.
Stanley. oh, thank God.
You know, you were right,
I was wrong, sorry.
I'd like to be a nice guy, I would.
I just don't know how to be nice.
You're really cracked, you know that?
move back a little bit.
Let the funeral through. Stay back.
Get Laura. That's the daughter.
Get a close-up. Go to her.
Come on. Excuse me.
Hey. Don't touch the camera.
miss, please don't cause any problems.
We're not causing any problems.
John, let's get mcKenna.
Captain mcKenna?
Any leads in Jackie Wong's murder?
- Nothing at this time.
Do you think this means
there's a war in Chinatown?
No, I don't.
It's a situation where the youth gangs
are lashing out at the establishment.
The community's cooperating.
The situation's under control.
Hey, kid. What's going on?
- We gotta talk, Lenny. Privately.
Sure. Some funeral, huh?
So, what's new, kid?
Listen, no news this week.
But I got some uptown you should try.
Give you a taste, for nothing.
You greaseballs don't listen.
- What?
You want to play games with me?
I thought it was loud and clear,
this is our street now.
You wanna stay on this street,
pay us.
Come on, Ronnie, me?
You wanna extort money from me?
You know who you're talking to?
You know who my cousins are?
I know what I need to know.
You listen to me.
Fuck your cousins. No one rides
free anymore. You owe me money.
It's 300 a week to operate here.
Four weeks, that's 1 200 bucks you owe.
You come across Canal Street,
throwing your weight around?
Little Chink. You'll end up
with a wire around your neck.
Now get out of here before
I kick your ass. Hey, kid.
The rumor is that Jackie Wong was more
than the unofficial mayor of Chinatown.
That he was also the head of a secret triad.
Jackie Wong, no question, will be missed.
He was loved.
He made money for his people.
But the head of a secret triad?
There's no triads in New York.
I'm sure you've heard old rumors
that Wong's successor, Harry Yung...
...was a corrupt Hong Kong policeman
who came here with $1 5 million.
Fifteen million dollars?
That's a good one.
Somebody should tell Harry Yung that.
I have no further comments.
- You have that?
Yep.
- okay.
You're a hell of a reporter, honey.
You're talking to a guy with a bag
on his head and cotton in his ears.
Stick around, you might learn something.
Who are you?
Just ask for Stanley White.
- Which Stanley White?
There's only one Stanley White.
Hello, Will, how's the view up there?
- You can see a long way.
Still believe in keeping
a high police profile, huh?
If you wore your uniform, you'd know...
...that police visibility is
the strongest deterrent to crime.
It doesn't look like you're
deterring much around here.
Aren't you in the wrong precinct?
- No. They gave me a new command.
oh, yeah? What'd they give you?
- Chinatown.
That's right,
they just cut off your oats.
Why? Because of this?
How was I supposed to prevent this?
How am I supposed to prevent anything
around here?
Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
- Now what the hell?
Like I told you before,
man, no pictures.
John.
Go to her. Right there. Get Laura
Wong. Get the close-up, come on.
That's the daughter.
l'm not gonna tell you--
- Don't touch the camera.
Get rid of the camera.
Lose the camera.
This camera is none of your business.
Go away.
Hey, that's enough. Hey. What'd l
tell you before? Get on out of here.
Come on, move aside. move aside.
- He's over there in the back.
Tell me when, okay?
Tell me when.
okay?
And so with the passing
of Dai Jackie Wong...
...a piece of Chinatown history
passes with him.
This is Tracy Tzu. WKXT News.
mott Street, Chinatown.
What are you assholes
doing around here?
Just hanging out.
Yo, man. What the fuck are you doing?
Get off, you fucking bastard. Get off.
You can't come down here.
Get the fuck off me.
It's no raid. Keep on playing.
No problem.
I'm looking for Uncle Harry.
Not here, white devil, get out.
Where's Harry?
- Not here. maybe bank.
Hey, he's going to be back soon.
You tell Harry, l'm coming over.
Get out.
Let's play.
You let the white devil into our place?
What the--?
What's going on with you?
I'm looking for Uncle Harry.
Where's Harry Yung?
Where are you going?
- Harry in there?
Where are you going?
Thought we should all have a little
talk since we're both new at our jobs.
Why did you go
to the gambling place, huh?
We had the same arrangement over
a long period of time.
No policeman ever go to gambling club.
Foolish man. Rude. I'm going
to have to tell your superiors.
Well, it won't be the first time,
Uncle Harry.
I'm glad you guys are here.
Saves me some lung power.
This is it. I'll give it to you fast.
There's a new marshal in town.
me. New marshal means new rules.
New rules means no more street
violence. You collar the gangs.
I don't wanna see their fucking faces
unless they're serving me in a restaurant.
I don't care what you do.
Get them jobs catching cockroaches.
Get them off the streets.
- Nobody can control the gangs.
Everybody knows that.
Too big a problem.
Captain, Chinatown behind you
all the way.
In favor of what you do.
You take gang kid in the alley.
You put bag over their head.
You beat them with club.
Chinatown behind you 1 00 percent.
- one hundred percent.
Good, because l'm gonna need your help.
I'm gonna put a stop to all this
bribe-paying and extortion to gangs.
I want the help of all 60 families...
...and merchant associations.
I want you people--
Wait a minute, captain. This is
very difficult. Very, very difficult.
There's a long history.
For thousands of years,
Chinese do not go to the police.
If they go to the police,
they'll get in trouble.
So I'll tell you straight.
Nobody will come to see you.
You tell him what we mean.
No disrespect is intended
to the police by our remarks.
But if the citizens of Chinatown regard
what you call extortion and bribery...
...as part of the cost of business, and have
felt that way for thousands of years...
...why should you be so concerned?
What about the ones
that don't wanna pay?
You tell him.
When I first came to New York,
I worked as a waiter in a restaurant.
Something terrible happened
because my boss did not want to pay.
I signed a complaint against
a gang leader who was arrested.
Next day, he was out on the streets again.
Now, six months go by before his trial...
...and the police chief was transferred
to the Bronx.
This was, what, six or seven
chiefs before mcKenna?
Seven.
And the new chief dropped the charges.
Three months later I
got stabbed right here.
Show him. See?
You must understand, captain. To us,
your Good Samaritan was a fool...
...to risk the security of his family
to help a stranger.
You're too impressed with yourself.
Fuck you.
What did you say?
- I said, fuck you.
I'm tired of all this
'Chinese this, Chinese that.'
You people, you think gambling,
extortion, corruption are kosher?
Because it's 1 000 years old?
Well, all this 1 000-year-old stuff,
it's a lot of shit to me.
This is America you're living in,
and it's 200 years old.
So you better get your clocks fixed.
You're not special,
and you're not beyond the law...
...any more than the Puerto Ricans
or the Polacks.
So we're all gonna obey the law
the way it says.
So start doing something about it,
and fast. or you're all gonna suffer.
You can believe that.
How will we deal with this?
morning, Stan.
morning, Stan.
- Hi, Stan.
morning, Stan.
- morning, Stan.
He's early.
- He's always early.
I got a complaint about you already.
- There's a line around the block.
Harry Yung is very upset
about you busting...
...into his place of business
on a day of mourning.
He says you're threatening
the arrangement we've always had.
What is this arrangement? Is it carved in...
stone? Did it come
out of a burning bush?
What the hell did you rush in there for?
You made them lose face,
you made us lose face.
They were just sitting there,
having breakfast.
What kind of evidence
did you have to go in there?
With these people, you won't have any.
- You're talking shit, Stanley.
Lou, I didn't buy this job.
You gave it to me.
I told you to kick ass
on the youth gangs, not the old guys.
You lay off them, you hear?
The 5th Precinct's a nice,
quiet area, Stanley.
Good springboard for promotion.
Lou, l've been down there one day.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out
something's going on.
Blood's gonna flow in the gutters.
They're gonna muscle across Canal.
They're gonna push the mafia out.
I'm talking banks, real estate, drug money--
Who told you this? The DEA?
They've been peddling that
Chinese mafia theory for years.
And they never made a case
in Chinatown. I wouldn't believe nothing.
You don't know what you're talking about.
The mafia concept's not even ltalian.
It's Chinese.
It's Chinese.
It was invented in China 1 000 years ago.
They call them triads.
That's what we have here. We have
the offshoots of the Hong Kong triads.
You're letting your imagination run.
- No, Lou, like hell I am.
These people are the biggest overall
importers of heroin in this country.
And the fact that we don't have
one single bust...
...against one of these guys
tells me something.
They're smart, Lou. They're smarter
than you and Kearney, this lrish Sphinx.
At least I didn't change my name, Wizynski.
What do you want?
You want to attack Chinatown
with the 82nd Airborne?
You're not in Vietnam here, Stanley.
There, I never saw the enemy. Here,
they're right in front of my eyes.
They got no place to hide, no jungle.
This is just like the South Bronx.
You got a bunch of juvenile delinquents.
Youth gangs. Call them what you want.
Snot-nosed Chinks, scumbags.
Now go and kick their asses.
You're good at it.
Youth gangs? These are midget hit men.
- You know what your problem is?
You move through this department
like heavy machinery.
Nobody likes you, Stanley.
They tell you you're a great cop,
but they don't like you.
So what?
Just put my request through, will you?
Kearney, talking to you
is like one hand clapping.
All of a sudden this job's
made you an expert.
He's got a thing for Chinks.
Connie, l'm home.
- ln here.
Where you been? I've been calling
for two days.
You don't answer the phone anymore?
Connie?
What the hell's going on here?
Don't ask. It's the washing machine again.
And while I was at it, I fixed the sink.
Jesus. Connie, why don't you
ever call the repairman?
You're living in the past, Stanley.
You find one.
Hey, look at this mess.
Buy me a new machine.
But don't break my balls, Stanley.
Been trying to fix this thing
for three hours, and l'm not in the mood.
I didn't say anything.
- You were gonna, weren't you?
I can always tell.
What the hell's wrong with you? I walk
in the door, you don't even say hello.
You don't smile. All you do is say,
'Stanley, don't break my balls.'
What kind of relationship is this?
- You don't care about our relationship.
I do care.
I do care about our relationship.
oh, come on.
I just wanna know why
you're so angry all the time.
Well, Stanley, it's because you have
become an arrogant, self-centered...
...condescending son of a bitch.
There's a lot to be arrogant about--...
oh, don't start, okay? I'm not
taking any more of your shit, Stan.
You wanna fix the fucking washing
machine? You go ahead and fix it.
You fix it. I gotta go to work.
Hey, look, l'm not having
such a great day, either.
I thought you said you had the night off.
I thought maybe we could go out.
- They shifted me back to nights.
What is biting your ass?
Don't tell me it's the washing machine.
No. Nothing.
I don't expect anything from you.
- What is that supposed to mean?
It means you bombed out.
You forgot. You weren't here.
You missed target practice.
What?
- Wednesday.
Wednesday.
It's the day of my ovulation.
I guess I forgot.
Don't bullshit me, Stan.
I don't like it.
I'm getting the picture, okay?
It's clear as ice.
lf you really wanted a kid--
- of course I want a kid.
No, no. You'd take care of yourself a bit.
You'd sleep decent hours, you'd eat
regular, you'd take your vitamins.
You promised me you'd
take your vitamin E.
I paid 50 bucks for this.
You'd screw me once in a while
at the right time of the month.
How do we stand a chance?
Hey, l'm sorry.
- I know.
You said that last month
and the month before that.
I'll tell you what, next month,
we'll take a weekend off.
We'll go up to that place in the Poconos.
The place your brother-in-law's
always talking about.
The place with the heart-shaped tubs?
We could try there.
Don't give me all that.
Don't treat me like an idiot.
It doesn't work anymore.
It doesn't work.
Shit.
Good evening, miss Tzu.
- Hi. How are you?
We're very happy you
are joining us tonight.
Thanks.
- This way, please.
This is miss Tzu.
How do you do?
- Hello.
We're so pleased you've come.
- Thank you.
I didn't think you'd show up.
I wanted a closer look at the jerk
who insulted me on the street.
What would you like to drink?
- Tea.
Why didn't you tell me who you were?
- Hostile, aren't you?
I showed up, didn't l?
Why don't you have some spareribs.
They have great spareribs here, but
lousy lighting. Ever wonder about that?
Why the inside of a Chinese restaurant
makes you feel like you're at the DmV?
Feel like l'm waiting for an eye test.
You know, the atmosphere is not the thing.
Besides, I like ltalian food better anyway.
I'm impressed.
Are you doing your homework?
Scratching the surface.
You're from Hong Kong?
No, American-born.
San Francisco, the Bay area.
How many generations
have your people been here?
my great-grandfather came,
worked in the railroads, went back.
my grandfather worked in a gold mine.
He also went back.
They went back because the law
wouldn't allow their wives to come.
my father married a Japanese woman
and settled here in the '40s.
Yeah, I know the story.
It's a pretty sad one.
Thousands of you Chinese
came over here...
...and died building the railroads
in this country. Says so right here.
Their bones are scattered all over
the West. We don't even know their names.
There's a photograph here.
Promontory Point, Utah, 1 869.
That's where the Union
and Central Pacific first met.
Take a look at it. What do you see?
What do you see? You
see the bosses. You...
see the politicians. You see the bankers.
You see the lrish workmen. There's
not one single, solitary Chinaman.
They weren't even asked to show up.
They died anonymous.
Goddamn people,
you keep everything a secret.
I know the story, captain.
most people don't. Because no one
remembers in this country.
No one remembers anything.
You sound just like my father.
- He sounds like a great guy.
What does he do?
He's in shipping. Now what's your story?
me? What's there to say?
I'm Polish.
I'm from Brooklyn. I'm a cop.
But I happen to be the most decorated cop
in the city of New York.
I'm talking action-decorated,
no desk citations here.
l'm sure about that.
- I saw you a few times on the tube.
I don't watch much television,
but I think you're pretty good.
And a whole lot sexier than
those broads on other channels.
Well, captain, very pleased
you've come. Hello.
Uncle Yung, you know Tracy Tzu?
- oh, yes. Very pleased you've come.
This is my wife, Su Shin.
Captain, do you like Chinese champagne?
This is very good.
This is on the house, huh?
Thanks, Harry, but no, thanks.
I pay my own way.
Fish stinks from the head, right?
The Chinese eat the head, captain.
Enjoy.
Let's go.
Looks like champagne, anyway.
I think you upset him.
- I certainly hope so.
Look at it this way.
Harry Yung...
...is the head of the richest tong
in Chinatown.
He's gotta be involved
in the Chinese mafia.
Even if he isn't doing anything,
he's gotta be doing something.
And if I can nail the son of a bitch,
and he's got face, I get face.
And if I get face,
I can win the war in Chinatown.
Captain? Why did you call me?
What do you want?
I'll tell you what I want. I want
the rice to boil over in Chinatown.
I wanna change things.
Why? Is Chinatown so bad the way it is?
It stinks. Harry Yung's got this place
locked up like a jail.
Got a slave population of sweatshop
women working for 1 2 cents a piece.
You got shopkeepers paying bribes
to every punk that comes along.
You got 30 people living in a room.
You got the highest rate
of TB and mental illness...
...in any city neighborhood.
You got a male population--
Look, l'm a reporter.
I am not a crusader.
You're an actress. I can help you.
- How?
I'll give you hard facts off the record.
You do one of those
exposs on Chinatown.
one week you do
the gambling connection.
The next week you do
the youth gang extortion racket.
You move up the ladder
to the bosses that own the places.
You splash their faces on the tube.
Take a little journalistic license.
Each week we peel another layer
off the onion.
If it was some white broad, they'd say it's
racist. But with you, it's on the up and up.
This is outrageous. There are
boundaries, captain. Ethics.
The press is independent,
not just another undercover cop.
What you're asking is absurd.
It's almost criminal.
You wouldn't know a real criminal
if one bit you on the ass.
I don't think there's any point
in going on with this.
You sit down. You get smart.
And you listen to me.
Go fuck yourself.
Stanley.
Didn't see nothing happen.
Two men. Ski masks.
Ran up the stairs.
It was all over.
It's all right. It's all right.
It's all over now.
It's all right. It's all right.
Stop crying. Stop crying.
Stop crying.
Right?
our banking and shipping profits
are all down.
Gold prices are slumping,
our stocks are sluggish.
our commodities have slipped.
There's no new money coming in,
gentlemen.
Soon the Vietnamese will start competing
with our gambling profits.
And this new policeman...
...making rude noises about Chinatown
and justice, and all.
Right?
Then there's the matter with the ltalians.
It is perhaps time to consider ending
the old arrangement with them.
Do like they do. Sell directly
to the blacks and Puerto Ricans.
Good morning.
- Good morning, chief.
Good morning.
- morning, Frank.
morning, commissioner.
- morning, commissioner.
Anything to tell me on the Wild West show
at the Shanghai Palace last night?
Yes, sir.
our information is that it was
an East Broadway gang.
We're checking on it right now.
I wouldn't bet on that information, sir.
- You know something they don't?
No, sir, but just that our street information
in Chinatown hasn't been right so far.
We're the last ones to know
what's going on. The important thing is...
...both of these punks were hit,
and it's gonna be hard to hide.
And if I can get to them, and I will,
then I got one hand on their balls.
Captain White is speaking for himself, sir.
I don't care who he's speaking for.
I know this:
These punks are whacking out people
left and right. Tourists.
I just got my ass chewed out by the mayor,
who's mighty pissed off.
And so am l. What the hell has happened
to Chinatown? It was never like this.
The causes of this run deep, sir.
Be that as it may, I want this crap
stopped, and I want it stopped now...
...or heads are going to roll.
Am I making myself clear to you people?
Yes, boss.
You want some fast results,
commissioner, and no bullshit...
...Iet me have
one Chinese undercover cop...
...and I'll penetrate these fuckers.
What are you talking about?
You took this request to your C.o.?
- Yes, sir, and it was ignored.
As was my warning that the gutters
were gonna run red with blood.
The request is under consideration,
commissioner.
This kid he wants is a trainee.
He's already got six Chinese cops.
I got six too many.
I got six Chinese cops down there...
...no one talks to. They're like lepers.
This kid, Herbert Kwong, he's from China.
No one knows him down there.
And he don't know shit from Shinola.
He needs another 1 00 hours, minimum.
We don't have another 1 00 hours.
Give him what he wants. Now.
And get some results.
That's it.
Nobody does what you did in here.
Nobody.
Look down the muzzle of the gun.
make sure it's aligned with the target.
on the whistle, you're going
to fire six rounds...
...from the close-combat position
and freeze.
Your time limit is...
Are you sure about this?
- Yeah.
... three seconds for six rounds.
You will freeze in that position.
You will not move.
okay, see you.
How'd you get a name like Herbert?
my Chinese name is too complicated.
I looked in the phone book.
I found ' Herbert.'
You know anything about Go Joey Tai?
Harry Yung? Fred Hung?
Uncle milton Bin?
No, sir.
- Well, you're going to.
You're gonna put them to sleep at night,
wake them up in the morning.
I wanna know where they go, who they
see. When you're not doing that...
...you're gonna monitor a wiretap
on these guys.
Watch it, will you?
You drive worse than you shoot.
Stay out of the left lane, all right?
- Yes, sir.
What hours am I working?
You're on 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
What about sleep?
- Forget sleep.
But I got a second job.
- Herbert, quit. I'm serious.
You wanna be a cop or fuck around?
What's the point of the exercise?
- lt's not an exercise, it's the Chinese mafia.
They eat people like you for breakfast.
I told you to stay out of the left lane.
Ever notice Chinese guys
always block traffic?
They drive like their music,
from right to left.
Ever see a Chinese Grand Prix driver?
No.
Goddamn cab doesn't know how to drive.
Come on.
Central to 2-7 Adam Boy.
Two male Asians shot dead
in a cellar at 6 Eldridge.
They match the description
of the Shanghai Palace suspects.
That's us. out of the car.
You're undercover now.
Where's White?
Alan Perez, captain.
Nobody, of course, saw nothing.
most of these people are illegal.
They're sweating a bust.
Building's registered to Tan Wan Lo.
He lives in Hong Kong.
If you ask me,
he's probably been dead for 1 0 years.
Building ownership down here makes
a Chinese fire drill look organized.
Where are they?
- Tony, get out here.
This is the guy that tipped us.
Calls himself Tony.
Says he's been working
down here 40 years.
Tony, you wanna show the captain
what you showed me.
Come on.
You people.
You can take off your shoes.
Right here. Go look.
Get a flashlight.
You're a good man, Tony.
Not too many of you left.
I know.
You don't have to tell me. I know.
All good men gone.
Long time.
Everything change.
Young people, no respect.
Steal, shoot, kill,
like white man.
Chinese man is not afraid to work hard.
I work 40 years here.
I put every dollar in Chase manhattan Bank.
Young people have no respect no more.
old men afraid.
Not me.
Not me.
I been here long time.
I have seen many things.
I see things lot of people
don't even think I see.
Tony, there should be more men like you.
Bullshit.
Some say it was an act of revenge
linked to the restaurant massacre.
In this once quiet community,
tourists are beginning to stay away...
...and the people here
are beginning to ask:
'What's happening to Chinatown?'
Connie's waiting at the restaurant.
- Where's the place?
Captain White?
Can you give us any idea who and what's
behind this wave of violence?
Who? What?
A thousand years of civilization. That's
who, that's what. You ought to know that.
Now get that goddamn thing
out of my face.
What's the matter?
- lf you don't know, you don't know.
You're acting like there's
something between us.
Auntie, stop worrying.
I have to go.
Have something to eat.
Don't worry.
mr. White, l'm so glad you came.
Joey, congratulations. I hear
Harry Yung's out and you're in.
Stuart, hi.
Have you met my favorite lady, Connie?
This is Joey Tai, he owns the place.
my wife.
lt's a pleasure to meet you, mrs. White.
- Hi, how are you?
Look, l'm sorry l'm late, something
came up. Why don't we just order--
I told you, I got a late shift tonight.
We can talk after dinner.
- lt might disturb my digestion.
You really are something, Stanley.
Just come over here.
Let's call it a truce.
How about some good
champagne, Joey?
Sure. mrs. White, come this way.
Harvey, get me
the best champagne in the house.
You have an eye for beauty, captain.
- She's a real rock. She's the best.
You must've heard we dug up
those two midgets that hit Harry's place.
Found them in a soybean basement.
- No, I didn't.
my guess is, somebody didn't
want us to find them.
You think it was the friends of the boy
who was killed?
If you accept the surface of things, Joey,
which most people do.
Why the bodyguard?
Does it come with the new title or what?
Just a precaution. There's been
too much violence lately.
I agree.
What are we gonna do?
How's it going?
Are you enticing those to be conquered
in coming to the conqueror?
You should try our exploding lobster.
my chef does it better
than anybody in the world.
Hey, what do you want, Joey?
Spit it out.
Cigarette?
- No.
This is not the Bronx or Brooklyn.
It's not even New York.
It's Chinatown. It can be very easy,
or it can be very hard.
Well, why don't you make it easy?
I'll help you get
some of these renegade youths.
Witnesses, evidence,
everything you need.
You get headlines, your superiors
will relax, everybody happy.
Then you can stay in Chinatown,
no transfer, and we can do business.
You understand what l'm saying
to you, mr. White?
Yeah. I get the punks.
What do you want in return?
Nothing.
Just work with us.
Chinese people come here to prosper,
not to change things.
This cross-eyed conversation
we're having, Joey...
...gets me confused.
See, l'm a stupid Polack.
A peasant.
You gotta make things real clear to me.
- Sure. How clear do I make it?
oh, I don't know.
I'm thinking.
Would a contract with us for security work
after you retire be what you need?
We got some late-night clubs
you could keep an eye on.
Could mean 1 00,000 a year.
And we could put it anywhere in the world.
I don't think 1 00,000 is gonna be enough.
okay.
How much, then?
I'll take the same amount that you're gonna
make off your next 50 keys of heroin.
At last.
The clouds part to show the true sky.
most drug dealers are morons, Joey,
but I gotta hand it to you.
You're one silky son of a bitch.
This the way you deal with the ltalians?
This the way you moved out Harry Yung?
How about your father-in-law,
Jackie Wong?
Rumor has it, it your hand that
was on the knife that killed him.
You're a smart guy, Go Joey,
but you made one mistake.
I'm not ltalian.
I'm a Polack.
And I can't be bought.
I'm gonna burn you down.
I'm gonna drag you...
...and your dirty laundry out on the street.
And l'm gonna humiliate you.
You are very stupid...
...and you're not gonna last.
I'll last long enough to piss on your grave.
Connie, what's wrong with you?
I was only 20 minutes late.
What's the matter with you?
Hey, look, you're right.
I thought it over.
I tried very hard to suppress it...
...but I think there's definitely
something between us.
Get in the car.
I'm not some gook hooker
on the streets of Saigon.
Does that work with all the girls?
- Comme ci comme ca.
Give me a break. It's not every day
I get to meet a famous person.
Listen, I got a legitimate story for you.
Want some wine? White or red?
Both.
Wow, this is some place.
Hey, listen, forget what I said
in the restaurant.
I know you got your ethics.
I respect that.
Listen, you got a great human
interest story in Joey Tai.
Kid from the slums of Kowloon
comes over here...
...works his way up...
...marries the boss's daughter.
maybe knocks off the boss,
becomes the boss.
That's the American dream. Why don't
you shine a light on the son of a bitch?
What if he's involved in nothing?
What if he's just a successful
businessman, like my father?
The Chinese are always involved
in something.
They're never involved in nothing.
You remember that.
You're really cracked, you know that?
The first time I saw you, I knew
you were cracked. And a racist too.
Were you in Vietnam?
Yeah, why?
- I knew it.
It ruined you.
The first time I saw you,
I hated your guts.
I think I even hated you
before I ever met you.
I hated you on TV.
I hated you in Vietnam.
You wanna know what's destroying
this country? It's not booze.
It's not drugs. It's TV, it's media.
It's people like you. Vampires.
I hate the way that you make your living,
sticking microphones in people's faces.
I hate how you lie every night at 6:00.
I hate the way you kill real feelings.
I hate everything that you stand for.
most of all, I hate rich kids.
And I hate this place.
So why do I wanna fuck you so bad?
maybe you're right.
maybe I got no ethics.
I can't. Stop it.
- What do you mean, you can't?
I spent all afternoon here making
love with my boyfriend. I can't.
So why did you invite me here?
What year are you living in?
We're not in the back seat of some car
at a drive-in.
You don't have to get
your money's worth.
Who is he? What's his name?
What is he, rich?
You wanna know if he's Chinese, right?
That's what you wanna know. So ask it.
That's the question,
so why don't you answer it.
He's white, all right.
He went to Princeton.
His name's Roger. And he's a lawyer.
Well, I hate lawyers.
I wouldn't wanna make love to a woman...
...who just got done screwing
a lawyer anyway.
What's he got, money?
Roger Pumpernickel lll?
And he's not a crackpot racist.
He's a gentleman.
oh, yeah? What does he do?
He plays tennis and golf
and goes out sailing on a yacht?
What's with all these machines?
What are you, at AT&T?
You got everybody in town jumping
in and out of your bed?
You're acting like a child.
A great man is one who, in manhood,
still keeps the heart of a child.
Why don't you go home?
I can see this was a big mistake.
Yeah, it was a mistake,
it was a giant mistake.
It was a giant mistake.
I'm gonna go home to a woman
who at least acts like a woman.
If this Roger's so great,
how come he didn't he marry you?
He didn't want a little slant-eyed
Roger lV at Princeton?
We've never discussed it.
We just meet here to fuck.
I wanna arrest the gang members for
loitering, spitting in the gutter, anything.
What about their civil rights?
- Fuck their civil rights.
I want the honchos around here
to go ape-shit.
I wanna disrupt the entire commerce
of Chinatown.
Do you understand me?
I want chaos.
You know, you people, you're starting
to look like the Chicago Cubs.
I'm not kidding.
You look like you already lost.
The world has fucked you over.
So now you don't give a shit.
I know. I've been there.
I've been in the job 1 5 years.
I know all the stories.
my heart has been broken 1 00 times.
I've got scar tissue on my soul.
But let me tell you something.
I give a shit.
I'm gonna make you people give a shit.
I don't care what you think of me.
You guys are gonna go
through the numbers
on this one. Now, that's it. Get out of here.
Whoa. one last thing.
The next cop...
...that I hear about who's
taking money in this precinct...
...I'm gonna personally bust their mouth.
Are there any questions?
What if it's a woman?
She better bend over.
mr. Wong, do you think Joey Tai is
responsible for the death of your father?
No way. I want my lawyer.
Double-parked cars have been towed.
Captain Stanley White, the most
decorated cop in New York City...
...has declared war on Chinatown.
Today there were 43 gang arrests...
...three gambling parlors raided,
six sweatshops busted.
And now in an opening blow at the man...
...who's been called the Godfather
of Chinatown, Joey Tai...
...Captain White closed his restaurant
on a health violation.
Needless to say, a crackdown
is in the works.
And although the district attorney
denies it...
...a major drug conspiracy case
is rumored to be pending...
...against various respected
older members of the Chinatown elite.
mr. Tai, can you tell us if there is
such a thing as the Chinese mafia?
It sounds very exciting.
Like a comic book.
The existence of triads is documented
by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Documentation without proof.
This farce is further evidence
of the consistent discrimination...
...against Chinese in this country.
mr. Tai, are you saying there is no
criminal element in all of Chinatown?
of course not.
But why do you media people insist
on emphasizing...
...this sinister Charlie Chan image?
Why don't you talk about the chair
in Chinese history...
...our association has endowed
at Yale University...
...or our $1 2 million fund
for our 1 0,000 members...
Positive things.
- What is your comment on Jackie Wong?
mr. Tai, do you have any comment
on Jackie Wong?
I'm happy you could make it, Teddy.
I'm really happy you are okay.
my doctor would kill me
if he knew I was here.
They just took my voice box out.
They keep taking things out.
I have nothing left, Fred...
...but my brain.
my brain says I'd rather do business...
...with a smart thief than
an honest man who is stupid.
A stupid man is dangerous,
like a defective time bomb.
You never know when
it's gonna go off on you.
But a thief, you can control what he steals.
I think, Teddy, you are going
to find Joey a very smart young man.
Not cautious as Jackie or Harry,
but aggressive.
He wants power.
All young men want power.
That's what it means to be young, Fred.
I wanna see his face, his eyes.
I wanna know if he's reckless.
one look in his eyes, I will know.
Bring him in.
But leave the nigger outside.
my esteemed friends are diplomatic.
- How's the sound?
A little background noise,
but not too bad.
The point, mr. Tedesco...
...is that we are happy to let you
continue the distribution of our software.
But, with a 50 percent reduction
in volume...
...and at a reduced fee.
Something like 1 7 or 1 8 percent.
The rest stays with us
till we weigh other offers.
Jackie Wong made these arrangements
with me.
We were pioneers when you
were sucking your mother's tit.
And I don't see
why anything should change now.
Because Jackie Wong is dead.
And Harry Yung has stepped down,
and I am the Cho Kun now.
Hey, Joey.
And I say we can't afford to sell
to old men the old way.
You know, Fred, in all my years...
...nobody, and I mean nobody's
ever talked to me like that. Nobody.
No insult was intended, mr. Tedesco.
But you people don't control
Canal Street anymore.
We do.
I think when you think
through my offer to you...
...you'll see that it's not unprofitable
to both sides.
Who you gonna sell to?
The niggers? The spics?
You people don't have
that kind of weight here.
They will bury you so fast
like you never was here.
And if they don't, I will.
Don't talk like that.
- Don't sweat it.
You're flying too high, kid,
and the air is very thin up there.
We got anything?
It seems to be mostly financial talk,
captain.
There is mention of some problem
in Thailand.
A man in Bangkok is saying
something about....
I'm not quite sure about what.
But he's very angry about a group
from Toronto called the Nam Soong.
Sister, you gotta be more precise.
That's going to be very difficult,
captain.
It's been many years since we've heard
the Hakka dialect spoken.
They're talking around things,
not about them.
Damn it, Sister, that's the point.
They're not gonna spell it out for you.
This is drug talk.
You gotta use your imagination.
Listen.
You look like you don't eat enough
to keep a bird alive. Have some real food.
Captain White, I've managed to live
for 75 years without your help...
...eating precisely what l'm eating now.
my body fat is 1 2 percent.
my blood pressure's 1 20/80.
my lymphocyte count is 22 percent.
And if you want to compare white
blood cells and red blood cells...
...I might even outlast you,
captain...
...red-meat eater that you obviously are.
The perpetrator is saying
he's flying into Bangkok next week.
Under another name.
He's making his move.
I want you to get the DEA on him.
Call the Bangkok police. Whatever you
gotta do to eyeball this scumbag.
I'm sorry, Sister.
I just wish the fuck I could go there myself.
Come on. Back on the street.
That'll be the day. The N.Y.P.D.
springs for a ticket to Hong Kong.
You guys are doing a great job.
Keep it up.
Rizzo, come on.
Hit Chinatown like Genghis Khan.
I want restaurant health violations,
immigration busts....
You were meant to shake up the gangs,
not turn the whole city upside down.
Let me make this real clear to you
right here and now.
Joey Tai goes to
the manhattan borough president...
...who he contributes
$1 00,000 a year to, right?
The borough president goes to the mayor,
who goes to me.
And the word is, 'Lay off.'
That is the way the game is played, okay?
No more wiretaps on Joey Tai.
And you don't go to the DEA.
Going to outside agencies
isn't your job, it is Lou's job.
What about the dead tourists,
commissioner, huh?
I guess they don't add up
to a can of sardines, do they?
You change your tune fast just because
that slimebag has tea with the mayor.
You can't link Joey Tai to that.
The point here is, you cease and desist.
What if I don't? What are you
gonna do? You gonna suspend me?
What will that look like
in the papers? You tell me.
First, you suspend me.
Second, you call off...
an investigation into the Chinese mafia.
What investigation? What Chinese mafia?
The investigation's in your mind.
What's it gonna look like? You tell me.
Your department's gonna look
like shit, that's what.
ls this blackmail?
- Call it what you want.
I've been swallowing the bullshit around
here for 1 0 years, and l'm choking on it.
You ever think about your pension?
- Fuck it.
That's what's wrong with this department.
Everybody's so worried
about their pension.
Stanley--
Never have I ever heard anything like this.
This is a fucking disgrace.
- No, Lou, this is a war.
I'm not gonna lose it. Not this one. Not
over politics. It's always fucking politics.
This is Vietnam all over again.
Nobody wants to win this thing, do you?
Just flat out win, do they, Lou?
You go to the press again, White,
you know what you're doing?
You're putting a gun to my head, Stanley.
That's what we are.
We're four guys in a room
with guns to our heads.
Kearney, will you step outside
for a minute?
I can't listen to this crap no more,
Stanley.
I can't watch a good man piss
his career down the drain like this.
You never had any respect for anything.
You throw away your wife--...
Shut up.
- And now you're turning on us.
You got delusions of grandeur.
Sucking up to this Chink reporter
to get your face on the tube.
What is it with you? You gone Chink
on us? She do it sideways?
Take it back.
- Don't tell me that.
You got no shame. Connie was
the best thing you ever had--
That wasn't between cops, that was
between two guys from the old days.
Lou, l'm sorry.
Look, I don't know why we're fighting.
I love you, I love Connie.
When things aren't working at home, you
start overreacting to things on the street.
We all had flings when we were young.
I'm not a prude.
Why don't you at least sit down with
Connie and try to straighten this out.
Even if you walk away,
you walk away friends.
Because no one's gonna care when you're
lying in your grave but Connie and me.
Well?
What are you gonna do, Stanley?
I don't know.
All I know is that when I give up...
...the system gives up.
Tracy.
Tracy, open the door.
Tracy.
Tracy.
- l'm coming.
Tracy.
Come on, open the door.
Who do you think you are?
And what are you doing with that?
These are my Chinese books.
I'm moving in.
You what?
Did I misinterpret what you were saying
to me when I was on top of you?
Fuck you.
What's wrong with you Chinese?
Why don't you say what you think?
l'm calling Roger.
- Call him. I've got things to say to him too.
Go away, will you, Stanley?
You're cracked. You're really crazy.
Do you ever listen to yourself?
Tell me the truth. There is no Roger,
is there? You know how I know?
It's because when you talk about him,
your eyes aren't real.
There is a Roger.
Tell me what you see in this guy.
Come on, tell me, I wanna know.
I want you to look me in the eyes,
and I want you to say it.
What do I have to do to get you
out of here? Holy God.
Nothing. It's hopeless.
Surrender.
Why am I laughing?
I'm becoming a crazy, like you.
I'm tired.
I think I need to sleep.
maybe everybody's right.
I'm chasing something that doesn't exist.
I ought to stop.
Jesus, l'm tired.
It's the same thing as in Nam.
We lost because you were smarter than us.
And you couldn't even
have a decent parade.
A fucking Chinese parade.
They come at you
in 1 5 different directions.
Fucking joke.
Stanley.
You can't stay here.
Don't you have a friend I could call?
or somebody you could
stay with tonight?
You're the only friend I have left.
I just wanna be with somebody
tonight. I just....
I don't know anybody else.
Isn't that a real laugh?
I don't know anybody.
I feel like such an asshole.
Tracy, l....
I love you.
Did you hear what I said?
I thought there was
no Chinese word for love.
I'm serious.
I know you are.
It was bad enough doing business
with the old general.
Ban Sung's even worse. But you lose
all face by dealing with him direct.
Ban Sung's got an ego like an octopus.
- I know.
But I don't trust his agent here.
White Powder ma knows Ban Sung has
got a bumper crop of 1 50 to 200 tons.
ma offered him 6000 a key,
plus a shipment of Kalashnikov rifles.
All right.
I'll see you tonight.
- See you.
Thanks, bye.
Will you open the door?
open the door. What do I gotta do,
break it down?
We gotta clear the air between us.
We gotta talk it out.
So talk.
I don't know what got into me
with this Chinese girl.
I care more about you
than anybody in the world.
I mean, if you don't know that,
Connie, then....
So, what do you want me to say?
Do you want me to forgive you, Stanley?
Is that what you want?
The truth is,
I don't know what I want.
You wanna marry her?
You wanna have babies with her?
Look, I didn't plan for things
to happen this way.
It just happened.
How do you think that makes me feel?
It makes me feel pretty low, Stanley.
I feel pretty low myself.
- lt's about time.
You used me up, Stanley,
and then you burned me down.
And I was a rock. I carried the cross
with you in Brooklyn and queens.
I lived in a fucking war zone with you.
Now you're gonna go off and have babies
with a woman 1 0 years younger than me.
I don't have any pity for you, Stanley.
I hope you feel bad.
Look, why don't we just
let things ride for a while.
Just let some time pass.
I don't have any time.
- I just need some time to think.
I'm out of time.
I'm 35, sliding into 40.
So, what do you want me to do?
You want me to just walk away,
just like that?
Is that what you want?
It's over, Stanley.
Don't you get it? We're not playing
from the same sheet music anymore.
Now, will you get out of here
before I start to cry?
And I don't want to do that.
Not in front of you.
I got my pride.
Are you okay?
I'm washing my face.
Look, Connie.
I'd feel a whole lot better if you'd just
keep the house and the bank accounts.
I mean,
whatever's mine is yours.
I don't want the house, anyway.
Stanley?
What the hell is going on?
- They got Connie.
Stanley. What are you, crazy?
Stanley.
Stanley, get out of there.
Stanley.
Are you crazy?
- He's evidence.
He's dead.
Long time no see, Joe Tai.
It's an honor and a pleasure
to see you again, general.
Time looks like it's been good to you.
- And to you too, honorable cousin.
The last time, as I remember,
both of us were taking orders.
Now we give them.
How is the health of our old friend,
the great Sao mong Khawn...
...who paved the golden road
of our success together?
Truly, he is one of the great ones.
He'll be happy to see you, Go Joey.
I think so.
Come.
I think we'll surprise him.
Perhaps the general
doesn't recognize you.
The general likes heroin in his soup.
Keeps him happy.
Thank all gods,
he feels no pain.
Come, Go Joey.
A Kalashnikov.
Best rifle ever made.
The Russians used to give them
to us to fight the Burmese.
But now it's harder to get.
They want dollars.
Everybody wants dollars.
one bullet,
by the time it gets to me...
...costs me one American dollar.
Dollars are like small fish.
Difficult to catch.
But not to be thrown back,
except as bait for something bigger.
l'll make it 4500 a kilo.
- You give me 6500.
And I'll refine it to number four right here.
- No, no.
You'll have 200 keys
in Bangkok in two weeks.
We can't control the quality unless
we refine it to stage four ourselves.
We've always bought stage three.
You don't think my dragon pearl is good?
I have the best chemists in the world.
- maybe.
Better than your people in Hong Kong.
- Lin Shin Sao.
But then we would be forced
to unemploy our chemists.
Go Joey.
I offer you the chance of putting
your old friend out of his misery.
He was going to betray us
to the American.
Hold him.
Save me. Save me.
No, don't.
Don't shoot me.
You don't have the bullet to spare.
Each bullet can kill one Burmese soldier.
Then you don't have to use a gun.
Don't do this to me.
I'll buy him from you, $5000.
Buy?
U.S. dollars. Cash. Now.
- Why?
Why not?
If you think this shit-faced old worm
is worth $5000...
...you can have him.
- Good.
The food's been great...
...and your hospitality has left
an impression, general.
But time is pressing.
I must be in Hong Kong...
...before the banks close on Friday.
my final offer.
I'll make it 4900 a key
for your number three dragon pearl.
I'll take 200 kilos deliverable
in Bangkok early next week.
Another 800 kilos for the next
three months. Nothing beyond that.
White Powder ma's offer
makes yours insignificant.
Piss on him. Nam Soong triad is like
dog shit littering the streets.
They'll be extinct in two years.
I think perhaps I put my money
on White Powder ma.
I think so.
I think White Powder ma
will be pleased to hear this.
Tell him yourself, general.
I give to Ban Sung...
...in honor of our association.
Let no motherless fuck ever raise
his head again between us.
Come on,
let me get a shot.
Come on.
Press. Come on, let us in.
I'm sorry, Stanley.
She looks beautiful, Stanley.
Let me through.
Let me through.
Let me through.
Let me in.
Let me in now.
my deepest condolences
to you, mr. White.
If it makes you feel better,
she said it wasn't the Chinese girl.
Connie was a bigger person than that.
She knew what was gonna happen.
You should've listened to her.
You were talking to Connie
behind my back?
Yeah, I was talking
to Connie behind your back.
I know Connie even longer than you.
Why shouldn't I talk to her if I want to?
You and I don't agree on anything
anymore.
That's your problem.
You're fighting the whole world.
I'm sick and tired of Vietnam
as an excuse for everything you guys do.
You act like everyone in WWll and Korea
came home to a picnic.
Well, it wasn't.
We lost 50,000 men in Korea too.
Nobody gave a shit.
But we fitted in.
Why can't you fit in?
What is it that's so different?
I don't know what you're talking about.
- You know what l'm talking about.
You're not one of them
professional veterans...
...making a career of pissing
and groaning about the war.
You made something out of yourself.
But you're still acting like you're
on a crusade.
You think you got the right
to trample over anything.
We got an arrangement,
a treaty with these Chinese.
However tarnished it is, it works.
Life is arrangement, Stanley.
Life is getting along. That's why
this neighborhood is what it is.
That's why 8 million people
every day in this city can function.
Lou, I don't wanna argue with you
anymore, all right? Honest, I don't.
Take it easy.
You need anything, you call me,
you hear?
There's always a bed at my place.
You know, your arrangement
is what killed Connie, Lou.
mr. Tai?
- mr. Tai?
mr. Tai, people in Chinatown are saying
Ronnie Chang was your protg.
And his involvement in the murder
of Captain White's wife implicates you.
That was a terrible tragedy.
But I hardly knew Ronnie Chang.
Ronnie Chang represents much
of what is bad in Chinatown.
We are trying to get rid of this element.
my sources say you're
back from Bangkok.
Was there a business
purpose for this trip?
I have interests there.
I import foods from the Far East.
I also have a company that distributes
films in Thailand. Why do you ask?
Would this business take
you into the jungle...
500 miles north of Bangkok...
...to meet with a reputed drug lord
by the name of Ban Sung?
Do you know there are ethical
boundaries, even for the press?
Then does the name White Powder ma
ring a bell?
All right, cut it.
I know your sources. And l'm gonna raise
the issue with your legal department.
I don't give a shit.
I got the new lady district attorney
behind me on this thing now.
Do you think the N.Y.P.D. is gonna
lift a finger for me? No.
I'm not gonna tell you where I am.
I'm gonna make this case with the DEA,
Customs and lmmigration if I have to.
The goddamn lnternal Affairs,
sniffing around again.
I'll bet you it's that fuck, Kearney.
Get me Scappy Peck at Customs.
He owes me favors.
What did Tai say about White Powder ma?
What is all this?
What's happened?
I can't use my office.
The walls have ears.
I let you use this place,
but this is ridiculous.
Get off the phone.
And get these people out of here.
Right now.
Scappy Peck's on the line.
- No. No more calls.
Look at this place.
I give you an inch, and you take a mile.
I want these people out of here
right now. I mean it.
I don't have time to write thank-you notes.
I'm going for Joey Tai's throat,
and nobody will stop me.
So just don't break my balls, all right?
Just hang in there a little while, and
you'll be famous. That's what you want.
You ungrateful, overbearing,
self-centered son of a bitch.
Don't tell me what I want.
- That's it. Let me hear it.'lgnorant Polack.'
Everybody, get out.
Sit down.
What's so funny?
You drive everybody crazy, not just me.
But she's an aristocrat.
You can't push her around.
That's an aristocrat?
From the North. mandarin.
They're like that.
Call Wainwright back. This is bullshit.
We're not getting anywhere.
Look, that dope is between here
and Thailand. It's on the move.
We gotta get a tap in Tai's restaurant office.
You must be kidding me.
A white face would never get in there.
lmpossible, captain.
- Come on.
You could get in there as a busboy
or something.
After that, plenty of time off
for sleep, a promotion....
No way, captain.
- A tough kid from Kwangtung?
Whose ancestors used to hang
in baskets in the Sierras...
...poking dynamite sticks in cliff faces.
All l'm asking you to do is
be a fly on the wall.
Your ancestors are rolling in their graves.
Goddamn bullshit, captain. You're pushing
too much. I'm no slave.
I gave up my security job.
I gave up my chauffeur job.
I send less money home.
I'm tired all the time. I don't eat right.
I'm getting sick. I die, l'm fucked.
my family is fucked.
For what?
- What do you mean?
You don't care nothing for people.
You make us all die for you.
Let me tell you something, captain.
When your ancestors were living
in caves in Poland...
...the Chinese were sailing their ships
across the Pacific.
What do you know of my ancestors?
- What do you know about mine?
We were traders, shipbuilders, explorers.
We taught you agriculture. We gave you
the orange, the irrigation system.
We dug your gold and silver, Stanley.
We taught you how to fish the Pacific.
And still we were barred
from American citizenship until 1 943.
We worked so hard to
build your railroads,
then when our opium was late...
...we were so desperate,
we helped each other kill ourselves.
But l'm not gonna kill myself for you,
Captain White.
No more Chinaman Joe.
Those days are over.
He'll be back. He loves me.
Look, Stan, the kid's pushing it to the limit.
I don't know, maybe we should take him
off the case.
No undercover has lasted
more than a month in Chinatown.
Let me tell you something.
That kid is tough as nails.
And l'm gonna make it up to him.
mind your business.
You have to remember to call.
Why don't you call now....
Watch what you say.
No problem.
- Easy to take care of.
Which new company?
Shit.
The goddamn name of the ship.
White has a wire in your office.
Who?
- I don't know, but l'll find out.
Hey, Perez.
I don't want anything to go wrong
with the shipment. It's important.
Don't worry.
- I want you at the pier.
All right, where?
- The Kazimierz Pulaski. Polish.
It docks Tuesday. Pier 1 1.
l'll be there.
- Thanks.
Stanley.
Hey. Hey.
You're gonna be all right.
I'm proud as hell of you.
Eleven.
What?
- The dock.
Get to Beekman, for chrissakes.
What was the name of the ship?
- Dear God....
Kazimier...
...Polki....
He's at the bar.
You and me are gonna have a talk
about Herbert Kwong.
Get off me. You fucking....
I'm gonna fucking kill you,
you little cocksucking bastard.
Get the fuck in there.
- l'm gonna press charges.
I'm begging you.
Come on, Joey, call a cop.
Come on, let's go to court.
I'm begging you.
No more now, Stan.
oh, shit.
Get out. Get out.
Aileen. Come on. Let's go.
Get the fuck out of my way.
Get the fuck out of my way.
motherfuckers.
Let's go.
Get your fucking ass in--
Hurry up, Aileen.
Fucker.
Bastard.
You look like you're gonna die, beautiful.
oh, yeah? Don't count on it.
- You are.
You're not gonna make it.
Was it worth it?
Anything you want to tell me
before you go, sweetheart?
Yeah. Fuck you.
What happened, captain?
Got one in the chest.
- Captain, what the hell happened?
I'm talking about a ship out of Rotterdam.
The Kazimierz Pulaski.
What the hell's the problem?
You know how big that ship is, Stanley?
We can't go ripping up floor plates...
...cutting boilers open, poking
through 1 0,000 Edam cheeses...
...or drilling in a shipment of Danish
furniture on your say-so.
It's a lot of money involved. We got
passengers, we got waiting time.
Besides, it's the flagship
of a foreign government.
All l'm asking you to do
is go through one ship.
I got a deathbed confession.
A cop died for this.
You're pissing against the wind, ace.
Get a live informant.
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
You shouldn't be here.
You embarrassed
your friends are gonna see me?
Tonight's the night.
Get your crew to Pier 1 1.
We'll watch rice boil over in Chinatown.
I have to talk to you.
- For what? What is it? What is it?
Are you gonna weasel out on me?
What? Spit it out.
I can't go there. I've been told
not to do any more stories on this.
You've been told? By who?
- By the network.
There's a war going
on down in Chinatown,
and you're not gonna cover it?
Look, I don't think this is
the time or the place.
Tell me the time and the place,
and we'll go to that place and discuss it.
Would you just quit? There's times
you have to know when to quit.
oh, yeah? Did Herbert quit?
What's wrong with you?
He's dead. Connie's dead.
I'm putting my life on the line,
and you're sitting here...
...acting like some phony,
white-bread cunt.
You're not even white, you're Chinese.
Those are your people down there.
Are you a reporter,
are you a whore, what?
You're a son of a bitch, Stanley.
The day you put your ass on the line,
that's the day you'll be a real reporter.
my ass on the line?
Goddamn you, Stanley.
I was almost killed for you.
I was raped.
And l'm not gonna die for you.
I'm not gonna be pushed
like Connie and Herbert.
They're dead because you--
- What do you mean, you were raped?
You're like poison, Stanley.
- Who did this to you?
Rape is rape.
- Who? Who raped you?
Three boys.
- Who?
Three boys.
- Who raped you?
Three Chinese boys, Stanley.
He went too far this time,
that fucking Joey.
It didn't happen to you,
it happened to me.
You don't give a shit about me, do you?
l'm gonna kill him.
- Leave, Stanley.
Go away and leave me alone.
You should take a look
at yourself, Stanley.
You're selfish, you're callous...
...you're indifferent to suffering.
Your wife was right.
And you still don't get the message.
How many more people are you
gonna kill before you do?
Tracy, l--
- No, Stanley.
Just go away and leave me alone.
Don't say anything. Just go away.
Hello, Stanley.
You weren't in your office.
Hello, Lou.
Francis, l'm disappointed.
You didn't show for Connie's funeral.
- You were warned about Joey Tai.
You clean your desk,
you're going back to Brooklyn.
You've been properly served.
I'm sorry, Stash.
You were told to lay off.
If you think that l'm gonna stand
for that, you're wrong.
You don't like it, resign. You're through,
anyway. It's all over for you.
Your balls will be cut off Friday.
You're not cops, you're liars,
both of you.
You don't bend, you break, Stanley.
- Then l'll break.
You care too much, Stanley.
- How can anybody care too much?
Go on, go on.
Jesus.
Get the-- Get out here.
Get out of my sight, get the--
- Hey, what is this?
What do you want?
- You tell me...
...where the heroin is on the ship...
...and you get a head start.
- Hey. Stan White.
You cocksucker.
Joey.
Joey.
Joey.
What?.
Come on.
Come on.
Give me your gun.
For pity's sake, please.
Tell me where it is.
mercedes. Please.
There are those who liken Chinatown
to a skating pond.
on the surface, we see a lovely landscape
of snowflakes and skaters.
But underneath, the cannibal fish: gangs.
The sharks: those who control the gangs.
And the whales: the big bosses.
All move in deadly swarms.
These bosses, some are beginning to say,
are part of an international crime network...
...with its headquarters in Hong Kong.
Everyone denies it, but in the wake of the...
shootings of Joey Tai
and Ronnie Chang...
...questions are mushrooming
left and right.
Charges of illegal wiretapping
have been leveled by H.J. Yung...
...head of the Hun San...
...resulting in the removal
of Captain Stanley White.
one wonders if this is not a smoke screen
to distract from the main issue...
...which is what part the Hun San
plays in this Chinese opera.
Tracy Tzu, Chinatown.
okay, that's it.
Stanley. Stanley.
- Follow him, John, follow him.
Where is he going?
- He's a great cop, but he won't stop.
He won't stop. White, goddamn it.
What the hell is going on?
I'm arresting these people.
You wanna do something
they'll remember?
Book them. Be a cop again.
Stanley.
Stanley.
Stanley. oh, thank God.
You know, you were right,
I was wrong, sorry.
I'd like to be a nice guy, I would.
I just don't know how to be nice.
You're really cracked, you know that?