(man) Back up. Move back a little bit. Stay back.
Come on, let the funeral through, huh? Stay back.
Get Laura. That's the daughter. Get a close-up.
- Excuse me... - Hey! Don't touch the camera.
(in Chinese) Miss, please don't cause any problems.
We're not causing any problems.
(in English) John, let's get McKenna.
Captain McKenna?
Captain McKenna, any leads in the murder of Jackie Wong?
Nothing.
Do you think this killing means there is a war going on in the Chinatown tongs?
No, l don't. This is basically 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 got to talk, Lenny. Privately. - Sure. Some funeral, huh?
So, what's new, kid? Listen, no news this week.
But l got some pretty good uptown you should try. Give you a taste for nothing.
- Greaseball don't listen so good, Lenny. - What?
(in Chinese) You want to play games?
(in English) lt's loud and clear. This is our street now.
You wanna stay on this street, you pay us.
Come on, Ronnie. Me?
You wanna extort money from me? You know who my cousins are?
(in Chinese) l know what l need to know.
(in English) Fuck your cousins. No one rides free any more. You owe me money.
It's 300 a week to operate out of here. Four weeks, that's 1 200 bucks you owe.
You come across Canal Street and start throwing your weight around here?
You Chink scumbag, you'll end up with a wire around your fuckin' neck.
Now get outta here before l kick your ass. Hey, kid.
The rumour is, 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, Captain, you've heard rumours that Wong's successor, Harry Yung,
was a corrupt Hong Kong policeman
who came here with $1 5 million.
$1 5 million? That's a good one.
Somebody should tell Harry Yung that. I have no further comments at this time.
Do you have that? OK.
You're a hell of a reporter, honey.
Except you're talkin' to a guy with a bag on his head and cotton in his ears.
- Stick around, you may 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?
If you wore your uniform once in a while,
you'd know that police visibility's the strongest deterrent to crime.
It doesn't look like you're deterring too much around here lately.
Aren't you in the wrong precinct, Captain?
Not really. They gave me a new command.
Yeah? What'd they give you?
Chinatown.
That's right, Will. They just cut off your oats.
Why?
Because of this?
How was l supposed to prevent this?
How am l supposed to prevent anything around here?
- Come on, l'll buy you a cup of coffee. - (beeping)
Ah, what the hell?
Like l 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. - You people...
Hey! Don't touch the camera!
(in Chinese) Get rid of the camera!
The camera is none of your business! Go away!
(in English) Enough! What'd l tell you before? Get on outta here.
He's over there in the back.
(reporter) Tell me when, OK? Tell me when.
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 doin' around here, huh?
(girl) Get off, you fuckin' bastard! Get off!
You can't come down here, man.
(men shouting in Chinese)
It's no raid.
Keep on playin'. No problem.
Lookin' for uncle Harry.
uncle Harry?
(in Chinese) Not here, white devil, get out!
Where's Harry?
(in Chinese) Not here, white man.
Hey, he's going to be back soon.
(in English) You tell Harry l'm comin' over.
(in Chinese) Get out!
Let's play!
How could you have let the white devil in?
What the...
What's going on with you?
I'm lookin' for uncle Harry. Where's Harry Yung?
- Where are you going? - Harry in there?
Where are you going?
- Wait. - Thought we should have a talk,
seein' we're both new at our jobs.
Why did you go to the gambling place, huh?
We had the same arrangement over long period of time.
No policeman ever go to gambling club!
Foolish man! Rude...
I'm going to have to tell your superiors.
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 bringin' me spareribs.
I don't care what you do. Get 'em jobs catchin' cockroaches.
- But you get 'em off the streets. - Nobody can control the gangs!
Everybody knows that. Too big a problem.
Captain, Chinatown behind you all the way.
In favour 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 100 per cent.
- 100 per cent! - 100 per cent behind...
Good. Cos l'm gonna need your help.
I wanna put a stop to all this bribe-paying and extortion to the gangs.
- I want the help of all 60 families. - 60 families?
No, no, no, no, no.
- And l want you people... - Wait a minute.
This very difficult. Very, very difficult.
It'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, l'll tell you straight.
- Nobody will come to see you. - Oh, yeah?
(in Chinese) You tell him what we mean.
(in English) 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 doing 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?
(in Chinese) Tell him.
(in English) You know, Captain, when l first came to New York,
I worked as a waiter in a restaurant.
Saw something terrible happen 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.
Six months go by before his trial, and the police chief was transferred to the Bronx.
This was - what? - six... six or seven chiefs before McKenna.
Seven.
And the new chief dropped the charges.
- Three months later l got stabbed here. - Sure. See?
You must understand, Captain,
to us, your Good Samaritan was a fool
to risk the security of his family to help a stranger.
uh, 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 a thousand years old?
Well, all this "thousand-year-old" stuff, it's a lot of shit to me.
This is America, and it's 200 years old, so you'd 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.
(door closes)
(all argue in Chinese)
(in Chinese) How will we deal with this?
(man) Morning, Stan.
- (man) Morning, Stan. - (both) Hi, Stan.
- (man) Hi, Stan. - Morning, Stan.
- He's early. - He's always early.
- I got a complaint about you already. - There's a line around the block.
A Harry Yung was upset you bust 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? ls 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.
You got no respect? They were just having breakfast.
What evidence did you have to go in there?
With these people, you're not gonna have any evidence.
You're talking shit.
I didn't buy this job at Macy's. You gave it to me.
And l told you to kick ass on the youth gangs, not the old guys.
You lay off them, you hear?
Fifth Precinct's a nice quiet area, Stanley.
Good springboard for promotion, if you get my meaning.
Lou, l've been down there one goddamn day.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out something's going on.
There's gonna be blood in the gutters. These Chinese will muscle across Canal.
They're gonna push the Mafia out. I'm talking banks, real estate, drug money.
Who told you all this? The DEA?
They've been peddling that bullshit Chinese Mafia theory for years,
and they never made a case in Chinatown. I wouldn't believe...
You don't know what you're talkin' 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 'em Triads. - Triads.
That's what we have here - the offshoots of the Hong Kong Triads.
Stanley, you're letting your imagination...
No. Lou, like hell l am.
These people are the biggest overall importers of heroin in this country.
The fact that we don't have a single bust against one of them tells me somethin'.
They're smart. They're smarter than you are, and Kearney, this lrish sphinx.
At least l didn't change my name, Wizynski.
What do you want?
You wanna attack Chinatown with the 82nd Airborne?
You're not in Vietnam here, Stanley.
There, l never saw the goddamn enemy.
Here, they're in front of my eyes. They got no place to hide.
This is just like the South Bronx and Red Hook.
You got a bunch of delinquents, youth gangs... Call 'em what you want.
Snot-nosed Chink scumbags. Go and kick their asses. That's what you're good at.
Youth gangs? These are midget hit men.
You know what your problem is? You work like a piece of 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, pleasure talking to you - it's like one hand clapping.
All of a sudden, this job's made you an expert?!
He's got a thing for Chinks.
(conversation in Polish)
Yoo-hoo! Connie!
- I'm home. - (Connie) ln here!
Where you been? l've been calling for two days. You don't answer the phone?
Connie, what the hell's goin' on here?
Don't ask.
It's the washing machine again. And while l was at it, l fixed the sink.
Jesus!
Connie, why don't you ever call the repairman?
You're livin' 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. - Yeah, but you were gonna.
- I can always tell when you're in a mood. - What's wrong with you?
I walk in the door, you don't even say hello.
You don't smile. All you do is, you say, "Stanley, don't break my balls."
- What kind of a relationship is this? - You don't care about our relationship.
I do care.
I do care about our relationship.
- Come on! - I just wanna know why you're so angry.
Well, Stanley, it's because you have become an arrogant, self-centred,
condescending son of a bitch.
- Well, there's a lot to be arrogant about. - Oh, don't start, OK?
I'm not takin' any more of your shit, Stan.
You want to fix the fuckin' washing machine? You go ahead and fix it.
Oh, Jesus.
You fix it. I gotta go to work.
Hey, l'm not having such a great day either, you know.
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.
Nothin'. Because l don't expect anything from you any more, Stanley.
- 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 l forgot.
Don't bullshit me, Stan. I don't like it.
I'm getting the picture, OK? lt's clear as ice.
- If you really wanted a kid... - Of course l 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.
And you'd screw me once in a while at the right time of month.
- How the hell do we stand a chance? - Hey, l'm sorry.
I know you're sorry. 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, that place your brother-in-law talks about.
You know, 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 any more.
It doesn't work.
Shit!
(in Chinese) # So sweet, your smile is so sweet
# Like a flower blossoming
# ln the warm spring breeze
# Where was it
that l had seen you before?
# Your smile is so familiar
# l can't remember
# ln my dreams
I didn't think you'd show up.
I guess l had to get a closer look at the jerk who insulted me.
- What would you like to drink? - Tea.
- Why didn't you say who you were? - Hostile, aren't you?
I showed up, didn't l?
Why don't you have some spareribs?
They have great spareribs, but lousy lighting. Ever wonder about that?
Why a Chinese restaurant makes you feel like you're inside a motor vehicle bureau?
- Feel like l'm waiting for an eye test. - Well, the atmosphere is not the thing.
Besides, l like ltalian food better anyway.
I'm impressed. Are you doing your homework?
I'm scratching the surface. So 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 over.
My father married a Japanese woman and settled here in the '40s.
Yeah, l know the story. It's a pretty sad one.
Thousands of you Chinese came over here, and you died building the railroads.
It says so here.
Their bones are scattered all over the West. We don't even know their names.
There's a photograph here. Promontory Point, utah. 1869.
It'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.
You goddamn people, you keep everything a secret.
- I know the story, Captain. - Well, most people don't.
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?
uh...
I'm Polish. I'm from Brooklyn. I'm a cop.
But l happen to be the most decorated cop in the City of New York.
I'm talking action decorated, no desk citations here.
- I'm sure about that. - I saw you a few times on the tube.
I don't watch much television, but l think you're pretty good.
You're sexier than the broads on the other channels.
Ah, 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.
Thanks, Harry, but no thanks. I pay my own way.
- Fish stinks from the head, does it not? - The Chinese eat the head, Captain.
Enjoy.
(in Chinese) Let's go.
It looks like champagne...
- I think you upset him. - I certainly hope so.
(in Chinese) # l've been waiting for over a year
Look at it this way.
Harry Yung, he's the head of the richest tong in Chinatown.
He's gotta be involved in the Chinese Mafia.
Even if he isn't doin' anything, he's gotta be doin' something.
And if l can nail the son of a bitch, and he's got face, l get face.
And if l get face, l can win the war in Chinatown.
Captain, why did you call me? What do you want?
I'll tell you what l want.
I want the rice to boil over in Chinatown.
I wanna change things.
Why? ls Chinatown so bad the way it is?
It stinks. The Harry Yungs got this place locked up like a jail.
You 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 livin' in a room.
You got the highest rate of TB and mental illness in any city neighbourhood.
- 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 an exposé 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 licence, you know?
Each week we peel another layer off the onion.
If it was a 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 White. Ethics!
The press is independent. It's not just another undercover cop.
What you're asking for is absurd. It's almost criminal.
You wouldn't know a real criminal if one popped out the toilet and bit your 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.
(screaming)
(Yung) Didn't see nothing, man.
Two men, ski masks, ran up the stairs.
Boom, boom. Was all over.
It's all right. It's all right. It's all over now.
It's all right.
Stop crying. Stop crying.
(in Chinese) Now you see what l'm saying.
You've seen what happens.
Who did this? Why?
Who were those kids?
Could they have been with the Nam Soong?
No. No, it's not them.
It's someone from the inside. It can't be the Nam Soong.
What would the Nam Soong gain by messing with us? Nothing.
They couldn't take over our place.
Recently there's the Double Flower business.
It's not the Double Flower, it's the other guy.
The other guy!
uncle Hung! All this is done by the Nam Soong gang.
Don't question it. They came from Toronto.
How do you know?
I saw them two days ago. Now they've gone back.
We'll find them.
- You take care of it, then. - Yes.
I'm going to ask you again. Do Nam Soong have their reasons?
It's because of the police, uncle.
They want to get their hands on our goods, so they mess with us.
The guys in Hong Kong and Amsterdam know what Nam Soong is capable of.
We seem to be no match for him.
The shootout at the restaurant, other things...
Everyone says they're trying to start a war.
But what l'm afraid of most
is that they seem to be targeting you directly.
If we don't fight back, we'll lose everything.
What you're saying makes some sense.
In our business, we can't succeed unless the market is stable.
The market is very unstable. The shootout was six months ago.
The restaurant has only made 70% of its usual profits since.
And the ltalians are still angry at us
about what happened with the candy store.
Fuck them! How long have they worked with us?
And still they treat us like this!
They call us "yellow niggers".
Right?
(in English) Our banking and shipping profits are all down.
Gold prices are slumping. Our stocks are sluggish.
Our commodities position has slipped.
There's no new money coming in, gentlemen.
The Vietnamese will start competing with our gambling profits.
And this new policeman,
making rude noises about Chinatown and justice, and all...
(in Chinese) l have much respect for each and every one of you, uncles.
But l believe that right now we need a strong leader.
Speaking of me...
OK, Joey.
I'll let you keep on talking.
You guys talk about it.
Joey, what you're saying about our business is true.
If we let you lead us, what will you do?
First of all, when my uncle leaves his post, l will make him look good.
Right?
Second of all, l will find out who did this to our restaurant.
I will have to go to Thailand and put up a good fight with Ban Sung for our goods.
(in English) Then there is 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.
(in Chinese) We can make more money that way.
Right, uncle Bin, let's not waste time.
We'll just do it ourselves, right?
- Good morning. - Good morning, Chief.
- Good morning. - Good 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.
I wouldn't bet on that information, sir.
You know something we don't know?
No, sir. It's just that our street information in Chinatown hasn't been right so far.
We're the last ones to know what's goin' on there.
The important thing is that both punks were hit, and it'll be hard for them to hide.
And if l can get to them, and l will, then l 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 is mighty pissed off.
And so am l. What the hell has happened to Chinatown? lt was never like this.
(Stanley) The causes of this run deep.
Be that as it may, l want this crap stopped, and l want it stopped now!
Or heads are going to roll. Am l making myself clear to you people?
Yes, boss.
You want some fast results and no bullshit.
Let me have one Chinese undercover cop and l'll penetrate these fuckers.
What are you talking about?
Have you asked your commanding officer?
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 treat 'em like lepers.
This kid, Herbert Kwong, he's from China, and no one knows him down there.
And he don't know shit from Shinola. He needs another 100 hours minimum.
We don't have another 100 hours.
Give him what he wants.
Now.
And get some results.
That's it.
Nobody does what you did in here. Nobody.
- Are you sure about this? - Yeah.
(loud rock music)
(music off)
(in Chinese) All you guys do is eat and gamble.
- I told you to keep this place clean. - It is.
It smells like a sewer.
So what?
- Where's the doctor? - Inside.
- Those two are OK now? - You gave them the shots?
Get up.
- Hey, little brother, how are you doing? - I'm OK.
- Does your foot hurt very much? - It's all right.
- You got a shot, didn't you? - Yes.
- How's your brother's foot? - Hey, get up. Tai is here.
- Hey, how's your foot? - It's OK.
- Can you walk? - Yes.
- Give it a try. - It's OK.
Good boy, you've got balls.
Both of you, get some rest.
- I'm gonna take off. - Thank you.
Take care.
How long before the wounds heal?
Two weeks, maybe less.
But the one with the toes...
Thank you.
Take care of this now. Clean this place up.
All of you, clean this place up! lt stinks in here.
(in English) See you.
- (Stanley) How'd you get called Herbert? - My Chinese name is too complicated.
I looked in the phone book. I found Herbert.
Do you know anything about Go Joey Tai? Harry Yung? Fred Hung?
- uncle Milton Bin? - No, sir.
You're going to.
Because you're gonna put 'em to sleep at night, you're gonna wake 'em up.
I wanna know where they go, who they see.
When you're not doing that, you're gonna monitor a wiretap on them.
Watch it, will you? You drive worse than you shoot!
- Stay out of the left lane. - Yes, sir.
uh, what hours am l working?
Hours? Forget it. You're on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- What about sleep? - (cop) Forget sleep.
- But l got a second job. - Hey, Herbert, quit. I'm serious.
- You want to be a cop or to fuck around? - What's the point of the exercise?
It's not an exercise. We're dealing with the Chinese Mafia.
They eat people like you for breakfast.
Jesus! l told you, stay out of the left lane.
Did you ever notice this? Chinese guys are always blockin' traffic.
They drive like their music, from right to left.
(mutters in Chinese)
Did you ever see a Chinese Grand Prix driver? Huh?
- (Stanley) No. - Goddamn cab can't drive. Come on!
(dispatcher) Central to 27 Adam Boy. Got two male Asians shot dead at 6 Eldridge.
They match the suspects in the Shanghai Palace shooting.
That's us. You're out. Outta the car. You're undercover now. Get out!
Where's White?
Alan Perez, Captain. Nobody, of course, saw nothing.
Most of these people are illegal. They're sweating a bust.
The building and the farm are registered to Tan Wan Lo. He lives in Hong Kong.
We're checking it out, but he's probably been dead for ten years.
Building ownership down here makes a Chinese fire drill look organised.
- Where are they? - Tony, get out here!
This is the guy that tipped us. Calls himself Tony.
Says he's been working here 40 years.
You wanna show the Captain what you showed me?
(in Chinese) 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 - Iong 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 l see.
Tony, there should be more men like you.
Bullshit!
(in Chinese) l have no money and no husband.
All l want is to find her a college.
But l can't find work, so l can't support her education.
(Joey) l understand your situation. You don't have to worry any more.
I have talked to Tina about this fall...
Please forgive me. I had no one else to turn to.
I understand. Don't worry any more.
I've arranged for Tina to attend Columbia this fall.
Stop worrying, OK?
Thank you.
Tina, it was difficult for your mother to come to me.
You must show your appreciation by studying hard.
Then you can help your mother out so she won't have to work so hard.
You hear me?
..some say an act of revenge linked to the restaurant massacre, but no one knows.
And in this once quiet, tourist-oriented community,
the tourists are beginning to stay away.
And the people here are beginning to ask the dismaying question:
"What is happening to Chinatown?"
This is Tracy Tzu, Eldridge Street, Chinatown.
Here he is.
Captain White?
Captain White, can you give us any idea who and what's behind this violence?
Who? What? A thousand years of civilisation. That's who, that's what.
You oughta know that. Now get that goddamn thing outta my face.
- What's the matter? - You don't know, you don't know.
You're acting like there's something between us.
(in Chinese) Auntie, stop worrying. I have to go.
Have something to eat. Don't worry any more.
(in English) Mr White! l'm glad you came.
Joey, congratulations. I hear Harry Yung's out and you're in.
- Stuart, all right? - Meet my favourite lady.
Connie, this is Joey Tai. He owns the place. My wife.
- It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs White. - Hi. How are you?
I'm sorry l'm late. Somethin' came up. Why don't we order some spareribs...
I told you. I got a late shift tonight.
- We can talk after dinner. - No, it might disturb my digestion.
You really are something.
(in Chinese) Hurry up!
Just come over here. Let's call it a truce.
- How about good champagne, Joey? - Sure. Mrs White? Come this way.
(in Chinese) Harvey, get me the best champagne in the house.
(Joey) You have an eye for beauty, Captain.
Yeah. She's a real rock. She's the best.
You must have heard, we dug up those two midgets that hit Harry's place.
- Found 'em in a soybean basement. - No, l didn't.
My guess is somebody didn't want us to find 'em.
You don't 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...
I agree. What are you and l gonna do about it?
(in Chinese) 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. I brought him from...
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, White. 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'll get headlines, your superiors will relax, and everybody happy.
And then you can stay in Chinatown, no transfer, and we can do business.
You understand what l am 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 and not to change things.
You know, 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 l make it?
Oh, l 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 100,000 a year.
And we could put it anywhere in the world.
I don't think 100,000's gonna be enough.
OK. How much, then?
I'll take the same amount that you'll make off your next 50 keys of heroin.
(chuckles)
At last.
The clouds part to show the true sky.
You know, most drug dealers are morons, Joey, but l 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?
You know, rumour has it it was 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 l 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?! l was only 20 minutes late!
What's the matter with you?
(car horn)
Hey, you're right. I thought it over.
I tried very hard to suppress it, but l think there's definitely something between us.
- Get in the car. I'll drive you home. - I'm not some gook hooker in Saigon.
(speaks Vietnamese)
- Does that work with all the girls? - Comme ci, comme ça.
Why don't you give me a break? lt's not every day l get to meet a famous person.
Listen, l got a legitimate story for you.
Want some wine? White or red?
Both.
Wow, this is some place.
Hey, listen, forget what l said in the restaurant.
I know you got your ethics. I respect that.
But listen, you know, 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.
I mean, 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, never involved in nothing.
Remember that.
You're really cracked, you know that?
The first time l saw you, l knew you were cracked. And a racist, too.
Were you in Vietnam?
- Yeah. Why? - I knew it.
It ruined you.
First time l saw you, l hated your guts.
I think l even hated you before l ever met you.
I hated you on TV.
I hated you in Vietnam.
You wanna know what's destroying this country? lt'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 the way you lie every night at six o'clock.
I hate the way you kill real feelings.
I hate everything that you stand for. Most of all, l hate rich kids.
And l hate this place.
So why do l wanna fuck you so bad?
Maybe you're right. Maybe l got no ethics.
I can't. Stop it.
You can't?
I just spent all afternoon here, making love with my boyfriend. I can't.
So why'd 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.
Well, so 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. 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, l hate lawyers.
And l wouldn't wanna make love to a woman who just screwed a lawyer.
- What's he got, money? - Yes.
- Roger Pumpernickel the Third? - 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.
Well, "A great man is one who in manhood still keeps the heart of a child."
Why don't you go home? l can see this was a big mistake.
Yeah, it was a 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 marry you?
He didn't want a slant-eyed Roger the Fourth?
I don't know.
We've never discussed it. We just meet here to fuck.
I want to 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 apeshit.
I want to 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 100 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 outta here.
Whoa! One last thing.
The next cop... that l 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.
- Whoo! - (laughter)
Mr Wong, do you think Joey Tai is responsible for the death of your father?
I want my lawyer!
(Tracy) Captain Stanley White, commander of the Fifth Precinct,
has declared war on Chinatown. Today there were 43 gang arrests,
three gambling parlours raided, six sweatshops busted.
In an opening blow at the man they call the godfather of Chinatown, Joey Tai,
White has padlocked his restaurant on a health violation.
A crackdown is in the works. Although District Attorney Jane Katzman denies it,
a major drug conspiracy case is rumoured to be pending
against various respected older members of the Chinatown ruling elite.
Mr Tai, can you tell us if there is such a thing as the Chinese Mafia?
Sounds very exciting, like a comic book.
The existence of Triads is documented by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Documentation without proof.
This farce is evidence of the consistent discrimination against Chinese.
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 emphasising this Charlie Chan image?
Why not talk about the chair in Chinese History
our association has endowed at Yale university?
Or our $1 2 million fund for our 10,000 members?
Our free meals for the aged and the unemployed?
Free burial, things like that? Positive things.
Mr Tai, what is your comment on Jackie Wong? Do you have any comment?
I'm really happy you're OK.
My doctor would kill me if he knew l 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 l'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, l will know.
Bring him in, but leave the nigger outside.
(camera clicks)
- (Joey) My esteemed friends... - How's the sound?
A little background noise, but it's not bad.
(Joey) The point, Mr Tedesco,
is that we are happy to let you continue the distribution ofour software.
But, with a 50 per cent reduction in volume, and at a reduced fee.
Something like 17 or 18 per cent.
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 l don't see why anything should change now.
Because Jackie Wong is dead,
and Harry Yung has stepped down, and l am the Cho Kun now.
Hey, Joey.
And l say we can't afford to sell to old men the old way.
You know, Fred, in all my years,
nobody - and l mean nobody - has ever talked to me like that. Nobody.
No insult was intended, Mr Tedesco.
But you people don't control Canal Street any more.
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 kinda weight here.
They will bury you so fast like you never was here.
And if they don't, l will.
(in Chinese) Don't talk like that!
Don't sweat it.
You're flying too high, kid, and the air is very thin up there.
(in Chinese) Hello? Yes, it's Joey.
I'm trying to reach Ban Sung.
Next week. I know.
Stop talking and listen to me!
- Got anything? - It seems to be mostly financial talk.
There's mention of some problem in Thailand.
A man in Bangkok is saying something about...
I'm not quite sure about what.
I want to talk to him in person.
But he's very angry about a group from Toronto that calls itself 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 aroundthings, not about them.
Damn it, Sister, that's the point! They're not gonna spell it out for you.
This is drug talk. You got to use your imagination.
Listen...
you look like you don't eat enough to keep a bird alive. Have some real food.
Captain White, l've managed to live 75 years without your help,
eating precisely what l'm eating now.
My body fat is 1 2 per cent.
My blood pressure's 1 20 over 80.
My lymphocyte count is 22 per cent.
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.
(conversation in Chinese on surveillance radio)
Copy that.
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 his tail.
Call the Bangkok police, whatever you gotta do to eyeball this scumbag.
I'm sorry, Sister.
I just wish to fuck l could go there myself.
Come on.
That'll be the day, the NYPD springin' for a ticket to Hong Kong, eh?
You guys are doing a great job. Keep it up.
Rizzo, come on.
I want you to hit Chinatown like Genghis Khan.
I want restaurant health violations. I want immigration busts, gambling raids.
You were meant to shake up the gang kids, not turn the whole city upside down.
Let me make this real clear to you, White, here and now.
Joey Tai goes to the Manhattan Borough president,
who he contributes $100,000 a year to, all right?
The borough president goes to the mayor. The mayor goes to me.
And the word is, lay off.
That is the way the game is played, OK?
No more wiretaps on Joey Tai. And you don't go to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Going to outside agencies isn't your job. It is Lou's job.
And 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 pretty fast just cos that slimebag has tea with the mayor.
You can't link Joey Tai to that. You know it. The point is that you cease and desist.
What if l don't, huh? What are you gonna do? You gonna suspend me?
What will that look like in the papers? You tell me.
You suspend the most decorated cop in the city.
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.
- Are you blackmailing me? - Call it what you want.
I've been swallowing the bullshit around here for 10 years, and l'm choking on it.
- You ever think about your pension? - Fuck that!
That's what's wrong with this department.
Everybody's so worried about their pension.
- Stanley... - Oh.
Never have l ever heard anything like this. This is a fucking disgrace!
No, Lou. This is a fuckin' war, and l'm not gonna lose it. Not this one.
Not over politics. It's always fuckin' 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 doin'?
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, did you?
- First, you throw away your wife. - Shut up!
Now, you're turning on us cos you got delusions of grandeur,
sucking up to this Chink reporter to get your face on the tube. What is it with you?
- She do it sideways or something? - Take it back, Lou.
Don't tell me to take it back. You got no shame.
Connie was the best thing you ever had in your life.
That wasn't between cops. It was between two guys from the old neighbourhood.
Lou, l'm sorry.
Look... I don't know why we're fighting.
I love you. I love Connie.
But when things aren't working at home, you overreact 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.
Cos no one's gonna care when you're lyin' in your grave but Connie and me.
Well?
What are you gonna do, Stanley?
I don't know. All l know is that when l give up...
the system gives up.
(banging on door)
(Stanley) Tracy!
- Tracy! - I'm coming!
Tracy!
Come on, open the door!
Hey!
- Oh. - Who do you think you are?
And what are you doing with that?
These are my Chinese books. I'm movin' in.
You what?
Did l misinterpret what you were saying when l was lying on top of you?
Fuck you!
You Chinese, why don't you ever say what you really think?
- I'm going to call Roger. - I got somethin' l wanna say to him, too.
Go away, will you, Stanley?
You're cracked. You're really crazy.
Do you ever listen to yourself?
Come on, tell me... Ow! Tell me the truth. There is no Roger, is there?
Know how l know? lt's because when you talk about him, your eyes, they're not real.
There is a Roger.
Well, 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 l want you to say it.
What do l have to do to get you out of here? Holy God!
Nothin'. It's hopeless.
Surrender.
Why am l laughing?
I'm becoming a crazy, like you.
Oh...
I'm tired.
I think l 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 fuckin' Chinese parade. They come at you in 1 5 different directions.
Fuckin' joke.
Stanley...
you can't stay here.
Don't you have a friend l could call? Or somebody you could stay with tonight?
You're the only friend l 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, uh...
I love you.
Did you hear what l 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, that slime,
but Ban Sung's even worse. But you lose all face by dealing with him direct.
- Ban Sung has an ego like an octopus. - I know. And l don't trust his agent here.
That fuck White Powder Ma knows Ban Sung's got a crop of 1 50 to 200 tons.
Ma offered him 6,000 a key, plus a shipment of kalashnikov assault rifles.
Hey.
(in Chinese) Hey, brother Ma! Hello!
- I'm so happy to see you. - Have a seat.
I'm so glad.
We meet at last, huh?
Little brother, l was very sorry to hear that your father-in-law had been killed.
You know, it's not as easy for us to do business without his guidance.
We in the Nam Soong have been wondering who could have done this.
We think that whoever is responsible for assassinating him
is no better than a crow that flies up the ass of a dead animal
to reach the gut without work.
It's so dirty, so despicable.
There's also some news.
I hear that this guy has been causing trouble in Toronto.
- Really? - It's intolerable.
But don't worry, l'm not going to let a crow bother me.
Brother Ma, you have really enlightened me.
I think we should share our information.
If we work together, we will surely catch this stinking crow.
We'll tear off his wings and cut off his tail.
I'm leaving in the morning.
It would give me great pleasure to invite you to dinner tonight.
It would be great if you could come.
- Will you? - OK.
- I will be there. - That's wonderful.
All right, then.
- I will see you tonight. - See you tonight.
Thanks, bye.
(church bell ringing)
(conversation in Polish)
Will you open the door?
What do l 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? ls that what you want?
The truth is, l don't know what l want.
You wanna marry her? You wanna have babies with her?
Look, l 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.
It's about time.
You used me up, Stanley, and then you burned me down.
And l was a rock. I carried the cross with you in Brooklyn and in Queens.
I lived in a fuckin' war zone with you.
Now, you're gonna go off and have babies with a woman ten 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 outta 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 any more.
Now, will you get out of here... before l start to cry?
And l don't wanna do that. Not in front of you.
I got my pride.
(Stanley) You OK?
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.
(Connie) Stanley?
- Stanley! What the hell's goin' on? - They got Connie!
Stanley! What, are you crazy?!
Stanley! Stanley, get outta there!
Stanley!
Get outta here!
- What, are you crazy?! - He's evidence.
He's dead!
Long time no see, Joey Tai.
It's an honour and a pleasure to see you again, General.
Time looks like it's been good to you.
And to you, too, honourable cousin.
The last time, as l 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 recognise 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.
I'll make it 4500 a kilo.
You give me 6500,
and l'll refine it to number four right here myself.
- No, no. - You'll have 200 keys in two weeks.
(speaks Chinese)
You know 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's good?
- I have the best chemists in the world. - Maybe.
Better than your people in Hong Kong.
But then we would be forced to unemploy our chemists.
Go Joey, l offer you the chance of putting your old friend out of his misery.
He was going to betray us to the Americans.
Hold him!
(in Chinese) Save me! Save me!
No, don't!
Don't shoot me!
(in English) You don't have the bullet to spare.
Each bullet can kill one Burmese soldier.
Then you don't have to use a gun.
(in Chinese) Don't do this to me!
(in English) l'll buy him from you. $5,000.
Buy?
uS dollars, cash. Now.
- Why? - Why not?
If you think this shit-faced old worm is worth $5,000, you can have him.
Good!
(in Chinese) Let him go!
The food was great, and your hospitality has left an impression, General.
But time is short. 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. Beyond that, l won't go.
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 l put my money on White Powder Ma.
I think so.
I think White Powder Ma will be pleased to hear this.
Tell him yourself.
My gift to Ban Sung,
in honour of our association.
Let no motherless fuck ever raise his head again between us.
(priest reading service in Polish)
I'm sorry, Stanley.
She looks beautiful, Stanley.
(man) Let me through!
Let me through!
My deepest condolences to you, Mr White.
She said it wasn't that Chinese girl. Connie was a bigger person than that.
She knew what was gonna happen. You should have listened to her.
- You talked to Connie behind my back? - Yes. I talked to Connie behind your back.
I knew Connie even longer than you. Why shouldn't l talk to her if l want to?
You and l don't agree on anything.
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 everybody in World War Il and Korea came home to a picnic.
It wasn't. We lost 50,000 men in Korea. We came back and 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 any more.
You know! l know you're not one of them professional Vietnam veterans
who make a career outta groaning about the war. You made something of yourself.
But you're still acting like you're on a crusade.
You think you got the right to trample over anything and everything.
We got an arrangement, a treaty with these Chinese.
And however tarnished it is, it works. Life is arrangement, Stanley.
Life is getting along. That's why this neighbourhood is what it is.
That's why eight million people every day in this city can function.
I don't want to argue with you any more. Honest, l don't.
Take it easy.
You need anything, you call me. You hear?
- There's always a bed at my place. - Your arrangement is what killed Connie.
- Mr Tai? - Mr Tai?
Mr Tai, people in Chinatown are saying Ronnie Chang was your protégé,
and his involvement in the murder of Mrs White implicates you.
- Do you have any comment? - That was a terrible tragedy,
but l hardly knew Ronnie Chang.
Ronnie Chang represents much of what is bad in Chinatown.
We are trying hard to get rid of this element.
My sources say you have returned from Bangkok. Was there a business purpose?
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, Miss Tzu, even for the press?
Then does the name White Powder Ma ring a bell?
Cut it.
I know your sources, and l'll raise the issue with your legal department.
Hey, l don't give a shit! l got the new lady district attorney behind me on this now.
You think the NYPD is gonna lift a finger for me? No.
No, l'm not gonna tell you where l am.
Look, l'm gonna make this case with the DEA, Customs, lmmigration, if l have to.
It's lnternal Affairs sniffing around again. I bet you it's that fuck Kearney.
Get me Scappy Peck on the line at Customs. He owes me a few favours.
What'd that son of a bitch say about White Powder Ma?
What is all this?! What's happened?
I couldn't work in 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! l give you an inch and you take a mile!
I want these people out of here right now. I mean it.
Look, l don't have time to write you thank you notes.
I'm going for Joey Tai's throat, and nobody's gonna stop me.
So just don't break my balls, all right?
Just hang in there a while, and you'll be famous. That's what you want, isn't it?
You ungrateful, overbearing, self-centred son of a bitch!
- Don't tell me what l want. - That's it. Let's hear it. "lgnorant Polack."
Everybody, get out!
- Sit down. - (Herbert chuckles)
What's so funny?
You drive everybody crazy, not just me.
She's an aristocrat. You can't push her around.
- That's an aristocrat? - She's Mandarin. They're like that.
Call Wainright back. This is bullshit. We're not gettin' anywhere.
That dope is somewhere between here and Thailand. It's on the move.
We gotta get a tap into Joey Tai's office in the restaurant.
You must be kidding me. A white face would never get in there.
- Impossible. - Come on.
You could get in there as a bus boy or somethin'.
After that... plenty of time off for sleep, promotion.
- No way, Captain. - A tough kid from Kwangtung?
A kid 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's 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.
When your ancestors lived in caves and scrabbled for coal in Poland,
the Chinese were sailing their ships across the Pacific.
- What do you know about my ancestors? - What do you know about mine?
We were traders, shipbuilders, explorers.
We taught you agriculture. We gave you oranges, grapes, your 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 1943.
We worked so hard to build your railroads that when our opium didn't come on time,
we were so desperate, we helped each other kill ourselves!
But l'm not going to 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 going to make it up to him.
(in Chinese) lt's none of your business.
You have to remember to call. Why don't you call now?
Pick it up.
Shh.
(in Chinese) This piece ofnews is not good.
It puts us in a very bad place. What's going to happen next?
Will our faces appear in the newspapers?
How this reporter found out about your trip to Thailand is a serious problem.
It worries me very much!
It makes the Nam Soong very upset about White Powder Ma.
Very unhappy.
And also our old friends the ltalians are very angry.
Say something!
Now you know what you've got yourself into.
You have some nerve, trying to kill the cop on your own and not succeeding!
Are you thinking with your ass or your brain?
Our nephew has overemphasised the Thailand end of the business,
at the risk of endangering our other enterprises!
How can you get rewards without taking risks?
- All you're doing is yelling at me. - Bastard!
Watch what you're saying.
uncle, listen to me. These guys in Toronto are not a problem.
- Not a problem! - They will be easy to take care of.
The ltalians are a separate issue.
They'll want to work with us again once we make a move.
What they're saying in the papers, let them. Who cares?
And like a fly's bite on an elephant's ass, ignore it.
- I'll take care of it. - You can take care of everything.
uncle, the new shipment arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday,
and it was in Amsterdam by Saturday.
I spoke to our chemist in Hong Kong.
He guarantees us one load every two weeks.
Uncle, think about it.
What my father-in-law did in a year, l did in three months.
Three months! Nonsense!
When is it due in New York?
Less than a week. Our money is ready at the bank.
We can get it by next Monday.
How much faster do you want me to move?
It's too dangerous to take a delivery now.
- Can't wait a month? - We can't wait!
If you send it back to Harlem now, it will only increase the risk!
You don't have to worry. I have complete confidence in our couriers.
I trust them. I'll take care of it.
Are we still working with Rising Sun Lines?
No. It's a new company.
Which new company?
I think it's best not to tell you the name of the ship now. It's too dangerous.
Excuse me. I'll be right back.
Ah, shit! The goddamn name of the ship!
White has a wire in your office.
- Who? - I don't know, but l'm gonna find out.
Perez!
I don't want anything to go wrong with this 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 .
- I'll be there. - Thanks.
(in Chinese) OK, everybody back to work.
(woman screams)
Stanley!
Hey! Hey!
Herbert, you're gonna be all right. I'm proud as hell of you.
Eleven.
What?
- The dock. - Get to Beekman, for Christ's sakes!
- What was the name of the ship? - Dear God in heaven.
Kazimierz Pu... Pul...
He's at the bar.
You and me are gonna have a talk about Herbert Kwong.
Get off me!
Got you, you little fuckin'... I'm gonna kill you, you little cocksuckin' bastard.
Fuckin'...
Press charges! l'm beggin' ya.
Come on, Joey, call a cop.
Come on, let's go to court.
- Come on, l'm beggin' you. - No more now, Stan.
Oh, shit!
Get out! Get out! Get the fuck out! Come on! Let's go!
Get your fuckin' ass in there.
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?
You got anything you wanna tell me before you go, sweetheart?
Yeah. Fuck you.
(officer) What happened, Captain?
- Got one in the chest. - Captain, what the hell happened?
(in Chinese) You run too fast.
So you fall down, see?
Looking back on the days of Jackie Wong,
things were so peaceful.
Now, in the interest of all Chinatown,
our relationship with the press,
with City Hall, especially with the ltalians,
has to return to the old ways.
Joey, he has a point there.
I think that Joey is young and inexperienced.
He has offended Harry.
This has caused Harry to colour the situation with personal animosity.
If it were up to me, l would take care of it right away.
Dealing with things this way will benefit no one.
In dealing with the white devils,
we have always stuck together through thick and thin.
You don't trust me now.
No matter what, l guarantee that you won't lose anything.
I will be at the pier to pick up the goods.
Look, l'm talking about one ship outta Rotterdam.
The Kazimierz Pulaski.
What the hell's the problem?
You know how big that ship is, Stanley?
We can't go running around rippin' up floor plates, cuttin' boilers open,
pokin' through 10,000 Edam cheeses,
or drillin' in a shipment of Danish furniture on your say-so, Stanley.
It's a lot of money involved. We got passengers. We got waitin' time.
Besides, it's the flagship of a foreign government.
Hey, look, 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 OK? - Yeah.
- You shouldn't have come here. - Embarrassed your friends will see me?
Tonight's the night. Get your crew to pier 1 1 . We're gonna watch the rice boil over.
- I have to talk to you. - 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, Stanley.
What? There's a war going on down in Chinatown and you're not gonna cover it?
Look, l don't think this is the time or the place.
Why don't you tell me the time and a place, and we'll go there and discuss it?
Would you 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 whole life on the line, and you're sitting here,
acting like some phoney white-bread cunt!
You're not even white. You're Chinese. Those are your people down there!
I mean, 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...
What do you mean, you were raped?
- You're like poison, Stanley. - Who did this to you?
- Who? - 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! lt happened to me!
You don't give a shit about me, do you?
- I'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. 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.
Clean your desk. You're goin' back to Brooklyn.
You've been properly served.
I'm sorry. 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, White.
Your balls'll be cut off Friday!
You're not cops, you're lies, 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.
What the...?
Jesus!
Get outta my sight!
What is this?
- What do you want? - Tell me where the heroin is on the ship,
and you walk outta here with a head start.
You...
Joey!
(Joey screams)
Come on!
(distant sirens)
Give me your gun.
For pity's sake. Please.
Tell me where it is!
Mercedes. Please.
(gunshot)
(brass band playing funeral music)
There are those who liken Chinatown to a skating pond.
On the surface we see a picture-postcard landscape of snowflakes and skaters,
but underneath, the cannibal fish, the gangs,
the sharks, those who control the gangs, and the whales, the big bosses,
all move in deadly swarms.
These bosses, some people are saying, are in 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 levelled by HJ Yung,
head of the Hun San association,
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.
OK, that's it.
Stanley! Stanley!
- Where's he going? - He's a great cop, but he won't stop.
- White! What the hell is goin' on? - I'm arresting these people.
You wanna do something they'll remember in Chinatown?
Book 'em! Be a cop again!
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?
(sings in Chinese)