China White (1989)

What could have been just another chop chop martial arts film, instead is somewhat above the norm, mainly due to authentic and colorful Amsterdam locations, creative brutality, and a strong performance from the always menacing Billy Drago. The story of rival drug gangs competing for valuable territory is nothing new, but a rapid pace negates some of the familiarity. Drago and his female bodyguard are definitely the most memorable characters, easily rising above the generic Asian gang members. Even skeptical non fans of this type action movie should find enough entertainment value in "China White" to maintain interest. - MERK

Brothers Bobby Chow and Danny Chow (Wong and Leigh, respectively) want control of Amsterdam's Chinatown for their drug trade. Seriously hampering that is Italian crime lord Scalia (Drago) and his minions. In one of the many gambling houses the brothers frequent, Danny meets card dealer Anne Michaels (Schrage) and they strike up a romance. As it happens, Anne is an undercover DEA agent working with her partner Rasta (Sheppard). Amidst all the shootouts, both Anne and Danny are torn between their respective professions and their love for each other. If the Chow brothers are going to control their turf, it's going to take a lot more than CHINA WHITE...Kicking off with a shot of some Asian tattoos and some classic wailing 80's guitar, it sets the scene for what we're about to see. There are a lot of ethnic tensions at work in Chinatown, and some classic racism along the way. One of the best things about this movie is Billy Drago as Scalia (although wouldn't it be weird to see Jack Scalia as Ivan Drago?)...anyway, he puts in a strange and menacing performance. Since he almost exclusively plays bad guys, he's probably always thinking about how he can put some kind of twist on it. Here he speaks quietly and has many strange mannerisms. He's definitely a highlight.While China White is a gangster drama, it features some very impressive stunts in the mix. There's one especially great action scene, but there are a few others as well. Once the action moves to "The Golden Triangle", the pace slacks considerably, and you realize this movie is too long. Other things that stand out are Ricky Ho as Kong, and his amazing wardrobe. The "nothing stereotypical going on here" character of Rasta, and Scalia's bodyguard Saskia (Van Rijswijk) are also memorable. Saskia makes Brigitte Nielsen look like a wimp. There could easily be a movie where Van Rijswijk plays the starring role. More Saskia would have been a good thing for China White.A great moment in the dialogue department comes when Danny tells Anne all his heroes are American. When she assumes he's talking about John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, he retorts, "H.Ross Perot"! First of all, it's great that Perot finally gets a mention in an foreign 80's violent gangster movie. Secondly, he used his proper name, utilizing the "H". Has Perot himself ever seen this movie? That was a great moment. Too bad there weren't more of them.While China White should have been shorter, with the brighter elements turned up like you would the "brightness" on a TV, it would still make an interesting double feature with Amsterdamned (1988). Just be sure to watch China White first.

China White (1989) was Ronny Yu's first international film. This U.K,/Holland/Hong Kong production was shot in English and was slightly edited for the western audience. The American Wong brothers (Michael and Russell) were supposed to star in the film together but due to prior commitments was unavailable so another western actor Steven Leigh took his spot. Several Hong Kong stars such as Tommy Wong (playing a mute) and the always creepy William Ho appear as well as the director in an interesting cameo spot.The Chow brothers are in Holland to run the family business. They want to the family business to go legit but the other Asian gangs don't want to and see there move as a face saving move to please the "foreigners" and want to keep on making money the old fashion way. Others want to take their business to even a new low by smuggling drugs and what not. After the Chow elder is gunned down in cold blood, the brothers make their move against any family who's not with them. Can the Chow family keep the families from killing one another or while the streets of Holland flow with the blood of the innocence and gangsters?A highly underrated movie. I was surprised by how good it was. I haven't seen the Hong Kong version. That would be a huge treat for me. It's longer and has a lot more stars of the Hong Kong Cinema involved with the production. Too bad this film isn't available on D.V.D. The video print i saw was washed out and the sound reproduction wasn't that great.Highly recommended for action fans.factoid: This film takes place before the decriminalization of drugs in Holland.

China White is being typecasted as one of many bad martial arts movies. If you judge this movie by the cover (woman with high heels, Saskia van Rijswijk, champion Kickboxing), you would certainly think it is. Wrong, it is a Hk action movie with some martial arts in it. " China White" is to be compared with other heroic bloodshed titles made in Hong Kong. There are a lot of slowmo shootouts (very cool to watch), which take place in Amsterdam, Holland. The story is about a Chinese gang getting into war with the Italian mob in their quest for ultimate control of power in Amsterdam. The story is interesting enough to watch and short enough to be enjoyed. I have also seen a longer version (the HK version), where you get to know more about the background of the main characters, also starring Andy Lau. But for the action part of the movie not very important, so can be missed as is the case in the 98minute version (English version). This is crime drama with heroic bloodshed at it's best.