Credit: New Line Cinema
Directors:
James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo
Cast:
Yao Ming……….Himself
Colin Pine……….Himself
Rudy Tomjanovich……….Himself
Steve Francis……….Himself
Cutino Mobley……….Himself
Charles Barkley……….Himself
Shaquille O’Neal……….Himself
Fine Line Features presents The Year of the Yao. Running time: 88 minutes. Rated PG (for some mild language). Available on DVD: March 14, 2006.
The movie:
The face of sports is changing in dramatic ways. Especially in the NBA where players from other countries can showcase their skills to a worldwide audience. Guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic are blazing a trail averaging 20-plus points per game. But no other player has had quite the attention and media scrutiny that Yao Ming has during his first four years in the league. As the starting center for the Houston Rockets, Yao is an interesting subject. His 7-foot-6 height is an awesome feat, but knowing this gentle giant is a bigger-than-life star in China is beyond belief. England has The Beatles. America has Elvis. China has Yao.
In many ways he, like the Great Wall, is a remarkable achievement. Both in scope and size. Yao has never experienced life outside his homeland, instead living in the self-contained, Communist country. When Mao Zedong led the Communist party from 1945 to his death in 1976, western ideology and influences were not tolerated.
Then something funny happened in the 1970s. The simple game of ping-pong changed the country’s dynamic. Who ever thought that a table, a net, two paddles and a small white ball could open up talks between the United States and China.
More than thirty years later a ping-pong ball would change the landscape of both China and the National Basketball Association. In 2002, a number of bottom tier teams were a part of the NBA lottery. One of the teams was the Houston Rockets. Upon winning two back-to-back championships in the mid-1990’s, the Rockets franchise entered a rebuilding period later in the decade. They drafted Steve “The Franchise” Francis to lead Houston to another shot at a championship. Sadly, his leadership was uninspiring and the 2001 season spun out of control.
So with breaths held during the NBA lottery a white ping-pong ball dropped favoring the Houston Rockets, giving the team the number one lottery pick in the draft. While other commentators (ahem, Charles Barkley) thought the Rockets should pick Jay Williams or another perimeter player, the Rockets remained steadfast and picked a 7-foot-6, 22-year-old Chinese big man named Yao Ming. Houston was unquestionably ready for “something big,” but how about the rest of the NBA? The answer can be found in The Year of the Yao a documentary that chronicles the gentle giant’s first season in the NBA.
“The Great Chinese Hype” was in for a rude awakening when he arrived in the States. Heading onto the court his rookie season Yao would make a lot of mistakes; shooting bricks and fumbling passes; and moving slow up and down the court. Basketball in the States is more up-tempo with emphasis placed, in some regards, on individual achievement, not teamwork. Still, with the world spinning around him, Yao Ming had a confidant to communicate his bewilderment – Colin Pine.
Standing five-foot-nine-and-a-half, and fluent in the Mandarin-dialect, Colin was employed by the Rockets organization to be Yao’s translator. As Colin Pine conferred with the public relations director for the Rockets, he saw a behemoth of a man walking down the terminal to meet his mother (who took an earlier flight out of China). When the two are introduced Yao Ming says to Colin, “I thought you would be older.” (Colin is in his twenties.) Their handshake marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Over the course of the regular season Colin and Yao were joined at the hip, inseparable from one another. The same can be said for the cameras that followed Yao for an entire year. Trying to get Yao assimilated to the western culture Colin took him to stores like Best Buy to look at all kinds of entertainment. Yao is big on video games so Colin showed him a Playstation 2 fighting game that is similar to arcade classic Street Fighter.
Yao’s teammates also tried to help him grow, both on and off the court. In the locker room shooting guard Cutino Mobley tried to explain soul food to Yao by touching his hand. For Thanksgiving the Rockets had a big dinner while in Seattle and Yao experienced turkey for the very first time.
During his rookie year, Yao Ming had many obstacles to overcome. After only a few games, many NBA insiders thought Yao was a bust; a waste of a draft pick. Then a transformation started taking place. His coming out game was against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaquille O’Neal was out with an injury so Yao Ming had free reign as a dominating presence inside.
Yao is uncontrollable; a big man with a killer instinct. So, when he meets a healthy Shaquille O’Neal, the game is hyped like a championship fight main event. “Yao vs. Shaq.” Though, watching the film you can’t help but think that NBA fans will never get another chance to see gladiators such as these two face one another. Shaq is nearing that age where he may want to hang up his size 18’s. Yao has many more years left ahead of him.
Unfortunately, The Year of the Yao by James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, only captures Yao’s first season in the NBA. Since his rookie season, the Houston Rockets have gone through many changes. Tomjanovich, Francis, and Mobley are all gone. Yao is the only player that remains from the 2002-2003 roster. Tracy McGrady and other additions, like head coach Jeff Van Gundy, have changed the look of the team. (As if Yao didn’t already have enough to worry about.)
With all these changes, however, Yao still has a friend in Colin. Today, Colin is no longer Yao’s personal translator. But they remain close, just like friends should.
Score: 8/10
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
(Presented in its Original 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio)
Using only natural light when on the court or in his natural habitat (home, hotel, and China), the filmmakers, Stern and Del Deo, had to deal with lighting issues. The picture varies in quality. It’s hard to distinguish things at night, but much better where some light is available. Yao’s performance on the court is the best video, probably because of using a combination of digital video and broadcast quality in-game footage.
Score: 6.5/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
(English 5.1 and Stereo Surround Sound)
The 5.1 soundtrack is nice at mixing the music and voices from the film. With surround sound you can hear James L. Venable’s score as he presents an eastern blend of Chinese music. The dialogue comes from the front speakers and it is distinct to some extent. When Yao is tough to understand, Colin is there to translate and subtitles are optional if you need them.
Score: 7/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Hope you like deleted scenes.
At a slim 88 minutes The Year of the Yao had to leave some footage on the cutting room floor. Thankfully, the DVD includes 55 minutes of deleted scenes. There are a total of eight scenes varying in length from as little as 1:41 to as much as 18:54.
Food (4:38) – a scene where Yao has to deal with the problem of getting something to eat on the road at two in the morning. Later in the scene, Yao goes to a Chinese restaurant in L.A. for some fine dining. According to Yao, the food was good, but it wasn’t Chinese.
Hollywood (1:41) – Yao, Colin, and Rockets rookie forward Bostjan Nachbar tour the streets of the movie town. They check out the Hollywood walk of fame and visit Mann’s Chinese Theater. It is here that you discover Yao is a big Eddie Murphy fan. Hmmm, I wonder if he’s a fan of Beverly Hills Cop Murphy or Dr. Doolittle Murphy?
Driving (2:42) – And you thought some bratty teenage girl who gets behind the wheel for the very first time was a scary experience. Here, Yao showcases his driving acumen. He’s so good, when he was in Shanghai he was pulled over by the cops. Got off with a warning. That’s popularity for you.
New Year’s (2:50) – Yao and his bud Colin act the fools on New Year’s Eve as the two take an early flight out to Los Angeles.
Vitamins and Gin (2:40) – Probably the best deleted scene of them all. Yao accidentally follows his vitamin supplements with gin. Colin was strung out after a night of partying and confused gin with water. Quite the rude awakening since Yao doesn’t drink alcohol.
All-Star Game (18:54) – This extension of his participation in the 2002 All-Star game shows all the members of Team Yao – Yao’s publicity and marketing team. Also in this deleted scene are media day and the trouble Yao has as he tries to get the rookie game. Best moment though: The giant trying to convince Colin that his socks are on backwards.
Going Home (15:03) – Bittersweet at the end of the NBA season, Yao cleans out his locker and goes home to Shanghai. Interesting parable is are the bridges that connect east and west Shanghai is like how Yao is bringing China and the United States together.
The Premiere (6:53) – This would have been a postscript to the movie if it had been included. In this scene, the filmmakers, Yao and Colin are on hand at the 2005 premiere at the All-Star game in Denver, Colorado. Following the premiere there is a short Q & A between the press and the filmmakers.
Score: 5/10
