I’m talking about the miniseries from 1988, not the James Clavell novel on which it is based. Yikes! Not sure why I sat through all four episodes, but it did.
It stars Pierce Brosnan as Ian Dunross, Tai-pan (head) of Struan & Company, a Hong Kong trading company with roots dating back to whenever. Struan’s is stretched thin financially and vulnerable for take-over. So an American corporate raider comes along and teams up with a Hong Kong rival. The game is joined by an opium dealer hoping to cash in on a compact made when Struan’s was created way back when, and the China Great Wall International Trust Corporation (in the PRC). Alongside this we have a horse race, a Chinese mole in the Hong Kong police department, a mid-level Hong Kong bank, a disloyal son, and of course, pretty women, three of them.
It's all very complicated. Intrigue abounds. Some bed-hopping. Frequent reference to “face,” “joss,” and “the way things are done in Hong Kong” (which seems to be deeply mysterious). Halfway through there’s a big fire in floating restaurant which provides a lot of spectacle, but doesn’t seem to have much effect on the plot, though many of the principle were in the restaurant at the time. But then, toward the end an apartment building collapses, killing two of the more or less bad guys, making it much easier to resolve things in favor Struan & Company. Yipee!
The whole thing was slathered in corporate intrigue and hijinks, with a couple of dashes of Orientalism and a bit of sexism on the side. Quite a piece of work.
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