| Not the most riveting story ever told and Dragon Inn's second half does turn into one long fight and chase scenario. That does not matter one bit since King Hu's Wuxia classic is otherwise filled with his trademark flair for the visual, great tension and wit (in particular during the subdued first half almost entirely set at the inn) and the film is most importantly entertaining to the max.
I'm not a scholar on the development of action choreography in Hong Kong cinema but what's on offer here is high quality for its time to my eyes. Han Ying Chieh's action initially is about short bursts of swordplay and Wuxia trickery but the set pieces nicely increase in size as we roll along, playing to the Wuxia tradition the most during the end battle. Dragon Inn is a discovery that needs to be made by today's audiences as it has the capacity to spellbind over 30 years later. It was released on dvd in Japan but the disc did not feature English subtitles and has now gone out of print. An available Hong Kong vcd comes with a pan & scan transfer and is cut down from its original length.
Starring many recurring actors in King Hu's films including the cool Shi Jun, Pai Ying, Miao Tien, Han Ying Chieh (The Big Boss) and Polly Kuan. A Tsui Hark produced remake was released in 1992. |
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