Opiniones de usuarios

Long considered one of the masterpieces of the wuxia genre King Hu's "Dragon Inn" is a visually superb epic that's closer in tone to Leone than Kurosawa and it features some of the most balletic fight sequences in all of cinema. The plot is virtually irrelevant; there are good guys and there are bad guys and that's really all you need to know while even the comedy works beautifully. The action takes place almost entirely around the inn of the title and the film was further immortalised by Ming-liang Tsai when he chose it to be the film screening in the near empty cinema in "Goodbye, Dragon Inn", (they would make a great double-bill). It's been surpassed in people's affections by King Hu's later "A Touch of Zen" but this is arguably more fun and it established Hu as a force to be reckoned with in international cinema, a genre master as well as a great visual stylist. Wonderful.

This film takes place during the Ming Dynasty with a powerful government official named "Cao" (Bai Ying) in the act of executing one of his main rivals so that he can secure even more power for himself. Having accomplished that, he then orders his elite agents to track down and kill his rival's two children as well. Fortunately, once word of the order is leaked, a small number of soldiers loyal to their previous master take the two children and flee on foot into the desert to escape those in hot pursuit. Upon then being apprised of this development, Cao subsequently orders some of his men to outflank them on horseback to a tavern known as the Dragon Inn. Once there, however, the agents at the Dragon Inn are surprised when a swordsman named "Xiao Shaozi" (Chun Shih) suddenly arrives and creates problems for all of them. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this is one of those movies which features quite a bit of sword fighting and martial arts--which should please viewers who enjoy action films of this sort. And while I would have preferred a movie with a bit more drama and suspense, I thought it passed the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

I speculate that King Hu must have left Shaw Brothers with a bad taste in his mouth after doing "Come Drink With Me". "Come Drink with Me" is also one of the greatest martial arts movies despite having room for improvement. This movie feels to me like King Hu made those improvements in it. I consider this his is his masterpiece. I compare it to the movies of Akira Kurosawa. Too bad that King Hu was nowhere near as prolific. This movie could even be considered his one hit wonder.

King Hu seemed to realize the claustrophobic situation of of the good guys and bad guys face to face in the Dragon Inn was great drama but it had to be contrasted with as much wide open space as possible. In "Dragon Inn" most scenes outside the inn are shot in expansive panoramas. Like Kurosawa, King Hu appreciated the way moving the camera brought the audience into the scene. He used tracking shots, particularly during fight sequences, to get this feeling.

Hang Ying-Chieh gets credit as action coordinator. He was the Big Boss in Bruce Lee's "The Big Boss". Remember when Bruce is cut, wipes off his blood then tastes it? Hang Ying-Chieh does the same here. The sword fights are Japanese style - starting with a suspenseful face off, then a sudden attack to cover the distance, just a few quick strokes of action, then stop and wait a few seconds to feel the results. A real sword cut is initially almost painless so the person cut doesn't know until he sees the effect of the cut.

I rate this as one of the best of 1967 and I recommend it to everyone - not just fans of the genre - to everyone.

This is the original of the 1992 remake of the same title(with a NEW) and 2nd of the "INN" trilogy by King Hu after Come Drink With Me. It was a major hit all over Chinese areas in South East Asia and discovered Shang Kuan Ling Feng(note the mistake by a previous comment)as the 2nd most popular Sword woman(the 1st was Cheng Pei Pei, and later 3rd Hsu Feng(Hsia Nu aka A Touch of Zen). All these 3 females stars are made popular by him and they are also the 3 most popular swords women in Chinese Cinema.

If there is any complaint by any viewer, it's the pace that many may find it a bit slow but isn't most highly regarded movies slow ?? The finale scene is the most climatic in a Chinese action that critc compared this film to "Rio Bravo" and "The Wild Bunch".

Beware of some mistakes in the original English subtitles mentioned by the director himself.

You can watch some scenes of it if you go to the movie Bu San(2003) aka Goodbye, Dragon Inn(here in IMDb and watch the trailer) which paid tribute to this movie.

The 90's remake is nothing better except for an additional character well acted by Maggie Cheung.

I saw this during its initial run under the title "Dragon Inn."

This is no ordinary swordplay movie. It is a visual treat of ancient Chinese costumes and weaponry. The traditional Chinese instruments used for the background music added an otherwordly flavor. I left the theatre wondering if the movie was truly historical.

The head of the Yu clan has been condemned to death by the evil prime minister who has usurped imperial power. A palace eunuch who managed to claw his way to power, he is also reputed to be China's greatest swordsman. He plots to eliminate the entire Yu family but is opposed by a master swordsman and swordswoman.

A memorable scene that has nothing to do with fighting is the dinner at Dragon Inn which introduced me to the Mongolian Fire Pot (shabu-shabu) style of eating. To the uninitiated, there is a fire pot in the middle of the table decked out with all sorts of raw food which you put into the boiling water of the firepot and eat them as they are cooked. The cooking water is sipped as soup.

I took my little sister to see it and from then on she got hooked on Chinese swordplay movies. She began reading up on ancient China and in college she majored in history and archaeology -- all because I took her to see Dragon Inn.

I am gratified to learn recently that the female supporting actress Feng Hsu moved on to become a producer-director herself with a number of critically acclaimed films to her credit. I look forward to seeing them soon.

I saw this film in the 60's, and have yet to find one to beat it. 'Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger' has to come in behind this masterpiece. The use of new actors and actresses, the adoption of well-timed traditional Chinese music, e.g. to usher in the villain, the innovative action sequence in sword fights, all added to the brilliance of this film.

Yes, there are shortcomings. Toward the end, and the climax, the anti-gravity leaps to the trees were overdone and unnecessary. Regardless, this film resembles the best of the traditional, addictive Chinese martial art novels that once consumed many hours of the armchair martial art addicts.

It's China in the year 1547. A minister has been executed and his two younger children sent into exile ... officially. The Eunuchs in charge and the bad boys of the Eastern Gate intend to kill them at the Dragon Inn on the border. As they move, however, an assortment of skilled swordsmen (and one swordswoman) show up at the Inn...

King Hu's martial arts movie has nasty villains, loner heroes, magnificent wide-screen Eastmancolor images (restored in 2013) and all sorts of crazy fight sequences in a dazzling array. There seem to be a few plot holes (people keep pausing in their fighting to talk), but that may be a matter of the standards of the Taiwanese cinema as opposed to my more western ideas. What strikes me in the storytelling technique is that the film maker seems to have seen and been influenced by the Man With No Name" trilogy, or at least YOJIMBO and SANJURO, drawing the same conclusions about cinema that Leone had. Chun Shin's character enters the Inn and encounters the agents of the Eastern Gate with the same wry, skilled, deadly sense of humor that Eastwood showed in his performances.

I'm not familiar with Taiwanese film-making of this era and genre. My experience has tended toward the Hong Kong offerings, with an emphasis on the Jacky Chan and Stephen Chow comedies. This is a very impressive introduction to the style and to King Hu

King Hu's DRAGON INN is one of those milestone martial arts movies that marks a leap forward in progress for the genre. Made after his COME DRINK WITH ME for Shaw, it features another kick-ass female swordswoman (Polly Sheng-Kuan, playing a man) and an interesting single-location thriller style plot in which various opposing characters congregate at the titular inn, which is in the middle of nowhere amid lush Taiwanese mountainous locations. The action hits regularly, Bai Ying's eunuch villain makes a mark (and heavily influenced later kung fu flicks) and there's enough plotting and treachery to hold viewers' attentions.

There are some movies that stick by you over the years and this Chinese swords movie from the middle sixties is one of them.

King Hu's Dragon Gate Inn has all the ingredients in it to make this movie a classic. Not only does it have good swords fights and combines these with an excellent story and plot but on a more subtle level the background music adds a really good atmosphere to it that draws you even more into the movie and story.

I can recommend this movie for anyone who is interested in Chinese film in general and anyone who is interested in Chinese swords movies with a good story and plot.

10 out of 10 points from me.

The restoration looks beautiful, there's a vibrancy of the colours and the details of the interior design are stunning. There's something off about the outside of the inn, but that could be an entirely different set altogether. It looks a little new and makeshift. The sound is loud and clear, feels dubbed, but it probably was. The tension is palpable and effective. Xiao was probably my favourite character, especially in his first scenes. The humour is rudimentary and dated but sometimes works, especially in those scenes in the beginning. Mostly exaggerated facial expressions. The only thing I didn't like was the fight scenes. They look amateurish and especially with the minor characters they must have used some slo mo trickery that went very awry. There's barely any preciseness to the movements and they are slow and laboured, there's too little blood visible in most cases and the players wait their turn for the big player to counterattack or kill them in succession. The only exception was the fight at the end, where they finally come to their senses and band together to defeat the old guy with the weird bleach job. I liked the only female character here. I did feel the length in the last half hour. I took into consideration the time period in granting it this rating, but there are scenes that do hold up very well.

A must see swordplay film, probably the best of its kind ever made. The director, King Hu, is the master of tension and suspense and holds the viewer's attention throughout. I cannot rate this fim highly enough. If only it were more readily available.

This an absorbing and beautiful wuxia film, and an outstanding film regardless of genre. It's rare to find a true 10/10 film, but it's a score that doesn't do this film justice.

The way the plot has been scripted and edited is sublime. The acting and direction is superb. The action choreography is spectacular.

If you have a couple of free hours, I could not recommend enough that you spend them watching this film. I hope you finish it feeling the same inordinate amount of joy that I did.

Terrible acting by all of the cast and terrible dialog albeit mediocre directing. The reason why this first "Dragon Inn" is quite famous and popular is because it's the earliest break-through of the Taiwanese martial arts and swordsmanship that was in a newer method to shoot a action movie by Taiwanese movie maker. But if by the standard of the up to date technique, it's very primitive and borderline shallow. The fighting scenes are so awkward and raw, showing strongly unnatural, poor and rigid prearranged fighting scenes, so awkward and even childish by today's standard. The acting, the make-up, the costumes all looked quite shallow, the dialog was even worse. But the English subtitles were translated pretty correct and appropriate, matching well with the Chinese language. This is a quite mediocre Taiwanese product with very poor directing and acting. It's a classic and even a cult-like Chinese swordsmanship movie, but if compare with the Japanese samurai films by the Japanese screenplay writers, their directors and the performances of the Japanese actors, this "Dragon Inn" simply looked like a child play, but if compare it with those ridiculous swordsmen and martial arts movies produced by the "Shaw Brothers" later, it still looked better.

Dragon Inn (1967) : Brief Review -

King Hu's another great Chinese Wuxia film. Hu inaugurated a new generation of Wuxia films in the 60s, and Dragon Inn has to be one of the most important films (after Come Drink With Me) to be responsible for this. If you think Come Drink With Me was short and low on action, then don't worry, Dragon Inn will fulfill your wishes. There is plenty of action and enough drama to hold you for 110 minutes. One of the major highlights of the film has to be the villain. Though he was old, it needed four swordsmen to defeat him. Actually, five. Can you believe that? Wuxia is one such action theme where you don't need a muscular villain to show his strength. He can be powerful at old age too with his martial arts skills. This film is a living and shining example of the same. Dragon Inn sees a master swordsman, Xiao, entering an inn that has been captured by powerful eunuch's men. They are after General Yu's family members, and one of Yu's lieutenants owns this inn. This Yu is a dear friend of Xiao who has called him to save General Yu's family, and they are joined by martial arts expert brother and sister's duo in this mission. Unaware of eunuch Tsao's powers, they manage to defeat his gang members, but in the end, they have to face mighty Tsao. Will they be able to defeat this old Tsao? The plot smartly moves as characters start getting involved with each other and form a nice timeline before your eyes. You get to see one action-packed sequence almost every 15 minutes, so there are no moments to take your eyes off. The film has a fantastic screenplay and fine cinematography that make it a gripping and gorgeous action saga. Hu's heroic presentation and overwhelming villain are worth every single moment of your watch time. Some of you might be aware of such films from the 50s in other genres like western and samurai, so hop on to it and you will have another great ride to remember.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

It's not quite as good as "A Touch of Zen," but "Dragon Inn" is a great film beloved by critics and fans alike. (At 111 minutes, it's also more accessible than "Zen," which is generally considered King Hu's masterpiece--but whose three-hour running time may seem daunting to the casual viewer.) Combining the legend and mythology of the Chinese swordfighter with a cinematic grandeur that could compete with anything being made in Europe or Japan at the time, its illustrious reputation is well-deserved.

Some martial arts movie fans have expressed disenchantment with the film's fight choreography, but one must bear in mind that "Dragon Inn" was made in 1967; it's hardly fair to judge it by the same standards as, say, a Jackie Chan flick. (Viewers expecting a martial confrontation every ten minutes probably *will* be disappointed, but they're missing the larger point. This is a film, not just a series of fight scenes strung together.) And the fact is that Han Ying-chieh's choreography is considerably more sophisticated--and more watchable--than the awkward clashes in "The One-Armed Swordsman," 1967's other major Chinese martial arts film. Han did an especially fine job of staging the final confrontation in a craggy mountain pass alternately shrouded in mist and flooded with dazzling sunlight. King Hu's careful selection of stunning outdoor locations and Hua Hui-ying's attentive cinematography also contributed significantly to the success of this scene.

Aficionados will note the film's long-term influence on Chinese martial arts cinema. From the obligatory white-haired villain (Pai Ying) to the young swordswoman (Shang-kuan Ling-feng) who disguises herself as a man, a number of the genre's conventions were established right here. Having said that, I think the critical adoration of King Hu at the expense of virtually every other Taiwanese director is unfortunate. Swordplay films like Joseph Kuo's "King of Kings" (see my IMDb review), Lin Fu-ti's "The Last Day of Hsianyang" (a remake of/variation on Akira Kurosawa's "The Hidden Fortress") and Pan Lei's "The Sword" (starring Wang Yu) are richly deserving of a critical reappraisal, as well.

A much better experience than "A Touch of Zen", at least for me.

Added this to my watchlist after I saw "Goodbye, Dragon Inn" and totally get why this is a pivotal piece of cinema that had to be linked to the nostalgic feeling of the theater. It's just such a beautiful film, a film that really would be appreciated fully only in a theater with 200-300 other people. The choreography is great, but of its time, the cinematography is timeless and it made me want to watch "Kung Fu Hustle" again because of the soundtrack (and not only that).

It didn't make me want to care too much about the story but nevertheless, I was there all the way. With great action and great characters.

Every die hard fan of a martial arts film MUST watch this. Subtle like a Ninja and bold like a Samurai. Bravo! 10/10

P.S: The title of my review are just two among many that drew inspiration from this film.

It reminds me of early Jackie Chan films, though this is way more over-the-top. Action scenes are good, many stunts are awesome. Most of the film is very cheesy though, some of the moments are plain cringe. Continuation is very awkward, for example, they really like to make a cut from the middle of the action scene to the next day without any conclusion of how the fight ended, or while in a fight scene suddenly moving away from one location to another in seconds. It's watchable, but I think it has aged into an unintentional comedy.