A Estalagem do Dragão

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.

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

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.

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.