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Product details
Aspect Ratio
:
2.35:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
:
No
MPAA rating
:
NR (Not Rated)
Package Dimensions
:
6.69 x 5.28 x 0.63 inches; 4.94 ounces
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Dragon Inn is a movie I hadn't heard of until very recently. I saw the release A Touch of Zen and knew of its reputation. I felt like adding more to my movie collection so I picked up this movie too. I really wasn't disappointed.
This beautiful piece of cinematic history was made in Thailand and features the kind of gorgeous landscapes we've come to expect from a country on that side of the world. It was written and directed by King Hu, was produced by LS Chang, features music by Lan-Ping Chow and wonderful cinematography by Hui-Ying Hua. The film stars the beautiful Lingfeng Shangguan, Chun Shih, Chien Tsao and more. It was released through Union Film Company all the way back in 1967.
The plot of the movie is pretty basic and is very easy to follow. The bad guy, who goes by the name of Tsao. Well, this bloke is the emperor's first eunuch and he bested his political opposition, this hairy dude called General Yu. Because of this victory, Yu was beheaded and his children were exiled from China. Tsao sets in motion a plan for the children to be murdered on their way out of the country. Whilst holed up in the Dragon Gate Inn, Tsao's secret police end up in a confrontation with a number of skilled swordsman. These include the children of Yu's lieutenant, a former lieutenant to the General called Wu Ning and a martial arts expert. This situation causes a high amount of tension and eventually boils over into some great action sequences.
As a movie, it's clearly very dated but highly enjoyable. The plot is nice and simple, I thought it was easy to follow and flowed reasonably well. The action sequences were surprisingly good for their time. Sword fighting in movies tends to look a bit limp in older films, but this film seems to be reasonably well choreographed and holds up rather well. The use of bows and arrows in the film is a bit laughable. Half of the arrows barely take flight and end up crashing into the ground. You can see the odd cut of someone taking a handful of arrows and lobbing them past the camera. It's about as deadly looking as a litter of puppies. You still can't deny the influence this film clearly has had on the film industry. There's a lot of tropes in this movie that are very much common place in modern Chinese cinema and have held up well.
This print of the movie from Eureka! and Masters of Cinema looks really good, in my opinion. I thought the picture quality was nice and sharp for the majority of the film. The details in the clothing, sets, landscapes etc were absolutely spot on. The colour had a bit of a yellow tint to it, but this seems to be a common occurrence with films from a certain generation. It didn't take anything away from the nice use of colours and didn't distract at all. I saw very little damage to the print and would say that this version of the movie (though I've never seen it until now), it should please fans.
Dragon Inn is a very good movie. It's got a nice bit of tension and a lot of action. It's a bit lengthy (just under two hours) but goes by rather quickly. If you're a fan of Wuxia (I believe it's called), I can't see you complaining at all. This is a great copy of this movie and I'm glad I picked it up.
Film che conoscevo solo di nome, mi ha attratto l'edizione che contiene sia il dvd che il blu ray. Il film in sé è stupendo, l'edizione accurata, e integrale. Per chi ama i classici del kung fu vale la pena, è da collezionare. Ovviamente si parla di un'edizione con sottotitoli in inglese, per un mercato più ampio, e i sottotitoli hanno una traduzione accurata. Non è il solo titolo della serie, e spero ne usciranno molti altri.
King Hu est un artiste majeur du cinéma chinois, tout d'abord acteur, il passera ensuite derrière la caméra. Dragon Inn est un film qui se boit comme du petit lait, ou plutôt du thé. Le cinéaste en profite pour peaufiner son rythme, son sens du suspens, ses scènes d'actions et de combat, puisque le récit se déroule principalement dans un seul et unique lieu, une auberge perdue à la frontière chinoise, la porte du Dragon. Dans cet endroit clos se retrouveront deux groupes ennemis, chacun ayant une mission, les uns devant sauver une famille d'un haut fonctionnaire récemment assassiné par le pouvoir, l'autre à pour but le contraire, l'assassinat. Les protagonistes ne se connaissant pas, le début du film sera tout en tension, en observation, en faux début de combat, en feintes, ruses, tromperies. King Hu peut alors déballer toute sa palette, montrer sa maîtrise totale dans les domaines cités ci-dessus, sans oublier l'utilisation du seul et même décor à l'infini et son interaction avec les combattants, comme les asiatiques savent si bien faire. On pense notamment à Jackie Chan (qui a tourné tout jeune avec Hu justement) ou encore Tigre et Dragon. C'est une démonstration sur comment faire de l'Action. En faire un Art. Le film est parfait pour se lancer dans la filmo du grand maître, facile d'accès, toujours rythmé. Ce sera l'échauffement pour le chef d'oeuvre de Hu, A Touch Of Zen, toujours chez Carlotta, où le cinéaste reprendra les mêmes ingrédients, en encore mieux, et avec une touche (comme son nom l'indique) de philosophie bouddhiste, rendant l'oeuvre beaucoup plus ambitieuse et d'un niveau beaucoup plus haut.
P.S. : bonne restauration, l'image saute deux ou trois fois très rapidement, mais c'est très correct dans l'ensemble, son assez strident par contre.
![Dragon Inn (1967) [Masters of Cinema] Dual Format](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51DIbLazsXL._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
