Dragon Inn (1967)

Excellent, a Must See

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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.

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.

I watched this film at a university club for foreign students in 1970, more-or-less by accident. I was awestruck, and the people who saw it with me discussed it for days after. Decades later, when I joined a group to see the acclaimed new film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," I confounded my friends by muttering "Seen that," "Old hat," and "I thought this film was supposed to be ground-breaking?" at intervals throughout. I'd kill to have a DVD of the 1966 film. It was a great introduction to Chinese martial arts movies and their conventions (e.g., the traditional inn-wrecking scene). The humor of the scene where all these tough, hard-bitten warriors suddenly hold an impromptu psychoanalytical intervention for their most introverted member still makes me grin. If you get a chance, see it!

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.