Archival Print!

Introduced by Chris Berry

(Longmen Kezhan, a.k.a. Dragon Gate Inn). Set in the middle of the Ming dynasty (1457), Dragon Inn features a female knight who, along with her brother, attempts to defend the children of an assassinated minister who have been exiled to the remote Dragon Inn. The final battle fought between the Emperor's ruthless Eastern Agency and the motley resistance is a spectacular display. Here Hu invigorates the swordplay genre by drawing on Beijing Opera traditions, choreographing the film to the percussive rhythms of the traditional stage. "The inn is a staple ingredient of the Chinese action film, but Hu's use of its watering-hole qualities is consistently charged. (His) special gift (is) for the pregnant, violence-charged calm before the storm-precariously balanced between humor and drama" (Derek Elley).