Dragon Inn

1967 [CHINESE]

Action / Adventure

14
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 100% · 25 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 85% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 3972 4K

martial arts kung fu eunuch inn wuxia 15th century

Plot summary

China, year 1457. The Minister of Defense is executed, and his children are sentenced to exile by order of the tyrannical Tsao. Fearful of future revenge from the young people, Tsao sends cruel soldiers to murder them, but a brave group of swordsmen can change the course of the battle at the Dragon Inn.

720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
904 MB
1280*544
Chinese 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 3
1.74 GB
1920*816
Chinese 2.0
NR
Subtitles
23.976 fps
1 hr 51 min
Seeds 21

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Uriah43 6 / 10

An Action Film with Lots of Sword Fighting and Martial Arts

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.
Reviewed by Oslo_Jargo 6 / 10

Inn of the Red Dragon - A highly overrated film

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*Plot analyzed*

Dragon Inn (1967) is a highly overrated film. There's a few things to like in it, such as the cast of weird characters, the desert of the setting, and the lush color. Other than that, it rambles on with too much tedious monologue.

There is also an annoying female who chops up swordsmen with ease. The fight choreography is average, inviting scrutiny. It doesn't sit well that they defeat an entourage of guards.

Still, it's worth a look. But don't expect a good classic like it is played out to be.

Reviewed by ckormos1 8 / 10

Simply one of the best martial arts movies

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.

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