You are currently displaying English
新龍門客棧 (1992)
Dragon Inn


Reviewed by: Hyomil
Date: 04/07/2011


Reviewer Score: 1

Reviewed by: Beat TG
Date: 11/12/2010
Summary: A good premise but ruined by the finale's second half

Firstly, I got to admit that I'm not a big fan of the wuxia genre, simply because I didn't start out with such movies and hence never really gotten into the hype other than for the action scenes. So it became natural for me to despise whatever was made, including this movie. I've seen it before and Donnie Yen was the only reason I watched the movie and he did a great job playing the villain. But because of his disappointingly short screen time, I felt everything else was dire. Now, years later I recently got to watch it again. I'll take back everything bad I've said since that time because it's actually pretty good.

The story progresses a bit slow at first but once it goes forward, the fun starts. And unlike many of its' counterparts, DRAGON INN doesn't have the look and feel of a typical genre effort and certainly doesn't contain overblown elements (wirework, undercranking, effects etc) that has signified the genre. Up until the ending, the pacing is consistent and there's enough time for some characters and events to build up quite nicely without the need to rush things. The cast might be the main attraction having supreme talents like Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung but Raymond Lee and Tsui Hark did flawlessly with using everyone in the cast and the result is variable but good enough. Brigitte Lin and Tony Leung plays it straight while Maggie Cheung gets exposed as the most lively character while Donnie Yen ends up being the most ruthless of them all which is always fun to watch. But overall, I thought more could've been done to make the characters stand out because the character development is uneven and the acting didn't go through at times. Particularly, Yen as the villain gets very little screen time and doesn't really show up until the ending, where things really culminate for real. Unfortunately, that's also where the OTT moments shows up which is another thing that could've been taken into consideration because there's no conjunction between it and the rest of the movie.

That said, the action was for the most part is also very good - courtesy of Ching Siu-Tung, Yuen Bun and Cheung Yiu-Sing - and ranks among the best ever done in the genre in my opinion. One thing that stroke me about the action choreography is its' precision of execution. As I said, it doesn't look too exaggerated nor overblown but is meant to showcase the techniques of each fighter as to show that the choreography isn't about flashiness and of how the wirework was used. Apart from Donnie Yen (the icing of the cake) and few other familiar faces of the HK screenfighting community of whom did justice to the action choreography, even Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung were used to great effect and managed to bring good action performances (although their stunt doubles deserve more credit since the doubling for them was so heavy).

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: ewaffle
Date: 06/23/2007

This is a wonderful movie that one can enjoy on many levels. It has an outstanding cast with four great actors at or approaching the top of their game, startling cinematography that shows both the sweep of the desolate plain where the Inn is located and also its claustrophobic interior, a script that does justice to both the its wuxia basis and also the delicate interplay between the well drawn and believable characters. Donnie Yen as the power mad eunuch Tsao Siu-yan is the embodiment of evil. Chow Wai-on, played by Tony Leung Ka-fai is his opposite, a noble swordsman willing to sacrifice his life for his duty. Brigitte Lin as Yau Mok Sau is sexy, tough, noble and very adept with her sword. Maggie Cheung as Gam Seung Yuk is sexy, tough, crafty and adept with all her weapons, including her body.

Terrific action throughout the movie but especially in the first 20 minutes as the rebels fight a desperate rear guard action against the eunuch’s forces and barely escape with their lives and the lives of the two young children of the last of Tsao’s rivals. The ultra-violent and astonishingly well shot final battle scene involves all four of the leads—it is a running fight that we see from seemingly every angle possible. It looks impossible—the stills are breathtaking—and must have been exhausting to film.

There is a competitive strip-tease scene between Maggie and Brigitte that beggars description—Brigitte wins this round but the audience knows that there is more conflict to come between them. There is the gruesome yet delightfully matter of fact way that Maggie ensures there will be meat for her paying guests—by occasionally seducing one of them, then dumping him into the basement where her cooks wait to carve him up. It is up to the viewer to decide whether being debauched by Maggie Cheung would be worth a quick trip to the butcher’s block. There is enough well choreographed action to please the most discerning wuxia pien aficionado, romance, betrayal, heroism and even a bit of history. Raymond Lee Wai-Man knits it all together seamlessly. And while this may seem to be faint praise or a negative virtue, there is no stupid clowning around for comic relief. The lighting in some of the interiors of the Inn is dark enough to be almost indistinct but not for long enough to be intrusive. Both Moon Tong Lau and Arthur Wong receive credit as cinematographer and whoever was behind the camera during those interior shots is a real master of using a fluid camera in a tight setting.

Highly recommended.


Reviewed by: STSH
Date: 04/04/2006
Summary: Eastern Western

Has big clear subtitles - a pleasure to be able to read them without squinting or glasses. The phrase "Eastern Western" comes irresistably to mind. Heavy samurai overtones here. And shades of Sweeney Todd (or a rehearsal for The Untold Story, perhaps ?) in the kitchen when they serve roast lamb with not a sheep in sight.

Stylish, well-filmed with some good flying-people action scenes, as Tsui Hark's name guarantees, but not one of Tsui's best, and very depressing (even though some of the main characters survive at the end). Still, better than average. Clear and deliberate homage to the original Dragon Inn, but it gets more and more like The Moon Warriors towards the end.

Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: Arshadnm6
Date: 04/22/2005
Summary: An Ensemble of Cast and super choreographed swordplay in the middle of a wasteland......

Raymond Lee (director of ‘Swordsman 3: East is Red’ and co-director of ‘Swordsman’) directs a Ming Dynasty swordplay epic with a huge cast of well-known actors and apparently Donnie Yen playing the Evil Eunuch hell-bent on taking power over the kingdom.

Once again we have those no-good eunuchs raising hell in china, the only difference is that they’re in the middle of a desert on no-mans land!! Set during the Ming Dynasty, Dragon Inn is based on the events during the oppressive reign of the East Chamber, led by a powerful eunuch by the name of ‘Tsao Sui-Yan’ (Donnie Yen). The larger part of Dragon Inn is infused with stunning fight pieces, superior acting, political insights and morals and obviously the catfight between Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin. Basically, two warriors by the name of ‘Chow Wai-On’ (Tony Leung) and ‘Yau Mo-Yin’ (Brigitte Lin) save two innocent children, from the lineage of a prominent general, and find refuge in an awkward Inn (naturally ‘Dragon Inn’), a sort of rundown motel in the middle of a barren wasteland. The obvious kidnappers responsible were the members of the East Chamber and the fiendish power-mad Eunuch.

Finally arriving at the Inn, the two heroes meet the owner of the Inn, a sexy mysterious enchantress by the name of ‘Jade’ (played by Maggie Cheung from other recognizable roles in ‘Dragon from Russia’ and ‘As Tears go by’). Jade is a secretive spy-type who doesn’t mind offing the odd one or two fellow’s in order to make a tasty meal, Yau Mo-Yin quickly picks up on the curious distinction that there are no animals in the restaurant, which is placed in the middle of a desert, probably 2000 leagues from the nearest town, although the Inn has a vast supply of meat. Eventually from the dodgy expressions of the cook and the owner you can probably guess that the meat being served is human. Soon enough, the hopelessly disguised East Chamber thugs end up staying at the Inn, inevitably engaging in a game of Cat and Mouse with the suspicious young rebels. In the hope of getting out of the Inn safely the young rebels side with the Innkeeper, oblivious to the fact that the Innkeeper has a secret passage that only she knows about. Although Jade is tempted by the sweet offer of a huge reward for helping the East Chamber Goons, will the lure of earthly riches pull her away from the young heroes or will nobility and righteousness be the victor, only time will tell!!
The picture was produced by Tsui Hark and it shows with the evident ensemble of cast: Tony Leung Ka-Fai as the skilful noble and Leung’s comrade in arms ‘Brigitte Lin’, dressed up as usual in male clothing. Yau Mo-Yin has hidden feelings for Chow Wai-On, but it is never obvious until when the seductive Jade (innkeeper) takes interest in Chow and tries to seduce him. Donnie Yen shows up in the beginning and the end of the movie, but really only gets about 10 minutes of screen-time, but possesses a special swordplay technique that can turn desert sand into dangerous heralding bullets. The last fight is well choreographed which is expected, with Yau, Jade and Chow taking on the evil Eunuch Tsao. But as surprising as it is, the one person to defeat Tsao turns out to be the Dragon Inn cook, a young teenager trained vigorously in the fine art of butchery, yeah right!! The disappointment being that hardly an introduction or character development was bestowed on the young cook, so his entrance in the last fight can only be regarded as a last minute change of plan in the storyline for Tsui Hark / Raymond Lee. Either that or they lost the last few pages of the storyline and so miraculously came up with this laughable display.
Since the names Tsui Hark and Donnie Yen are plastered on the front cover, the fight scenes are no doubt entertaining and as the film progressed they become exceedingly violent and physically demanding. Parts of the movie can get boring, too atmospheric and predictable but all is not lost, since Donnie Yen shows up in the films ultra-gory and all-hell-breaks-loose finale. Certainly the rest of the cast deserve some credit for the success of the film, but some background to the characters would have helped with the storyline. Also the lightning effects and rainstorms (surprising in the middle of a desert with sand storms occurring every half an hour) were meagre at best and should have been left out.

Overall Rating: 6.9/10

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: mrblue
Date: 09/25/2003

During a tulmultious time in China's history, it is the eunuchs (court adivsors) who held the most power. A group known as the "East Corridor" led by the vicious Tsao (Donnie Yen) begins killing high-ranking officials in order to make a bid for the emperor's throne. To bring out one of the top officials, Chow Wai-On (Tony Leung), Tsao kills another official and uses his two orphaned children as bait. Chow realizes saving the children is a trap, and so sends a group of mercenaries led by his lover Yau Mo-Yan (Brigette Lin). The mercenaries rescue the children and attempt to make their getaway through the desert, but inclement weather forces them to stay at the Dragon Inn, a crossroads for thieves at the edge of civilization run by the wily Jade King (Maggie Cheung). Soon, the weather isolates both the mercenaries and Tsao's troops at the Inn, and it is only a matter of time before the two groups clash.


Dragon Inn -- a loose remake of King Hu's classic Dragon Gate Inn -- is just a great movie from beginning to end. It is one of those rare films where not one single scene, or even a single moment, seems wasted. Every scene, every line brings the story forward, fills in information about the characters and interests the viewer. A lot of recent movies could take a few lessons from this film on the importance of scriptwriting and editing. At around 100 minutes, it is one of the shorter wuxia films I have seen, but it is undeniably one of the most powerful. From the first sequence where Tsao is testing new weapons on a group of unlucky prisoners to the final clash in the desert between Tsao, Chow, Yau, Jade King and a cannibalistic chef (did I forget to mention him? Yes, there's also quite a bit of horror and gore in this movie as well), Dragon Inn not only attracts the viewer's attention, it commands it. Everything is intergrated seamlessly here; the cinematography, editing and musical score making the techincal side solid as a rock, and an all-star cast delivering great performances along with some stunning action sequences courtesy of Ching Siu-Tung and Yuen Bun (probably two of the most under-rated personalities in the Hong Kong film industry) filling in things nicely on the other side of the (filmic) coin.

So why doesn't Dragon Inn warrant a perfect 10? Unfortunately, it is a case of your intrepid reviewer's weak understanding of Cantonese. The subtitles on most video versions are horrible -- the VCD I watched was no exception -- and there was many times I was reconsitiuting the subtitles into something legible in my head rather than concentrating on the movie proper. Perhaps over time, I will raise the rating and it will join that upper echelon -- it certainly has the goods to do so. At any rate, if you consider yourself a martial arts/swordsplay fan and haven't seen this movie, do so now. It's better than a lot of recent over-hyped films and is well worth your time.


Reviewed by: balstino
Date: 05/02/2003
Summary: Very good film, great characters....

I really like this, Maggie Cheung's character had me in stitches as did the main government official (just with his laughing!). The martial arts inspired movements are excellent and the fights are good. The film starts a bit wierdly but believe me, follow the whole thing through and you will want to watch it again.


Reviewed by: Kyashan
Date: 01/01/2003
Summary: Uhm...

I just watched this movie some days ago and honestly I don't liked so much how I heared to talk about. That's a good swordfight movie, but the end was so fast and silly.

Anyway I can fix ranting 6.5/10


Reviewed by: Inner Strength
Date: 01/12/2002
Summary: GREAT

A film that very much inspired Ashes Of Time I think, a great fantasy stlye movie which is in its own world. Not a hyped movie, so don't expect constant action.

Rating (out of 5): 3.5

(This rating is based on the year & genre, so don't think it's based as a comparison on new releases etc.)


Reviewed by: sharon
Date: 07/18/2001
Summary: WONDERFUL

A spectacular film! Dynamic performances from Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung and Brigette Lin. From the instant the movie had started, it was sure to be a classic. There are several martial artist in the films and behind the camera as well.

The story line is easy to follow, and although it appears to be typical, the suspense builds quickly. Of course, another feature of the film is how gruesome some scenes are. It isn't too bad, but definetly something to make a face at!

THis is a film filled with suspense, it's sexy, romantic, and highly entertaining.


Reviewed by: Buckeyez
Date: 07/05/2001
Summary: Wow...amazing!

This is definitely the DVD to own...(being completely disappointed and disgusted with "Ashes of Time" by Kar-wai Wong), "Dragon Inn" a film credited to Tsui Hark has restored my faith in action/martial arts fantasy films. Stunning cinematography, interesting and engaging storyline, and something that most other movies seem to lack and that is a general depth and interest for the characters. In "Dragon Inn" we actually feel and care about the protagonist and his love, and the third pawn, the beautiful owner of the Dragon Inn.

The sword fighting scene is spectacular. Every movement is "balletic" in the sense of being graceful and streaming. The inclusion of "traditional period-piece music" in the scenes was euphonic. The special effects were dazzling. The cast is indeed talented, how many people out there can actually do both acting and being athletic. The triangular aura between Brigitte, Maggie and Tony ignites a spark all on its own whether its Brigitte and Tony or Maggie and Tony or even Brigitte with Maggie...its almost Freudian. Lots of action films lose their audience because the ending becomes all too predictable. The action in Dragon Inn does not disappoint and doesn't lose any integrity with the audience from the beginning to the finale. Furthermore, the power of the Dragon Inn is that suddenly we realize that we are connected...Wow...


Reviewed by: GenXcops_Jack
Date: 07/03/2001
Summary: if u like swordsman moview check out Bichunmoo

just check it out, must see if u like swordsman movies of this sort.


Reviewed by: Trigger
Date: 05/29/2001
Summary: Must Own title.

At first I thought it was a bit boring until they actually got to the Dragon Inn... then it suddenly got really interesting. Wow - what a great flick. It continued to get progressively better as it went on and culminated in this great fight scene at the end. I was impressed. Thumbs up from me on this one, but I had to warm up to it. Worth a purchase in my opinion. As others have said - it's for people who like the Swordsman 2 film. It is very similar to East Is Red (Swordsman 3) with regard to being soaked with political metaphors concerning the handover - East Is Red is worse though and fails to provide a good story and action where Dragon Inn succeeds.

The DVD from Tai Seng has DD 1.0 CAN and MAN and also stereo ENG (which is completely worthless)... the sound is mediocre. The subs were running off the screen a little and perhaps could've been a bit smaller. They were well done though as far as grammar and spelling and translation goes (I can only imagine the translation is fairly accurate). The image is a bit dirty, but it's in widescreen and it looks good enough. This disc is called "Special Edition", but the only thing special about it is that a commentary by a Hong Kong movie expert is added. The commentary is very interesting though.

Seen on: Tai Seng DVD
Rating: Movie - 7.8/10

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 05/27/2001
Summary: One of the early 90's best films

DRAGON INN (1992) - Similar to Swordsman II, but less blue and more desert, basically. It's about an inn near the border in the desert, where a bunch of rebels and nasty officials end up together, with much plotting and espionage going on between them. Maggie Cheung plays the sassy inn keeper caught up in the middle.

It's an excellent film - one of the best of the 90's wuxia films. The action choreography is some of Ching Siu-Tung's best, and it's all filmed very stylishly. Sets, locations and costumes are all great. The script is good too (containing lots of King Hu intrigue and character politics). There is no question that you should buy it!

Reviewer Score: 10

Reviewed by: CountFloyd
Date: 05/21/2001
Summary: Slow pacing for a Tsui Hark film.

I consider myself a huge Tsui Hark fan. Especially his work in Kung Fu Fantasy. This film left me feeling a bit disappointed. The story itself is fine but the pacing of the action is slow. There is a cool fight scene near the start and a unique one at the end but little else in between. Once the main characters reach the Dragon Inn you can almost hear the action brakes squealing.
Maggie Cheung is her ever sexy self as the owner of the Dragon Inn. I am always
attracted to Brigitte Lin yet in the films I've seen her in she seldom smiles or tries to look sexy. Yet she is.
Donnie Yen gets very little to do as the villian but the final scene is a must see. This film is slow for a Tsui Hark film so keep your fast forward finger ready.

Count Floyd


Reviewed by: Sydneyguy
Date: 05/08/2001
Summary: A movie that i should of liked more!!

I had high expectations of this movie and it sort of met them. I think the main problem with this movie is that it lacks intensity and doesn't pull off scenes that it should of!! It doesn't have the impact it should of. Instead of going "Damn that was quick thinking" you go "Ah ha.............."
What a shame!! The story is good but the actors don't pull it off!!
What for the last fight scenes, it's great!!

7.25/10

Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: nomoretitanic
Date: 04/21/2001
Summary: So Short

I usually like movies that take place within a short period of time: those Die Hard movies, Do the Right Thing, Magnolia, Bring Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction...etc. I don't recall seeing as many Chinese movies in the same forms, well I guess Dragon Inn is one of them. IT takes place over two days in this shady inn and tension builds and explodes then explodes again and again.

Some stories really shouldn't be told in a short period. This is one of them. The movie really seems like a climax with little build up. The background story is told through an execution sequence in the beginning where the executed good guy accuses the evil eunuchs of doing evil things, to, more or less, the audience. So we'd know why they're so evil. The characters are very underdeveloped. Some good chemistry but you can only go so far with that. The fight scenes are good solid wuxia, flying stuff, but they're way too short. They serve little purposes, since we only hate the villains because the movie tells us to, but nothing against them otherwise. The good guys belong to that cowboy genre where there are a lot of mysteries and past stories that remain untold, well that's a stupid (or lazy) decision because I ended up not caring for them very much. Those two lil' kids were awful actors.

The ending is pretty typical I guess, no twist nor nothing, just some bad special effects. That's the prob I have with all Hark Tsui movies, always so ambitious and always fall short.


Reviewed by: jean yves
Date: 01/07/2001
Summary: Different Opinion

I suppose this one did have some strong points, but in general I thought it was a pretty gaudy, cheesy updating of King Hu's awesome 1966 Dragon Gate Inn. Maggie Cheung and her weasely little henchman kill, butcher and serve people in their inn, and we're supposed to cheer for them? Very dumb ending (with very cheesy fx) to the final fight scene (let's just say it involves said weasely henchman). I liked a LOT of 90's HK kungfu flicks better than this one. Poor King Hu is probably turning over in his grave knowing that THIS version is widely available, and his original is nowhere to be found.


Reviewed by: pjshimmer
Date: 11/11/2000
Summary: 1 of the best! Unforgettable

Even though quality of the video I got is trashcan worthy and the languages was in Cantonese, which I do not speak, I loved "Dragon Inn"! The fact that Brigitte Lin is my favorite actress of all time and Tony Leung's fabulous performance, plus the outstanding sword fights and a unique storyline make this one of the stand-outs of the early 90's. Better than 90% of all period movies out there. I loved the part how Brigitte and Tony's characters tricked the general into believing that they were from the capital and that the Eunuch's guys are the criminals, when Tony is actually the one wanted. That, along with Maggie Cheung's character's hilarious style of life prevented the movie from taking everything so serious, which made it extremely fun to watch! [9/10]


Reviewed by: grimes
Date: 04/08/2000

This movie is so cool. Excellent action scenes, excellent music, excellent direction, excellent acting. This movie is definitely one of my all-time favorite kungfu films.

Donnie Yen is the evil Eunuch Tsao, who has more or less taken over the government. Tony Leung Ka-Fai is a general (?) who is working against him, along with his lover (girlfriend? fiancee? This is never made clear) Brigitte Lin. Donnie Yen sets up a situation where Tony Leung is forced to come to the rescue of a murdered friend's children. He, Brigitte, the children and some helpers all end up at the Dragon Inn, owned by Maggie Cheung. Soon after they arrive, a whole pack of the eunuch's henchman arrive. The good guys want to leave and make a run for the border but rain traps them in the inn.

Part of what makes this film so great is the constant interplay between the three factions, Tony & Briggite (the good guys), the eunuch's men (the bad guys), and Maggie and her employees (the ? guys). Maggie play an amoral kungfu vixen who is out to pursue her own pleasure (and cash), attempting to seduce Tony Leung but willing to betray him for a better offer.

The tension between the groups reminded me somewhat of the classic murdery mystery plot of "someone gets murdered at a dinner party in an old mansion and the remaining guests are trapped there, with the murderer." This movie employs an essentially similar device, for excellent effect. None of the factions is capable of outright attacking the other, because none know exactly how strong their opponents are on, in addition to the fact that nobody knows which side Maggie's faction is on. This leads to some hilarious scenes of people sneaking around the inn, each trying to gain the upper hand against their opponents.

This film also has a fantastic final battle scene involving all the main characters. Unfortunately, this is the only time Donnie Yen gets any screen time, which is too bad but doesn't really hurt the film. The direction during this scene does a perfect job of creating a high tension fight without being so quick as to obscure what is happening.

The dramatic interest in the film comes from Maggie Cheung. Her character wants to seduce Tony, who loves only Brigitte. However, he needs her help so he has to play along, at least somewhat, which doesn't thrill Brigitte all that much. This works very well with the rest of the film, as even these scenes add to the tension. We wonder what Tony will do to secure Maggie's cooperation.

For some bizarre reason, Maggie appeared to be dubbed in the version I saw. I don't know why this was done since all the other characters were not. Even stranger was the fact that the person who did the dubbing actually did a decent job of acting so it's not really that bad, though I still would have preferred to hear Maggie's voice.

All in all, this film is very highly recommended. It is my favorite serious kungfu film that I have seen so far.


Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/08/1999

This critically acclaimed Tsui Hark production takes place during the Ming Dynasty. A power-hungry Eunuch employs the evil Eastern Chamber Sect in his quest to single-handedly rule China. However, a warrior named Chow is opposed to his corrupt ambitions and joins a group of warriors aiming to resist the Sect. The two forces eventually battle it out at the Dragon Inn, hosted by murderous bandit Jade. An extravagant climax, featuring dizzying acrobatics and masterful fight sequences.

[Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]


Reviewed by: spinali
Date: 12/08/1999
Summary: NULL

Tsui Hark directed this tense epic centering on the balance of power between eunuchs and Imperial forces in feudal China. Maggie Cheung is the inn-keeper who occasionally cooks surly customers and serves them up as pork, Brigitte Lin is the poised and gorgeous martial artist, and swordsman Leung Ka Fai the romantic interest.

(3/4)



[Reviewed by Steve Spinali]

Reviewer Score: 7