R E V I E W :   Dragon Inn

Reviewed 4/4/01 | Background | Movie Review | DVD Review | Recommendation

Background 

Tai Seng / 1992 / 99 minutes
Directed by Raymond Lee Wai-Man
Written by Tsui Hark, Cheung Taan, Hiu Wing

Tsui Hark was an especially busy man in 1992. Here are his films that saw release that year: co-directed Twin Dragons (January), directed, produced, and co-wrote Once Upon a Time in China II (April); produced and co-wrote Swordsman II (June), Dragon Inn (August), and The Wicked City (November); and produced and co-directed King of Chess (September). Oh, and The Master, which he produced and directed in 1989 or 1990, also received a release in May.

Dragon Inn is a remake of a classic King Hu film made in 1967. This film was released in Hong Kong cinemas in late August 1992 and grossed HK $21 million.

Director Lee next directed The East is Red in 1993. He made four poorly-received dramas in 1994 and 1995 (Fatal Obsession, The Other Side of the Sea, I Want to Live On, Police Confidential) before finishing up his directing career in 1996 with To Be No. 1.

Movie: plot, performances, production, rating

Plot: The evil and powerful eunuch Tsao, the de facto emperor of the Ming Dynasty, kills a military secretary who tried to inform the true emperor of the threat posed by Tsao and his East Chamber Society. Tsao sends away the military secretary's two young children, hoping that the official's right hand man, Chow, will ride to their rescue so he can eliminate him as well. Chow sends his paramour, Yau Mo-yin. She saves the children and meets Chow at Dragon Inn, a nefarious theives' lair in the middle of the desert. Before they can escape, a passel of the eunuch's henchmen arrives. Trapped at the inn by a heavy downpour, the two sides seethe, warily containing a pent-up desire to erupt in warfare. Jade, a woman whose motives are in serious doubt, is the innkeeper. She both mediates between the two sides and stirs the pot by playing one against the other while openly lusting after both Chow and Yau Mo-yin.

Performances: Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia simmers as Yau Mo-yin, keeping her emotions under control yet always on the brink of breaking loose. Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk is flighty, sensual, and silly as innkeeper Jade. Tony Leung Ka-Fai looks bemused half the time and lovingly righteous the other half. Donnie Yen Ji-Dan does not have much to do except glower and participate in one fight scene.

Production: Certain films captivate and mystify while holding me spell-bound. And I can't always put my finger on why. This film filled me with joy. I'd heard so much about it that I was afraid my expectations would be raised too high. From the opening moments, though, my eyes were dazzled. The beautiful cinematography of stunning vistas, sad sunsets, and criminally well-lit interiors is credited to Arthur Wong Arthur Wong Ngok Tai (one of my favorites) and Tom Lau Moon-Tong. William Chang Suk-Ping (a long-time colloborator of Wong Kar-Wai) and Chiu Gwok San should have received awards for the lovely and colorful art direction. My brain couldn't keep up with what was happening, and I was tempted to turn off the subtitles and just let the images and voices wash over me. But then I would have missed all the delicious interplay and flirting and double entendres and poetry. The sexual tension between Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, and Tony Leung Ka-Fai reminded me of Double Indemnity. The frame-filling action sequences are too much to absorb in a single viewing -- it's like trying to count every window as a passenger train hurtles by at 200 miles per hour. The outstanding action choreography is credited to wily veterans Ching Siu-Tung and Yuen Bun. The outrageous ending nearly catapulted me out of my seat, yet in retrospect may have been the only way to end the movie. The look and pacing of the film certainly reflect the taste of producer Tsui Hark, yet it doesn't seem fair to entirely negate the contributions of director Raymond Lee Wai-Man (despite his generally undistinguished apart-from-Hark) resume.

Rating: Category II. Well-earned for several scenes depicting explicit swordplay violence and resultant bloodshed.

DVD: look, sound, subtitles, and features

Look: The Tai Seng DVD (letterboxed at 1.85:1) is a strange combination. The source print looks like it was stored in a garbage can -- constant dirt and grain is evident. Yet the colors look quite vibrant and beautiful, and the varied color scheme comes across very well.

Sound: I listened to the mono (DD 1.0) Cantonese audio track and it sounded quite good. Also available are audio tracks in Mandarin (DD 1.0) and English (DD 2.0).

Subtitles: The white removable English subtitles are excellent, with (happily) nary a mistake in view. The font is large and easy to read. No other subtitles are provided.

Features: Eighteen chapters may be selected from an attractive menu. Interactive filmographies are provided for the Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, and Donnie Yen. The audio commentary by Ric Meyers is excellent. He identifies and gives mini-biographies of performers, explains genres, and lays out the political subtext and symbolism (which flew over my head the first time I watched it -- just goes to show the depth and greatness of the film). The film's original theatrical trailer is included, as are video release trailers for this film, Running Out of Time, Armageddon, and The Duel.

Buy, rent, or pass?

Buy. Highly recommended. A whirling dervish of a film, filled with color, emotion, and political intrigue.

 

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