Dragon Inn
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Theatrical Screenings
Muranów
Muranów
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Film description
Ming dynasty. The evil emperor's chief eunuch, Cao Shaoqin, has the loyal Minister of Defense, Yu Qian, executed, and his children exiled from China. As they and embark on a journey toward the western border, Cao sends his best agent to eliminate the Minister's offspring. They all meet at the Dragon Inn by the border, which becomes the stage for plotting, intrigue, and a series of scuffles.
"Dragon Inn," King Hu's Taiwanese debut, sets him apart from other wuxia creators. The first masterpiece by the emerging master challenges the hegemony of Hong Kong as the capital of genre cinema, setting new standards for thinking about film language and fight scenes choreography. By confining the film to the enclosed space of the inn, Hu displays his production mastery and perfect slapstick timing. The inn turns into a spinning scene filled with flying objects, that hosts both comedic gags and fascinating duels – the latter can still surprise us with the precision of the master's eye.
text:
Łukasz Mańkowski
King Hu
Born in Beijing in 1932, grew up surrounded by classical Chinese painting and literature. At the age of 18, he moved to Hong Kong to create advertising posters, then went on to work for the famous Shaw Brothers Studio. After the success of "Come Drink With Me," a film that revolutionized the genre of wuxia, he moved to Taiwan to shoot "Dragon Inn," which enjoyed an enthusiastic reception. His next film, "A Touch of Zen," took three years to make and is widely considered to be his masterpiece. Hu's subsequent productions, shot in various locations including South Korea, form part of the ambitious wuxia canon but remain fairly unknown outside of Asia. King Hu is regarded as the visionary of action cinema who created the trends that remain present in mainstream productions to this day.
1966 Napij się ze mną / Da zui xia / Come Drink with me
1967 Dragon Inn / Long meh kezhan / Dragon Gate Inn
1971 Dotyk zen / Xia nu / A Touch of Zen
1973 Ying chun gez hi / The Fate of Lee Khan
1979 Deszcz w górach / Kong shan ling yu / Raining in the Mountain
1979 Legenda gór / Shan zhong zhuan qi / Legend of the Mountain
1983 Koło życia / Da lunhui / The Wheel of Life (jedna z nowel)
1993 Hua pi zhi: Yin yang fa wang / Painted Skin