Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 6, 2016

King Hu's "Dragon Inn" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include a newly restored trailer; archival footage from the film's premiere in Taiwan; and new visual essay by critic David Cairns. The release also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring writings on the film and technical credits. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Swordsmen

It is the eighth year of the Jinghtai Era during the Ming dynasty and powerful eunuchs have taken over the Chinese government. The country’s two most important agencies are the Eastern Agency and Imperial Guards.

The leader of the Eastern Agency, Zhao Shao Qin, executes the supposedly corrupt Minister of Defense, Yu Qian, and publicly announces that his children will be exiled at the remote outpost Dragon Inn. However, Zhao Shao Qin also secretly orders his top assassins to meet the children at Dragon Inn and kill them.

Soon after, the traveling swordsman Xiao Shaozi arrives at Dragon Inn where Zhao Shao Qin’s assassins are patiently waiting for their targets to appear. The swordsman annoys them and they attempt to poison him, but he repeatedly outsmarts them. (Some of the film’s most entertaining scenes are during their quarrels). The assassins’ plan is further complicated when two new swordsmen, the Zhu brothers, arrive and announce that they will spend a few days in Dragon Inn. Convinced that Xiao Shaozi and the Zhu brothers have been sent to save Yu Qian’s children, the assassins decide to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

The major conflict is easy to understand -- Zhao Shao Qin wants Yu Qian’s children killed because he fears that if they are left alive one day they will come after him -- but there are a number of subplots that unnecessarily complicate the relationships between some of the characters and at one point it becomes almost impossible to figure out the exact motives behind their decisions. Indeed, it seems like many of them begin to trust their instincts, but what they sense and see frequently remains a mystery. Needless to say, there are large parts of the film that look and feel rather awkward.

But does the story in a wuxia film of this caliber actually matter? The answer to this question will determine whether one enthusiastically embraces the film or walks away from it underwhelmed.

There are undoubtedly some very impressively choreographed fights, but after a while it begins to look like the film is running out of tricks. There is a simple cycle -- the good and the bad guys clash and the good guys always emerge victorious because they are always smarter and more athletic -- that is repeated multiple times until there are no more jumps, kicks, and spins left to do while holding some sort of a weapon.

Director King Hu completed Dragon Inn in 1967. The film earned excellent reviews and quickly became an international box office sensation. Three year later, King Hu directed A Touch of Zen, which won the Technical Grand Prize award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Eureka Entertainment’s release of Dragon Inn is sourced from a new 4K restoration which is part of the “Taiwan Film Classics Digital Restoration and Value-Adding Project” commissioned by the Ministry of Culture to Chinese Taipei Film Archive in 2013. The restoration was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata and introduced at Cannes Classics in 2014.

Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, King Hu's Dragon Inn arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release uses as a foundation the recent 4K restoration of Dragon Inn, which was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata and introduced at Cannes Classics in 2014. The film's director of photography, Mr. Hua Hui-Ying, was involved with the restoration and supervised the color grading.

I have mixed feelings about the new restoration. Very large portions of the film boast excellent depth and clarity. There is terrific natural sharpness and fluidity is as good as one can expect it to be for a film of this caliber. Also, despite some minor fluctuations the grain is very well distributed and resolved. Unfortunately, the film has an unusual contemporary color scheme that has introduced some anomalies. For example, there are various sequences where the blacks appear elevated in a manner that creates the impression that a filter of some sort has been applied and as a result the dynamic range suffers. The effect can be easily seen during daylight and nighttime sequences (see screencaptures #13, 23, and 25). Obviously, some natural density fluctuations are to be expected, but the awkward balance is certainly responsible for the noticeable flatness. Furthermore, there is a shift towards unnaturally warm color tonalities, and yellows, greens, and reds appear in some very unusual variations (you can see examples in screencaptures #17, 28, and 29). The end result is unappealing and unconvincing. Image stability is excellent. There are no large cuts, damage marks, debris, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Mandarin LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The sound is unusually thin and depth is average at best. My feeling, however, is that the film's original sound design is in fact extremely modest and at least some of these limitations are inherited. There are no distortions in the high-frequencies. Also, there are no pops, cracks, or distracting background hiss.

Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Dragon Inn. In Mandarin, with printed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Premiere Newsreel - archival footage from the film's premiere in Taipei, Taiwan. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• David Cairns - in this brand new visual essay, critic David Cairns deconstructs Dragon Inn and discusses its production history. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Booklet - 36-page illustrated booklet featuring a testimonial about King Hu by Tsui Hark (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame)l the eight characteristics of "the inn" in King Hu's films; a King Hu dossierl archival imagery; and more.

Dragon Inn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The energy on display in this classic wuxia film from director King Hu can be quite impressive at times, but the story it tells is rather underwhelming. These types of films, however, traditionally favor style over substance. The film has been recently restored in 4K, but I think that the end result is unappealing and unconvincing. Still, fans of the film should consider adding the Blu-ray release to their collections as it will remain its definitive presentation.