Dragon Inn
Polly Kuan, Hsu Feng, Shih Jun
Director: King Hu
Wuxia, the world of martial arts, is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. None understood that better than Beijing-born director King Hu, who made a classic series of swordfighting films between 1967 and 1979. Hu's films not only drew on martial arts stories, in which he was well read, but also literary masterpieces such as Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio and from Peking opera.
His 1971 masterpiece A Touch of Zen, a transcendental mixture of Buddhist philosophy and martial arts, made him the first Chinese director to achieve success on the film festival circuit. Hu elevated martial arts films to an art form and made many technical innovations. He is one of the most influential directors of all time.
Dragon Inn, which Hu made for the Taiwan-based Union Film Company, was his second martial arts film. It followed the earlier successful Shaw Bros movie Come Drink With Me. Like most of Hu's swordfighting films, it is set in the Ming dynasty. The story revolves around a band of swordsmen who fight a group of evil imperial eunuchs to save the family of an honest minister. The action is set in and around the isolated inn that gives its name to the film.
All of Hu's trademarks are present in Dragon Inn. Hu loved Peking opera and adapted its fluid movements to movies. The action scenes in Dragon Inn are elegant and dance-like, and contrast heavily with the visceral fight scenes of his influential contemporary Chang Cheh (The One-Armed Swordsman).
Zen jumping - in which the characters leap long distances through the air - is a staple of Hu's films. Hu and his martial arts director, Han Yingjie, achieved this effect by using trampolines and skilful editing. Most importantly, Hu was the first martial arts director to use modern camera techniques. Previously, directors of martial arts films rarely moved the camera.