Directed by Tsui Hark who brought us "Once Upon a Time in China" series with Jet Li, this 1992 Hong Kong flick is a breathtaking piece of work. Some may find the plot centering around the evacuation from the mysterious inn in the middle of the desert boring, but the all-star cast and the choreography make up for it. Definitely worth owning it on DVD.
Near the end of the Ming Dynasty. China suffers under the oppressive rule of the East Chamber, ran by Eunuch Tsao. He kills one of the righteous government officials, but set his children free as a bait to trap Chow Wai On, who poses a threat.
Chow Wai On's colleague/lover, Yau Mo Yin, set out to rescue and protect these children. Her rendezvous point with Chow is at the Dragon Inn in the middle of the desert. Jade is the owner of this inn where the meat tastes rather suspicious, only because it's made out of the "wanted criminals." Jade is sexy, flirtatious, and very witty. She toys with men and can seduce any of them, but she finds Chow to be a big challenge, since he only seems to like Yau Mo Yin, who dresses as a man most of the time and doesn't say much.
Chow & Yau Mo Yin meet at the inn, but are soon joined by the East Chamber thugs, eh, eunuchs. Chow and the eunuchs both bribe Jade to be on their side; Chow wants her to reveal the secret passageway out of the inn so his team can escape safely, and the eunuchs want Jade to keep Chow at the inn as long as possible, until their big boss, Eunuch Tsao arrives.
After a few rounds of flirting, misunderstandings, deception, and a very heartwrenching death of a character I will not reveal, the final showdown between Eunuch Tsao and Chow is one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. Simply put, the choreography here is one of the best I've seen.
"Dragon Inn" is the official English title, but the literal translation is "The New Dragon Gate Inn." Not sure what the "new" part is all about; maybe there was an old movie called just Dragon Gate Inn.
Taiwan made a series out of this whole plot in 1997, starring two of my most favorite Hong Kong television actors, Roger Kwok and Eddie Kwan. The same characters are retained for the most part, with the addition of Eddie Kwan's super-bad, super-cool character as Seung Yin Siu, which is my favorite role to date.
He wasn't an eunuch, btw.
Back to the movie - if there is ever a chance to see it, it is highly recommended.
|
