so the bad officials come to the inn, why the hell did they play all these stupid grabass games? why not just kill them straight away or something?
the old guy in the white dress stands around with his thumb up his ass for almost half the movie, then theres the night scene when they all have a random fight with each other, but then the ridiculous wedding ceremony scene comes along just to get the dumb bitch to reveal the secret tunnel.
giant piece of crap if you ask me.
The package led me to believe it would be as visually stunning as 'Hero' or 'House of Flying Daggers', so I bought it. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. When I want to watch chinese movies with terrible plot and bad filming I'll pick up a Bruce Lee flick or two for 2 dollars and actually laugh and enjoy it. Dragon Inn is a terrible movie. I wouldn't even watch it if it came on cable.
shareAs a matter of fact, 'Hero' or 'House of Flying Daggers' don't even represent wuxia pien in its full form, those two movies along with Crouching Tiger are just fake Americanized treat for every Amrican average Joe, or say disguised as if they were part the wuxia genre... ridiculous.
This Tsui Hark's classic and King Hu's original are at least true genuine Chinese/HK movies stemming up from their own unique culture.
fact of the matter is, new dragon gate inn sucked ass and hero, house of flying daggers and crouching tiget dont.
that bit where the chop that dudes leg down to a bone is retarded. and then he stabs someone with his bone hand? man, i cant even remember properly because it was so bad.
also, if hero is just "americanised" how come it had to get tarantino's support for actually even get an international release?
You obviously are another one grown up on and fed up by the American sensibility and the aesthetics of the popular cinema that's getting spread across the world. What is sad that a lot of countries today are slowly losing their own artistic and cultural identity by this. Most of these young guys don't know or never knew the essence of the wuxia pian. The only recent Asian movie that's true to the wuxia roots was reinventing masterpiece "Seven Swords", which is imo one of the most powerful films ever made. Look it up and find out what is a "real" wuxia; first and foremost, it's not necessary a realism or martial arts, that's practically secondary, what's the essence of the the wuxia is the very definition of the "Wu" - which is a spiritual realization of the human existence which leads to the peace in the heart & mind > soul & body > heaven & earth (note: the presence of the sword in a wuxia pian is subtly related to the extension of the human spirit/heart, in other words, the sword is not an object, but a trajectory of thought, a projection of the spirit), "Wu" can be described as well as an "awakening to the truth". Then it's most importantly the definition of the "Xia" - which is an attempt to elevate one's spirit to a romantic way of life. When a person rises above the concerns of daily life and pursues a spiritual existence, upholding integrity and peace through personal strength, then he or she is a xia. People can be weak in courage or doubtful of strength, but a xia acts upon his/her principles to maintain justice and help others. That's the spirit of the most essential wuxia movies like Seven Swords or Touch of Zen that go down in history as the monumental landmarks of the Chinese culture and art. I'm quite convinced that only these movies can much easily survive through the time in contrast to the general commercial appeasements like "Hero" or Crouching Tiger" and their absolute ignorance and disdain to any social establishment or culture.
Note: the fact of the matter remains that Dragon Gate Inn is a classic wuxia, Crouching Tiger or Hero are not. The movies that are for "everyone" are not necessarily profound movies that have a lot to say to the audience.
sorry sonicinfusionl, this movie sucked ass. period.
this movie had a *beep* story, with *beep* actors with *beep* fight scenes with way to many plot holes. you can write your long response about the human spirit or whatever the phuck it was you were blabbing on about, but this movie sucked, and you know it. don't call other people ignorant because they realised what a piece of crap it was you piece of dog *beep* you sit there trying to sound all smart but i'm not impressed, if this is a classic "wuxia", then wuxia can suck on my giant balls.
period.? nope, dont think so. Haha this thread is classic. its okay for you not to like a certain genre of movies, but dont start mouthing your smart ass potty mouth and think you're going to make a point here. Dont call other people ignorant? The only ignorant person here is you bitch, in light of people who actually have certain manners and decent comments about movies (positive or negative) on this thread. In the words of eric cartman: "somebody put this retard out of his misery"
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haha lol. how did i insult anybody? im stupid, yet you were classy enough to bring up diarrhea... good job spelling it though, i commend you. oh and thank you for letting me know you're opinion ahead of time. dont worry, im not threatened, just worried about you....you should really stop eating diarrhea for breakfast, its NOT healthy. just stick to this thread and I, along with other thread members will try our best to help you kick this addiction to the curb. we will coach you and help you on a step by step basis. BABY steps, baby steps. the first step is admitting you have a problem. you CAN go back to living a normal lifestyle diarrhea free, and your breath will no longer smell like a 7am dump. take care of your self "RickaJames". stick to this thread, i'll be ready to help.
shareI've learned a lot from reading some of the reponses on this thread. I started out watching Wu xia films with, as with a lot of westerners I'm sure, Crouching Tiger, then Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Now, they may not be true Wu Xia films but I'm not sure they ever claimed to be. Could it be that because they were films involving mythological sword heroes and lots of wirework they were forever bound to be labelled Wu Xia by people?
However, that aside, I still enjoy those films. Sure they have higher production values and so can literally afford to look better than almost all HK films but I don't think they are bad films. I think the stories are basically solid, coherent, and touching. I don't feel the fact that they aren't true Wu Xia negates them being good enjoyable films. I can't comment on what aspects of history and culture they may or may not have trampled roughshod over because I'm not well versed enough in Chinese history or culture but I can believe these films do do that. However, within reason, I also think that certain artisic and dramatic licence is fine to enhance the film and make it more enjoyable. For instance, I think most people watching the film don't believe that even "back in the day" these swordsmen could make such gravity-defying leaps but you accept them for the film. I know that in turn these gravity defying leaps are based on historical fiction and myth, but the fiction and myth themselves were taking dramatic licence. Am I making sense?
I also don't think that CTHD, Hero and HOFD are necessarily better than the more traditional actual Wu Xia films. And certainly not for having higher production values. I get tons of enjoyment from seeing what filmmakers can do when they have limited resources and money. It brings out true inventiveness and creativity and I love that about films. And so long as the film has some talent going into the making of it, I'd be prepared to overlook just about any technical shortcoming. Talented writers and/or directors are far more imporatnt than cash I think. In my opinion, Clerks and The Evil Dead are brilliant because they are handled well and they are both undeniably low-budget. Clerks writing is its strong point and Evil Dead's direction is it's strong point for me. Just so long as it isn't low talent. The highest budget films can be ruined by a lack of talent behind them and so can the lowest budget films. Rarely is a low budget film ruined because it had too much talent involved. And the more I watch older Wu Xia films, and the more I learn about the ethos behind them, the more I enjoy them.
Ramble over.
Well said CapnDred.
Zenbu wa mono no aware desu.
Thank you, Tenebrael.
It was so wonderful to read what you wrote. Wow.
Hey, dont forget Crouching Tiger, Hidden dragon. It is at least as visually stunning as hero or HOFD.
black and white movies were better
I shall say this is far better a wuxia movie than 'hero' and 'house of flying daggers', in the merit of wuxia spirit itself. The real essence of Chinese martial art is actually anti-violence: the harmony between the nature and the human beings.
Current wuxia films showing in US are basically profit-driven. In order to sell well they got to make films like 'hero', with amazing visuall effect, cheap but straight forward philosophy. They got to be 'understandable' by the western culture so they make compromises.
Well I mean you can say you don't like it and I understand maybe most US audience don't like it. But as a person who's growing with reading wuxia stories, watching wuxia movies and practising martial art myself, I could only say you don't get it.
wow!!! sonicfusion2 and simonsun, these are both really beautiful and significant responses. i really enjoyed reading them and have learned alot. When i was little my family watched tvb series like the New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre (1986 Tony Leung version). As a fan of asian cinema thank you for these insights, its how i learn.
shareyour whole argument lies around the fact that the americanised versions arent true wu xia.
i dont really care. new dragon gate inn was a complete farce of a film, with farcical fights, farcical story etc and to sprout on about philosophy in relation to it is pretty laughable.
farce of a film? compared to what? your broad horizons of what good filming should be. everyone entitled to their opinion though.. as long as you keep it at that: your opinion.
shareI thought "wuxia" translated literally as "flying people", for the way that characters routinely defy gravity with mind-boggling leaps and magical flights.
Well, whatever the case, I love HK films because I like to see martial arts action involving fantastic moves and weapon fighting. Throwing leaves that act as daggers, blocking a sword by catching it in your fingers, leaping up two stories and then backflipping out a window, all these things are a joy to watch. I don't see much of a difference between this movie and "House of Flying Daggers". They both had what I'm looking for in entertainment. And nobody can deny that "Dragon Inn" would have been even better if it had had the production quality of "House of Flying Daggers".
Also, enough of the America hating. Americans invented the movie, and pour tons of money and effort into theirs. So if an HK director sees an American film and likes it, why can't he incorporate some of it into his film? And there is nothing American about martial arts action fantasy. If an American sees an HK film and likes it, and sees another HK film with higher production values and likes it better, so what? Higher production values does not "remove culture". Who can be proud of a culture that keeps its film quality poor simply out of spite for Americans?
The end of this movie was different in tone than the rest of the film. The bizarre sandstorm that buried the characters was jarring and felt very out of place. But I got over it the moment I saw that guy running while he was buried. That was cool! The butcher being able to tunnel underground like a gopher was even more incredible and enjoyable. And his kung fu style of removing flesh was great. His victim's reaction was hilarious! The fact that this was his first fight in the movie gave the ending a refreshing, if tacked on, surprise. Why the movie suddenly changed from a serious film into a comedy, just for the final fight, is a mystery, but I still liked it.
Unfortunately, this movie suffers from the exact same problem as other HK movies, "House of Flying Daggers" included. In pretty much every one of these films I've seen so far, the female love interest dies. Why is that? What does HK have against love? I mean, here two characters declare their love through actions, and then finally words, throughout the film, only to end up unrequited. It is truly a shame, and endings where a love interest dies always ruins an otherwise great film for me.
if you do not understand the dialog, at least read the subtitle.
this is one of best Wuxia movie in HK history.
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a bit harsh, sure it has gigantic plot holes and lots stupid moments but it s not terrible eitherWhen there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
OP has it exactly right, this movie was a piece of garbage. All those spouting nonsense about how this is classic wuxia, and other philosophical and racist debates are just pathetically grasping at straws. This was a terrible movie on all levels that a movie can be judged on.
I was pissed off as the movie was coming to an end due to it being so boring and sh!t, and the only thing that lightened my mood was the sheer ridiculousness and stupidity of the surprise ending which made me laugh slightly - Donnie Yen having his arm and leg meat carved off and using his bone hand to stab the good guy.
So in conclusion this was a sh!t movie that no way deserves a 7+ rating, and for those of you defending it with those pathetic excuses, you are fcking retarded fanbois.
It's a great movie if you can understand the nuance of the storytelling. The bad officials couldn't just barge in with swords because they were out numbered and didn't know which side the inn keeper and her men were on. The whole movie is a game of cat and mouse and shifting allegiances. As it turns out, when the corrupt officials did finally fight, they got pretty much slaughtered so there you go.
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