About

Dragon Inn (also known as New Dragon Gate Inn) is a stylish reinterpretation of King Hu's 1967 wuxia classic. Taking place in a remote desert in China during the Ming Dynasty, the film is a spider's web of political machinations, backstabbing and fatal treachery. After the power-hungry eunuch Tsao Siu-yan (Donnie Yen) executes the Emperor's Defence Minister, he uses his now-dead rival's children as bait to trap General Chow Wai-on (Tong Leung Ka-fai) and remove another opponent. When this maneuver backfires, rebels and loyalists alike take shelter at the Dragon Gate Inn, run by Jade (Maggie Cheung) — a hard-living outlaw whose only allegiances are to sex and money. Amidst this cloistered environment, tensions quickly rise to boiling point.

Directed by Raymond Lee (with conspicuous creative input from producer and co-writer Tsui Hark,) this swashbuckling delight draws on martial arts classics and spaghetti westerns in equal measure. The film bursts with incredibly choreographed action sequences, including one that infamously resulted in co-star Brigitte Lin receiving an arrow to her eye while performing her own stunts. It also features one of Maggie Cheung's most compelling performances as Jade, a roguish force of nature whose wavering honour means she is never quite above suspicion herself.

M | High level violence