The art of martial-arts filmmaking took a leap into bold new territory with this action-packed tale of Ming-dynasty intrigue. After having the emperor’s minister of defense executed, a power-grabbing eunuch sends assassins to trail the victim’s children to a remote point on the northern Chinese border. But that bloodthirsty mission is confounded by a mysterious group of fighters who arrive on the scene, intent on delivering justice and defending the innocent. The first film King Hu made after moving to Taiwan from Hong Kong in search of more creative freedom, Dragon Inn (Long men kezhan) combines rhythmic editing, meticulous choreography, and gorgeous widescreen compositions with a refinement that was new to the wuxia genre. Its blockbuster success breathed new life into a classic formula and established Hu as one of Chinese cinema’s most audacious innovators.

SPECIAL FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Hua Hui-ying, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray

New interview with actor Shangkuan Ling-fung

Interview from 2016 with actor Shih Chun

New scene analysis by author and New York Asian Film Festival cofounder Grady Hendrix

Newsreel footage of the film’s 1967 premiere in Taipei, Taiwan

Trailer

New English subtitle translation

PLUS: An essay by critic Andrew Chan