Dragon Inn

The Chinese wuxia (martial arts) genre was forever changed after the emergence of King Hu’s Dragon Inn. Set during the Ming dynasty, the film sees the emperor’s minister of defense framed by a powerful court eunuch and executed. Soon after, the minister’s children are hunted by a clan of elite assassins known as the Black Arrow Troop. The ensuing pursuit takes them to the remote Dragon Gate Inn, where mysterious strangers begin to gather and paths—and swords—soon cross. Masterful compositions by cinematographer Hua Hui-ying (A Touch of Zen) capture tightly choreographed set pieces, each one more splendorous than the last—with the stakes always rising. A clear inspiration for myriad subsequent movies, from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, this thrilling landmark of film history returns to the screen in a new, beautifully restored digital transfer, created from the original negative. A Janus Films release.