Editor's note: This is a nostalgic theater.
Martial arts movies are probably the most Chinese type of movies. The so-called "Martial Arts", "Martial Arts" is the form of expression of the film, and "Xia" is the theme of the film's performance, which is a spiritual sustenance. From the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, there was a "new martial arts movie". Most of the martial arts movies in this period were remakes of traditional martial arts movies in the past, and most of the names were added with the word "new" before the original movie name. "New Dragon Inn" (1992), directed by Li Huimin and produced by Tsui Hark, is one of them. Filmed 30 years ago, this film is a remake of the much older Shaw Brothers action classic, Dragon Inn (1967).

"New Dragon Inn" poster

"New Dragon Inn" tells the story of the Jingtai period of the Ming Dynasty, when Cao Shaoqin (played by Donnie Yen), the eunuch of Dongchang, seized power and framed Yang Yuxuan, the minister of military affairs. and slaughtered. Qiu Moyan (played by Lin Qingxia), a heroine of all corners of the world, was entrusted by Zhou Huai'an to lead a group of righteous men to rescue the orphan, and wanted to exit the customs at the Longmen Fortress. Cao Shaoqin sent three masters to lead people to follow them to the Dragon Gate Inn, where they met Zhou Huaian, Qiu Moyan and others. The innkeeper Jin Xiangyu (played by Maggie Cheung) has both sides in the enemy forces, and finally helps Zhou Huai'an to get out of the customs, but Cao Shaoqin notices it. At a critical juncture, Zhou, Qiu, and Jin joined forces and fought hard to defeat Quan Yi, and Qiu Moyan also unfortunately died. From the perspective of the story line, "New Dragon Inn" is similar to "Dragon Inn". It is an "old-fashioned" story after rescuing a loyal minister, but the loyal minister in the old version is Yu Qian, who is well-documented in history, while in the new version, It's just a fictional Yang Yuxuan.

The domineering eunuch

Where is the "new" in "New Dragon Inn"? The first impression of the audience is probably the visual effect. As an early Hong Kong-inland co-production, "New Dragon Inn" has a wider selection of scenes - the interior of the film was shot in a studio in Hong Kong, while the exterior was shot in Dunhuang, Gansu, creating a "desert" Lone Smoke Straight" mood. Although the film was only nominated for the best art design at the 29th Golden Horse Awards, the scenes in the film, such as the Yellow Sand Desert, the vast Gobi, the cramped space, and the delicate passage, still left a deep impression on the audience. In the fight scenes of the main action of martial arts movies, almost every fight scene in "New Dragon Inn" seems to be smooth and smooth, and the martial arts movements are neat and agile, which is breathtaking. The "Best Martial Arts Instructor" of the Golden Horse Awards is well deserved.
At the beginning of the film, the "cold-blooded black flag team" recruited by Dongchang appeared on the stage. The fight scene between Zhou Huaian and Jin Xiangyu is not only a martial arts move, but also a dance performance. The most exaggerated thing is that at the end of the film, the cook in the inn (Diao Buyu) took a meat chop knife and slashed the hands and feet of the great eunuch Cao Shaoqin with a whirlwind speed, leaving only a pair of white. The skeleton, which is far beyond the imagination of the audience.

Dongchang Black Flag Team

The narrative of the film has also become somewhat different from the old version. In addition to the classic action scenes such as "Desert Battle", "New Dragon Inn" has added many thought-provoking emotional fragments compared to the original version. For example, when Qiu Moyan saw Jin Xiangyu holding Zhou Huai'an's flute, he started drinking in a rage. After she was shot by the arrow, Zhou Huai'an said, "I don't want to give gold and jade to the flute, but I didn't expect it to make you feel uneasy. Fortunately, I can explain to you." When Qiu Moyan regretted that he could never find the flute again At that time, Zhou Huai'an said lightly: "There is nothing outside of the body that is more than the love at the moment." This paragraph really can be called the description of the most artistic conception of martial arts. At the end of the film, when Jin Xiangyu and Zhou Huaian left the Dragon Inn, they were even more blunt: "We leave this ruthless place." She personally burned down the Dragon Gate Inn, which symbolized rivers and lakes, interests, and murderous aura. This shows the denial of violence in the rivers and lakes, and to a certain extent deconstructs the traditional image of a chivalrous man of "urgency for justice".

Burning "Dragon Gate Inn" with gold inlaid jade

More importantly, unlike "Dragon Inn" or traditional martial arts movies, the complex human nature is extremely simplified in the cruel external environment, good and evil are opposed, loyal and evil are clearly defined, and the characters can be directly defined as good and bad. The two are distinct. And "New Dragon Inn" successfully shows the complexity of human nature - this is where it is different or beyond similar films.
In this regard, the most outstanding role in the film is Maggie Cheung's Jin Xiangyu. From the perspective of traditional martial arts movies, this charming and pungent proprietress of the Dragon Gate Inn is really an alternative. She is not a decent person. As the proprietress of a black shop, Jin Xiangyu is ruthless and murderous, and even sells human flesh steamed buns. She is greedy for money, insidious and cunning. On the one hand, she was bribed by Dongchang and promised to help them hold down Zhou Huaian and his party; Dongchang is not out of chivalry, but to avenge the guy who was killed by Dongchang. But she's not a complete villain. Although she is ruthless, her conscience is not lost: she received the money from Dongchang, but she did not attack Zhou Huaian for a long time. Instead, she finally joined them as an enemy of Dongchang. The ups and downs of this complex character’s character have become an important factor in promoting the development of the plot. It can be said that the existence of the role of Jin Xiangyu, who is also good and evil, can be called the masterpiece of "New Dragon Inn".

Zhou Huaian and Jin Xiangyu in the film

In general, "New Dragon Inn" is the most "affectionate and righteous" martial arts movie. The once dormant martial arts movie has also been revived due to the success of "New Dragon Inn". In 1992, five of the top ten best-selling Chinese films in Hong Kong were costumed martial arts films. In the following year, there were 35 films with box office revenue exceeding 10 million yuan in the Hong Kong film market, of which 18 were martial arts action films, more than 50%. But among the latecomers, who has surpassed "New Dragon Inn"? Even the sequel film "Dragon Gate Flying Armor" (but the names of the characters in the film were completely changed), which was filmed by Tsui Hark's self-innovation 20 years later, was escorted by "gimmicks" such as 3D high-tech, but the inherent quality of the film was still quite high. Controversial. Up to now, when people recall the Hong Kong new martial arts movies in the 1990s, they still think of "New Dragon Inn" at the first moment.