Dragon Inn (1967)

Dragon Inn (Long men kezhan)
Directed by King Hu
Written by King Hu
1967/Taiwan
Union Film Company
First viewing/Criterion Channel

[box] Wuxia (武俠 [ù.ɕjǎ]), which literally means “martial heroes”, is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of fantasy literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms such as Chinese opera, mànhuà, films, television series and video games. – Wikipedia[/box]

This seminal entry in the wuxia genre of cinema delights with non-stop action and extravagant use of color, design, and score.

The plot is intricate but following it is definitely not essential.  Basically, an evil cabal headed by an Imperial Eunuch succeeds in assassinating a government minister.  Now they are after the minister’s children.  The children attract their own set of loyalists. Although the good guys are far outnumbered, they do boast incredible swordsmen and a fierce female warrior who needs no help, thank you very much.

The lack of plot exposition or character development just leaves more time for the brilliantly choreographed fights.  These have a fairy tale quality due to the copious use of wire work and some editorial trickery.

I really enjoyed this.  If anything about it appeals, I would say go for it.