RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2018

On July 10, 2018, The Criterion Collection will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for Dragon Inn, a 1967 wuxia classic from director King Hu (A Touch of Zen).

Dragon Inn stars Polly Shang-Kuan (The Ghostly Face), Shih Chun (A Touch of Zen), Bai Ying (Royal Warriors), Han Ying Chieh (New Fist of Fury) and Miu Tin (Seven Man Army).

Check out the official details below:

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 (or Dragon Gate Inn) 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 and Technical Specs:

New 4K 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

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

Pre-order Dragon Inn from Amazon.com today!