King Hu’s DRAGON INN is considered by many to be one of the greatest wuxia films of all time and yet as of 2009 there has never been a quality licensed DVD release of this movie. For all the accolades that King Hu has been given by cineastes the world over there is no Criterion or equivalent release. The top pick and likely only pick still in circulation remains Hoker Records’ 2008 budget DVD release.
Here’s a quick rundown on the past releases. The film was initially released on DVD in Japan back in 2000 in a non-anamorphic widescreen version with moderate print damage and Japanese subtitles. That same Japanese version was subsequently re-released as an unauthorized DVD by notorious U.S. bootlegging operator PanMedia. They apparently left the Japanese-language menus but replaced the Japanese subs with English subtitles. An English-subtitled VCD version was released in Hong Kong in 2003. Then in 2008, Taiwanese distributor Hoker Records released a series of Taiwanese wuxia films on DVD with optional English subtitles including DRAGON INN. Based on the low-grade quality of this package I’m skeptical that this is a fully licensed version but then the Taiwanese film industry is a mere shadow of its former self so this may be the best that the territory has to offer for now.
The source print itself is in decent condition. There is moderate print damage and colors seem washed out slightly. Yet overall it looks quite good. (I do not have the Japanese version for comparison at this time.)
Hoker’s DVD presentation is poor even by budget DVD standards in the U.S. The cover is simply an altered version of the ugly original film poster. Some of the label’s other releases use original poster art for covers but look far more attractive. The barebones, Chinese-language menu looks awful. There are four selections but three of them simply take you to the chapter indexes. The other one starts the movie.
The film presentation is widescreen but non-anamorphic and cropped to an approximately 2.25:1 aspect ratio. The picture window is also sized down considerably within the 4:3 viewing space which means there is wasted space on either side where thick black borders appear.
English subtitles are removable, poorly written and no doubt poorly translated. Some minor bits of dialogue are not translated at all and really lazy typos are extremely common.
The original Mandarin-language audio track is two-channel mono. It doesn’t sound great but it gets the job done.
The only bonus feature, which does suggest this is a licensed version after all, is a DRAGON INN pocket calendar with dual English and Chinese text. Inside there are a few small pictures including original promotional stills, newspaper ads and pics of King Hu. There are also a couple brief notes on the film and the director, as well as a cast and crew list.
Format: Region All NTSC DVD
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.25:1)
Audio: Mandarin 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, Chinese
Length: 111 minutes
Release Date: 2008.01.18
Related Topics:
Dragon Inn (1967) • DVD • Hoker Records • swordplay • Wuxia
- Rhythm-X
