Dragon Inn (1967) / A Touch of Zen (1971)

[MifuneFan]

Dragon Inn

Coming July 10, 2018

• New 4K digital 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 Chu
• 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

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 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.

A Touch of Zen

Released July 19, 2016

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Documentary from 2012 about director King Hu
• New interviews with actors Hsu Feng and Shih Chun
• New interview with filmmaker Ang Lee
• New interview with film scholar Tony Rayns
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar David Bordwell and notes by Hu from a 1975 Cannes Film Festival press kit

“Visionary” barely begins to describe this masterpiece of Chinese cinema and martial arts moviemaking. A Touch of Zen (Xia nu) by King Hu depicts the journey of Yang, a fugitive noblewoman in disguise who seeks refuge in a remote, and allegedly haunted, village. The sanctuary she and her three companions find with a shy scholar is shattered when a nefarious swordsman uncovers her identity, pitting the five against legions of blade-wielding opponents. At once a wuxia film, the tale of a spiritual quest, and a study in human nature, A Touch of Zen is an unparalleled work in Hu’s formidable career and an epic of the highest order, characterized by breathtaking action choreography, stunning widescreen landscapes, and innovative editing.

Original post:

[Show spoiler]

A month ago I reached out to Janus Films, and they confirmed to me that Criterion will be releasing A Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn on Blu-ray in the future.. Both films are sourced from new 4K restorations!

It will be available for theaters to screen on Blu-rays that have been specifically prepared for that purpose, but not for sale to individuals. A regular Criterion release will follow at some point in the future.

Thanks,

Janus Films
215 Park Ave. So., FL 5
New York, NY 10003

Just recently, artist Greg Ruth has publicly confirmed his work for Criterion on these two great Wuxia films via Twitter (credit to dwk).

Dragon Inn (1967)

The Chinese Wuxia (martial arts) picture was never the same after King Hu’s legendary Dragon Inn. During the Ming dynasty, the emperor’s minister of defense is framed by a powerful court eunuch and executed, and his family is pursued by secret police. In the ensuing chase, a mysterious band of strangers begins to gather at the remote Dragon Gate Inn, where paths (and swords) will cross. This thrilling landmark of film history returns to the screen in a new, beautifully restored 4K digital transfer, created from the original negative

A Touch of Zen (1971)

(1971-72) In 15th century China, toothily nerdy scholar and painter Shih Jun and his nagging mother live next to an abandoned fort reputed to be haunted – so who is that mysterious, beautiful Hsu Feng who’s moved in? – a ghost? And what is that stranger who wants his portrait painted really up to? And what about the doctor who won’t take money and is the blind fortune teller really blind? But a flashback to scheming and murder at the highest levels of the court starts the answers and the battles coming: the elaborate ambush at the fort that engulfs an entire assassination cohort, to the chortling delight of its unlikely strategist – until, he realizes, in the light of day, there are dead people here; the fight in the bamboo forest that took 25 days of shooting (its hollow was sunlit only a few hours a day); the fight through incredible rock formations and rivers cutting between up-rearing crags; and a final showdown in spectacularly godforsaken desert that leaves one opponent’s vision reduced to color negative, the other bleeding golden blood, a climax mystically Buddhist (Taiwanese writer/director Hu admitted that he himself was not Buddhist). Hu’s epic of wuxia (ancient martial arts), begun in 1969, entailed meticulous preparation and care – the fort took 9 months to get right, partly to let the overgrowing vegetation to grow in place; and an epic battle with the producer, who insisted it be released in two still-truncated parts; Hu only got it his way in 1975, when a nearly complete version was shown at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prize for Technical Achievement – and an apology from his studio heads. This new restoration of Hu’s complete 3-hour epic returns the exemplar and template of an entire genre to his original vision. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata, with original materials provided by the Taiwan Film Institute. Approx. 180 mins.

The two films were previously released on Blu-ray in the UK courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. Janus Films will also be screening A Touch of Zen in at the Film Forum in NYC from April 22-May 5th. Dragon Inn will start screening at Lincoln Center (also NYC) on May 6th. Both films will then screen in select cities nationwide.