''Flying Swords of Dragon Gate'' is a 2011 ''

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

'' film directed by

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as '' Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...

and starring

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years o ...

Zhou Xun Zhou Xun (, born 18 October 1974) is a Chinese actress and singer. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. She gained international fame for her roles in '' Suzhou River'' (2000) and ''Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress'' ...

Chen Kun Chen Kun (; born February 4, 1976), sometimes credited as Aloys Chen, is a Chinese actor and singer. He gained recognition from television dramas ''Love Story in Shanghai'' and ''The Story of a Noble Family'' and rose to international prominence wi ...

Li Yuchun Li Yuchun (; born March 10, 1984), also known by her stage name Chris Lee, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ and actress. She launched her singing career by winning first place in the Chinese singing contest '' Super Girl'', in 2005. The followi ...

Gwei Lun-mei Gwei Lun-mei (; born 25 December 1983) is a Taiwanese actress. She started her acting career in 2002, with the film ''Blue Gate Crossing''. Gwei then appeared in a few more films before achieving wide recognition for the film '' Secret'', dir ...

, Louis Fan and

Mavis Fan Mavis Fan (; born 27 February 1977) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Life and career Fan began her singing career in the mid 90s as a pop idol, singing songs catered mostly towards children and young teenagers. Fan was raised only by her mot ...

. The film is a remake of ''

Dragon Gate Inn ''Dragon Inn'' (, also known as ''Dragon Gate Inn'') is a 1967 Taiwanese ''wuxia'' film written and directed by King Hu. The film was remade in 1992, as ''New Dragon Gate Inn'', and again in 2011 as '' The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate''. Plot Tsao ...

'' (1966) and ''

New Dragon Gate Inn ''New Dragon Gate Inn'' is a 1992 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film directed by Raymond Lee and produced by Tsui Hark, starring Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Maggie Cheung, and Donnie Yen. It was released as ''Dragon Inn'' in North America. The film ...

'' (1992) but takes place three years after. Production started on 10 October 2010 and is filmed in 3-D. The film screened out of competition at the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the President of the Jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

in February 2012. The film won seven awards at the 2012

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Chen Kun), Best Supporting Actress (Gwei Lun-mei), Best Production Designers, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects.

Plot

The

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

's eunuchs have gained power and influence; the East Bureau and West Bureau spy and police the nation. They visit the shipyards, but only as a cover to execute those who would try and report their taking of bribes to the Emperor. Wandering hero Zhao Huai'an fights the leader of the East Bureau, defeating him and putting his head in a box and hanging it as a warning to other corrupt officials. The Emperor's chief concubine asks the West Bureau why they waste time on power struggles when she only wants them to prevent the Emperor impregnating anyone aside from her. Three pregnant courtesans have been executed, a fourth is being hunted down. Officials stop a riverboat and are about to execute a woman, but a masked hero intervenes. Zhao watches from nearby and the masked hero also claims to be Zhao. The imposter helps the courtesan flee to Dragons Gate, Zhao and his followers decide to fight the West Bureau to help delay them and aid in the escape. As a sandstorm threatens and drives most travelers away, a few groups driven by different agendas are determined to stay in the desert at the famous Dragons Gate Inn. Amidst rumors of an ancient city and with Zhao Huai'an and the leader of the West Bureau approaching, events are about to unfold with the Dragons Gate Inn as the stage for an all-out clash.

Cast

as Zhou Huai'an *

as Ling Yanqiu *

as Yu Huatian and Wind Blade *

as Gu Shaotang *

as Zhang Xiao Wen/Tribal princess * Louis Fan as Ma Jinliang *

as Su Huirong * Wu Di as Zhao Tong * Zhuang Guoqi * Li Yuan as Kuo Zheng *

Gordon Liu Gordon Liu (Lau Kar-fai ); born Sin Kam-hei () August 22, 1951) is a Chinese martial arts film actor and martial artist. He played the lead role of San Te in '' The 36th Chamber of Shaolin'' (1978) and its sequels, and later played two roles in ...

as Wan Yulou *

Zhang Xinyu Zhang Xinyu (, born 28 March 1987), also known as Viann Zhang, is a Chinese actress, singer and model. Biography Early life Zhang was born and raised in Kunshan, Jiangsu. She graduated from Wuxi institute of Commerce. Acting career Zhang began ...

as Royal Consort Wan * Zha Ka (aka Han Feixing) as H'Gantga

Production

Although this film is based on the story of 1992's ''

'', Tsui denied that this film would be a remake of the old classic but more of a re-imagining. Tsui also worked on the screenplay in addition to directing and producing the film, to ensure the originality of the story. Before Jet Li was signed on for the role of Zhou Huai'an, Tsui offered the role to

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

but he turned it down due to the fact he has no wish to be in sequels/remakes of previous films he has already worked on. Jet Li was signed with US$12 million contracts to star in this film. Li explained his reason for joining this film stating, Actress Zhou Xun was also quoted for her reason for joining this film and she explains, Tsui also invited Chuck Comisky, the visual-effects supervisor for James Cameron's ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

'', as the 3-D director to manage the special effects. Comisky will lead a team of 3D crew from China, Korea, Singapore, Spain, etc.

References

External links

* * *
Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate
' at Hong Kong Cinemagic * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Swords of Dragon Gate 2011 3D films 2010s action adventure films Remakes of Hong Kong films Films directed by Tsui Hark Kung fu films Hong Kong martial arts films Chinese martial arts films Chinese action adventure films Wushu films Wuxia films 2011 films IMAX films Hong Kong 3D films Chinese 3D films Films set in 15th-century Ming dynasty Martial arts fantasy films Polybona Films films 2011 martial arts films 2010s Mandarin-language films 2010s Hong Kong films