New Dragon Gate Inn - theatrical version?

[Killer Meteor]

From Hong Kong Digital - http://www.dighkmovies.com/v3/184/184.html

" Theatrical prints of DRAGON INN run 88 minutes or about 15 minutes shorter than this release. Tai Seng's cover art proclaims the DVD to be Raymond Lee Wai-man's "complete director's cut," something that many writers (myself included) assumed to be the case. However, in Lisa Morton's book "The Cinema of Tsui Hark" (available from McFarland & Company and recommended), Tsui disowns this edition, which he says was prepared without his or the cast's knowledge (which explains why everyone is looped by other performers). Mei Ah's apparent goal was to pad out the running time as an excuse to release the movie as a double laserdisc set, even though 103 minutes would still have comfortably on a single platter. To my knowledge, the Taiwan VHS release is the only one to offer the shorter version; all editions released afterwards contain the longer re-edit. As is evident above, I like this expanded variant but it would be a shame if Tsui's preferred cut was never to be seen again on video or (especially) DVD."

Is this really the case. The longer version always seemed fairly well edited and decent: is the theatrical version that much of an improvement?

[Guest Markgway]

I wasn't keen on the 1992 remake (much prefer the King Hu original) -- however, I'd be more than willing to watch it again should the actual dir's cut show up on video.

[Killer Meteor]

I like both versions (not seen the Jet Li version). I wish the original would get a nice remaster from someone.

Always loved the Music Promo that Hong Kong Legends did for the remake

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLVEI-7wSSY

[Guest Markgway]

(not seen the Jet Li version)

Me neither.

[reason108]

Me neither.

You guys are so lucky. Don`t even bother with that turd fest. Though Jet may have received top billing it was more like he was a co-star. That must have been an easy paycheck for him. For an 2hr movie, he probably had only 40 minutes screen time; if even that. Not sure why he was even cast other than to help sell a picture.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

You guys are so lucky. Don`t even bother with that turd fest. Though Jet may have received top billing it was more like he was a co-star. That must have been an easy paycheck for him. For an 2hr movie, he probably had only 40 minutes screen time; if even that. Not sure why he was even cast other than to help sell a picture.

I thought it was slightly better than that, but I still could not recommend it. I was expecting more Jet Li as well, but I kept thinking that the 92 version is better.

Of course Tsui Hark's version might not be considered the "Director's cut." Was there any contention between Hark and Raymond Lee on that film?

Hopefully this link works, but here is where you can find the comments from Tsui on this film. (scroll down to the next page using Google books).

I quoted the section for you:

"Tsui on New Dragon Inn: The movie was about 80, 85 minutes [but was extended on its laserdisc release]. I think they can sell it at a higher price if it is two laserdiscs, so they extended it. That's one of the most frustrating things that happens, and it happens all the time here. That's why we fight so much to protect our work. I'd always ask people to watch Dragon Inn -- like Maggie, right? She'd never seen that movie, so I said, "You gotta buy the laserdisc," So I bought the laserdisc, and she saw the movie, and she said she didn't like the movie. I said, "Why?" She said, "I don't know -- there's something weird about it." So later I watched the movie on laserdisc, and I found they put some more scenes int here. There's a lot of horse-riding, and that's not supposed to e in that long. It's like cover shots, they're using a all the masters to put everything in, to extend the laser. Some of those scenes I'd cut out because they hindered the flow of the movie. But they were all there! And the music was different. And the dialogue -- they redubbed it. That's why we always sign contracts telling them all the laserdisc versions need to be approved by us, the characters cannot appear in other movies... otherwise you see the characters from your movie end up in some other movie, doing something else, and that's very bad. That's why we always try to stop that, be telling them not to do it. And they don't understand! You tell them not to do it, that legally they cannot do it, and they get very made."

[Killer Meteor]

Interesting about the music - it sounds very much the same consistently throughout the HKL DVD.

[DrNgor]

This film celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday.

I reviewed it this evening: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2022/08/dragon-inn-1992.html