Bona International Film Group has posted a clip of its upcoming North American release of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.
The action brawler was first released in China in 2011, where it won several awards, was nominated for many more – including Best Picture and Best Director at the Asian Film Awards, and rose to claim the record of fourth highest grossing Chinese film of all time, all without having hitting US shores.
This clip does a pretty good job of displaying the flavor of the film, which will mostly consist of one epic sword-fight after another, with lots of deadly slices and slow-motion sequences.
There is no official English language synopsis, and the story is a bit difficult to parse. Essentially, the film is a remake of New Dragon Gate Inn from 1992, which is itself a remake of Dragon Gate Inn from 1966, so the lore, which was already heavy-handed has had two other films (and over 50 years) in which to steep.
The original Dragon Gate Inn was fairly straight-forward: a group of children, the heirs of a deposed emperor, are being escorted to the border for permanent exile from China. When the innkeeper at the Dragon Gate Inn hears of a plot to ambush the children and kill them at his place of business, he calls his friend, Hsaio to help him defend the children.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is in select IMAX theaters now, but only for a two week special engagement which goes through the middle of September 2012. Unfortunately, it’s not coming to my city, but if you live in New York, Chicago, or L.A. you’ll have more luck, so search your local IMAX listings. If the film gets a good enough turn out, we could see a wider release planned for early next year.
