Director: Li Huimin
Actor: Tony Leung Ka Fai Brigitte Lin Maggie Cheung Donnie Yen Xiong Xinxin Wu Qihua Liu Shun Yuan Xiangren Ren Shiguan Yuan Bin Xu Jinjiang Wang Weishun Zheng Lieqiong Cai Hao
Screenwriter: Tsui Hark Cheung Tan Xiaohe
Photography/Image: Arthur Wong Liu Mantang
Art (Design): Kwok-Chun Chiu, Zhang Shuping
Music: Chen Feilie
Editor: Xiong Pan
Action directors: Cheng Xiaodong, Yuan Bin and Yiu Sing Cheung.
Producer: Wu Siyuan
Producer: Tsui Hark
Planning: Cheng Xiaodong
Producer: Cao,,
It should be said that this film is a rare serious work in modern new martial arts movies. From the theme to the script, from the theme to the details, it is a classic shot with a serious attitude. This film is a remake of Taiwan Province martial arts master Hu Jinquan's classic of the same name in the 1980s, which basically respects and retains the rigor and massiness of the original works of that era, and with the wonderful modern martial arts shooting techniques, it has achieved a new classic version of martial arts.
The eunuch rebellion in Ming Dynasty and the dispute between the East Factory and the West Factory are the favorite historical backgrounds of martial arts novels and movies for a period of time. A virtuous woman, a loyal minister and a warrior, has stood the test in this cruel historical environment, and of course there is no shortage of traitors. The complex human nature is extremely simplified in the cruel external environment, and the roles can be directly defined as good people and bad people, which are very clear and distinct, which is very suitable for the audience of martial arts movies to express their grievances through films. The Longmen Inn is different from or superior to other similar films in that it shows the complexity of human nature-although it is still simple compared with the so-called "literary film".
It is said that the psychological complexity of the characters is mainly revealed by Maggie Cheung's role of Jin Xiangyu. This distinctive character is by no means a simple classification of "good" and "bad". Zhou Ruian is in the square of Longmen Inn, juggling between the two heroines and the pursuit of the government. It is really a big suspense whether he can protect the lives of the two weak people and leave safely. Suspense makes the plot full of tension. Under the action of suspense and tension, all kinds of plot details are naturally arranged with ease, and the characters are fully displayed.
At the same time, Zhou Ruian and others, after sparing no effort to defend their loyal subjects, have an unambiguous position on the concept of state and politics, which is rare in the new martial arts movies. Most of the new martial arts films lack loyal people who care about the world (although many failed shaping in the old martial arts films make the word have a certain comic color and false elements), while the characters are more independent psychological characteristics of ordinary people, which is probably a shortcoming of the cultural character of Hong Kong society.
The excellent portrayal of the characters is one of the success factors of this film. Tony Leung Ka Fai, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin and some supporting actors left a deep impression on the audience. For a martial arts movie, it is enough for the audience to remember so many characters after satisfying the temporary visual pleasure.