Ah, Dragon Inn...my all-time favorite HK movie...it's got action, it's got romance, it's got eunuchs, it's got comedy, it's got tragedy, it's got Tony Leung Ka-Fai AND Donnie Yen AND Brigitte Lin AND Maggie Cheung, and it's got that ending fight scene in the desert which is the ultimate in highly stylized, beautifully choreographed HK swordfight scenes...sigh...

So imagine how happy I was to see a borrowed scene from Dragon Inn. I hope Rob Tapert & company work their way through Dragon Inn the way they have Bride With White Hair, Fong Sai Yuk, and the Swordsman series.

Okay, on with the comparison--in Dragon Inn, Maggie Cheung sneaks up on Brigitte Lin while Brigitte's in the bath. Maggie's on the roof looking down through the skylight, Brigitte realizes it and throws water on her to surprise her. Maggie falls but manages to throw lots of little blades (her weapon of choice) at Brigitte on the way down--thus shredding the robe that Brigitte has tried to grab to cover herself as she gets out of the bath. Teasing ensues--along the lines of whose figure is better--and then Brigitte proceeds to acrobatically disrobe Maggie and dress herself in Maggie's clothes, piece by piece, until she is almost buck naked. Maggie realizes she's been outsmarted and, um, undressed, jumps back up toward the roof as Brigitte grabs the last of her undergarments leaving her naked and sitting on the roof where she proceeds to make the most of her situation by singing loudly.

In "Adventures in the Sin Trade II," Xena is on the roof of the sweat hut watching the Amazon queen, Cyane, when she falls through the roof and attempts to attack the naked Cyane. Cyane has other ideas, however, and proceeds to steal Xena's clothes piece by piece (but not nearly as acrobatically as Brigitte Lin).

Dragon Inn	Xena: Warrior Princess "Adventures in the Sin Trade II"