Director Tsui Hark (center) leads cast members (from left to right) Mavis Fan, Kwai Lun-mei, Li Yuchun, Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun at the premiere ceremony of the film "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" in Beijing on Monday, December 12, 2011. [Photo: yule.sohu.com/CFP]

Director Tsui Hark led the star-studded cast of his new 3-D martial-arts film "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" in promoting the movie's premiere Monday in Beijing.

Having received help from Chuck Comisky, the visual-effects supervisor of James Cameron's "Avatar", Tsui used 3-D cameras to complete the shooting, becoming the first Chinese director to do so.

The film stars Jet Li as a hero who goes head-to-head against a villain played by Chen Kun in and around a desert inn called Dragon Gate.

Actresses Zhou Xun, Kwai Lun-mei and Li Yuchun also have roles in the film.

Critics have hailed the film as one of the two most anticipated Chinese movies of this New Year season. The other one is Zhang Yimou's Oscar-hopeful "The Flowers of War" starring Christian Bale. The two films will hit movie theaters the same day on December 15.