Tsui Hark, director of the wuxia martial arts flick "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate", which is due to hit cinema screens on the same day as Zhang Yimou's epic war blockbuster "The Flowers of War", is confident of being able to compete with Zhang's highly anticipated feature, chinesefilms.cn reports.

Yu Dong, producer of "The Dragon Gate" and CEO of the Bona Film Group announced yesterday at the movie's premiere ceremony that they will not raise prices and will partake in any form of smear campaign. Dong's made these comments following the actions of Zhang Weiping, CEO of the production company responsible for "The Flowers of War" who was able to force eight large cinemas to increase the price of their cheapest tickets.

Joining hands for only the second time in 20 years, Jet Li and Tsui's partnership is a symbol of their desire to present wuxia martial arts on a major stage. With two years of preparation leading up to the project, and with a total investment of over $ 70 million, Tsui put together his own 3D production team for the movie.

"Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate 3D" will be the first home-grown action flick released in 3D/IMAX form.

This year's fiercest competition for box office revenues will kick off on December 16.