The Bride with White Hair

I'd never been a fan of Hong Kong cinema prior to seeing this magnificent film. Truly there's almost nothing else like it, certainly nothing Hollywood produces has this film's sense of style, wit, visual beauty and energy. A haunting score (for those who asked, I believe the music is from Kitaro's "Silk Road" -- if it's not, the Silk Road CDs will give you the same feeling as this movie's wonderful score) adds to the ethereal atmosphere. Surprisingly, the acting is excellent (avoid the dreadful dubbing and stay with the subtitled version) -- Brigitte Lin has a compelling screen presence (and is one of the most striking women I've seen in film), and Leslie Cheung (check out "Farewell My Concubine") is her match. Francis Ng as the cult leader is simply awesome. Besides its visual beauty, the plot is filled with surprises (and admittedly, some of the plot makes little sense). The action is frequent and stupifying, but it isn't traditional martial arts; this is NOT a martial arts movie by any stretch of the imagination. If you're willing to keep an open mind, and are always on the lookout for great new titles, take a look at this one.

The disc is gorgeous and well represents Ronny Yu's sumptuous camera work along with Peter Pau and Lee Tak-shing's beautiful cinematography. There is some grain, but the film is almost 30 years-old, so it still looks great considering. The picture is in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It plays on US blu-ray players and comes in both Cantonese and Mandarin language tracks presented in Dolby True HD 5.1. It features crisp and clear English subtitles, that you can choose from the set-up menu, which itself is in both Chinese and English. Extras include trailer, making of feature...which sadly has no subtitles...and a photo gallery. As for the movie itself... THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR (1993) The Bride With White Hair is a martial arts, fantasy, romance and is a fairy tale-like story that finds handsome warrior Zhuo Yihang (Leslie Cheung from A Chinese Ghost Story) falling in love with beautiful witch Lian Nichang (Brigitte Lin from Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain), who belongs to an evil cult Zhuo is tasked with destroying. As the two defy their orders and superiors, forces conspire against them, including He Lühua (Yammie Lam), a woman warrior with eyes for Zhuo Yihang and the vengeful, jealous conjoined twin cult leader, Ji Wushuang (Francis Ng and Elaine Lui). Flick is one of the best examples of the Hong Kong cinema revival of the 80s and 90s and has all the action, fantasy, love and betrayal one could want. It is a sumptuous visual feast as directed by Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky, Freddy vs Jason), from a script he wrote with Lam Kei-to, Elsa Tang and David Wu. You can see where Yu’s American horror flicks got their stunning cinematography, blood-spattered action and twisted sense of humor, as they are all present here. There are dazzling sword duels, dark magic, gallant heroes, vile villains and a seductive wolf witch to keep one entertained for it’s economical 92 minutes. There is an eroticism to many scenes that the Hong Kong cinema usually reserved for their more intense Category III films and there is quite a lot of blood spurting and severed heads, not to mention the disturbing portrayal of it’s conjoined twin villains. The costumes are lavish, as are the settings, the cinematography by Peter Pau and Lee Tak-shing is sumptuous and the score by Richard Yuen suits the dark fantasy atmosphere perfectly. Sure Zhuo Yihang and Lian Nichang’s love making scene seems to go on a bit too long and Zhuo Yihang’s belief that she may have betrayed him comes a bit too quickly, especially considering his vow to always trust her. Otherwise this is an enormously entertaining dark fairy tale, romance for grown-ups and one of the most renown classics of this era of Hong Kong cinema. A great cast helps Yu tell his story well. Leslie Cheung’s handsome warrior Zhuo Yihang is a far cry from his timid tax collector from the Chinese Ghost Story movies, but no less a solid romantic lead/action hero. He’s charming, brazen, lethal and sexy, when he appropriately needs to be. Brigitte Lin is beautiful and intriguing as wolf witch Lian Nichang. She can be a fierce and deadly warrior, yet also very sexy and playful, depending on the scene and is very convincing as all of the above. She and Cheung have a great on-screen chemistry and generate some nice heat. When forces pit them against each other, they make good adversaries. Francis Ng and Elaine Lui are really creepy as the conjoined twin leaders of the cult. They exude power and malice, yet their constant bickering and antagonizing of one another really adds a twisted dimension to them. A disturbing duo. The rest of the supporting cast give solid performances, too! Overall, this is a great film and the type of movie the Hong Kong cinema was so skilled at making during this era. The film looks fantastic, the action scenes are fast, furious and bloody and the romantic scenes generate some real heat. There is a bit of a twisted humor to it and some legitimately spooky scenes as well. Not quite perfect, but close to it and enormously entertaining. There was a lesser sequel released only months later directed by David Wu and a TV series in 2012. -MonsterZero NJ

I've watched this film over and over again since it's DVD release. I've never tired of watching it. It is a beautifully sad and romantic tale. Brigitte Lin is so lovely even her famous icy stare of death. Leslie Cheung (rest in peace) what a wonderful actor! We will miss him dearly. Brigitte and Leslie had tremendous on-screen chemistry and the cinematography is breathtaking. This is not a karate chop and sock film. There are some short fight scenes. I feel sorry for people that did not understand this movie. It is a true ART film and displays Hong Kong filmmaking at it's best.

The movie is widely considered a classic for Hong Kong action movies. Leslie Cheung is a fantastic actor, and I enjoyed Bridgitte Lin very much in Chungking Express. So, even though I don't normally enjoy action movies and certainly not kung fu movies, I still decided to watch this movie. I was extremely disappointed. The cinematography is boring and poorly done. The plot is juvenile. It is the type of movie that would appeal to teenage boys. I hated the movie. However, I fully understand that many, many people love the movie and that it is one of the most important HK movies ever made.

This is the best movie that I have ever seen. The action and romance are the best. Buy this movie rent it whatever, you just have to see it to believe it. Even the music is good I don't even understand chinese and I find myself singing Leslie Cheung's song at the end. This is not a hardcore swordfighting movie but if you can't enjoy this film than you probably don't have a heart beat. I don't understand how anyone could not give this movie 5 stars. Brigitte lin is the most verstile actress that I have ever seen. She can fight and fly and act. Her eyes pull you into every film that she is in. This film is a masterpiece and should be in every film lovers collection.

The original dialect of this movie is cantonese yet it is shown on Amazon with a mandarin dialect. The movie should be kept in it's original format so those who enjoy it in it's original dialect is not forced to listen to it in mandarin. Chinese subtitles can be understood by those who read Chinese and it does not matter if it's spoken in cantonese or mandarin as long as it's written in Chinese. However, my Chinese American friends who do not understand mandarin and cannot read Chinese did not enjoy the movie as they kept reading the English subtitles instead of watching the actors. They only understand Cantonese.

From Beginning to End Good!

zwischenzeitlich war er maßlos überteuert. Aber ich liebe die Story und auch die Schauspieler. Absolute Kaufempfehlung von mir. Wieviel Text in eine Rezension hineinkommt, sollte dem Schreiber überlassen werden liebes Amazon Team...... ;-)

Brilliant fantasy elements, really cool practical effects and beautiful cinematography. This Eureka blu-ray is a beautiful addition to any film collection.

Voici un film poétique à souhait! Les images sont belles, travaillées et la photo est monumentale! Les tourments de Brigitte Lin et Leslie Cheung nous enchantent! Du grand et magistral HK !

ich liebe es... einer der besten Asia-Fantasy-Filme, welcher so intensiv Emotionen bedient. Immer wieder faszinierend.... Für Fans ein must have

J'avais vu ce film il y a maintenant plus de 10 ans sur Canal+ et j'avais peur d'être déçu en l'achetant en dvd après tout ce temps. Eh bien pas du tout. Malgré son âge, "The Bride with White Hair" n'a rien perdu de son intérêt. Les décors sont toujours aussi beaux, les couleurs, les costumes et les éclairages toujours aussi soignés et les personnages toujours aussi épatants. Quand on a vu "Jiang Hu", difficile d'oublier "la Louve", "Tsi Wou-Chouang", le chef des insoumis au 2 visages, "Tcho", le jeune héros transi d'amour pour sa belle, "Pai Yun" bougon mais bonne pâte ou "Ho Lou-Houa" folle amoureuse de "Tcho" mais dévorée par l'ambition. The bride rappelle beaucoup "Legend" de Ridley Scott par son esthétique magnifique, et la poésie qui se dégage des images n'a d'égal que la beauté diaphane de "Brigitte Lin" toute de blanc vétue. Un conte fantastique chinois original et merveilleux qui ravira un très grand nombre, même ceux qui n'ont pas accrochés à "Histoires de fantômes chinois".