Customer Reviews

The Bride with White Hair

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"The Bride With White Hair" is the film that turned me on to Hong Kong cinema. If you are one of those Hong Kong aficionados who has enjoyed this movie on VHS, I highly recommend the DVD version because of its subtitles. Now---while I admittedly enjoy the awkwardly translated English subtitles in Hong Kong films, this is one film that I love enough that I've always wanted to see the grammar, spelling and sentence structure cleaned up! That is the wonderful surprise I found when I saw this flick on DVD! In addition, if you want to turn friends on to this film, and they're the crowd who just doesn't enjoy a flick with subtitles, then this DVD has an English dubbed version that is fairly good (especially compared to badly English dubbed jobs of great Hong Kong films like "A Better Tomorrow"). For those unfamiliar with this film, "Bride With White Hair" is one of those rare fantasy features that actually makes my eyes a bit misty. What initially strikes me about the movie is the way the story is set up; we see Leslie Cheung (who starred in "Farewell My Concubine"), having sat hunched in desolate state of guard over a healing plant for many years, wondering if "a woman" knows that he regards her as holding great importance, even greater than that of the emperor. A great and tragic story is then told as a recollection, beginning from his childhood when he firsts encounters the mystical girl who saves him from a pack of wolves by charming them with her song. They are drawn together again as adults (Bridgette Lin is both gorgeous and fantastic as The Bride!). The complexities come as both characters are torn by devotion to their clans, barters they have made with others, and by their vow of love to each other. This is beautiful and well told story, visually astounding, and the surreal nature of the film works. I highly recommend you treat yourself to this DVD!

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.

This movie completely took my breath away! I am rarely impressed by anything, but this film really moved me. Both the tragic plot and the fighting scenes had me completely engaged in the story and the characters from beginning to end. Both Leslie Cheung and Bridgitte Lin gave amazing performances. The climactic scene of ultimate betrayal at the end -- the slap, the sword, the look, the hair -- managed to do what Steel Magnolias, Terms of Endearment and even Titanic couldn't accomplish: make me CRY! (I was sobbing like an infant at that point...) This is a movie for everyone because it has so many elements to it: good cinemetography, a touch of folklore, romance, tragedy, action, swordfighting , etc. It's become one of my favorite movies of all time. The sequel is just as amazing, and ties up the story very well. There was no better way to end such a beautiful yet tragic love story.

Movie Summary: A peaceful young man who is an expert in the martial arts falls in love with a strange hired assassin from an evil clan. They make a vow never to doubt each other. A vow neither of their clans can let them keep.

My Opinion: This is a fairly hard core Hong Kong Action/Martial Arts film. It's a lot like a live action version of an animated film like Princess Mononoke or Akira. I really enjoyed those films as well as this one. It is quite strange but that's part of its beauty. It is very easy to sympathize with the main character as he doubts the word of the strange wolf girl he fell in love with.

DVD Quality: Nothing Special. Includes trailers from other films. The English language track isn't that great.

What You Should Do: If you are into martial arts films and/or animated movies like Princess Mononoke then you should check this out. This is definitely one you should rent or borrow before you decide to buy. If you are looking for another Crouching Tiger, I think this one will be a little too strange for you.

If you liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, then see The Bride With White Hair. Drawn from the same sword and sorcery tradition, both movies feature strong female leads. In the case of Bride, we have Brigitte Lin Ching Hsua, one of Hong Kong's most popular female stars. Brigitte is beautiful and compelling; more fey than Zhang Ziyi, she is a sorcerous assassin at the top of her game. Her meeting with the male lead, Leslie Cheung (a singer-actor best known in the US for his role in as Chen Dieyi in Farewell, My Concubine) is either accidental or destined, depending on how you look at it, but it changes her world and his.

The visual style of the film is spectacular, thanks in no small part to cinematographer Peter Bao. Director Ronny Yu Yan-Tai, who has been compared to Ridley Scott, is not very well known in the United States yet, but he's got a pretty good following world-wide. (Yes, yes. He directed Bride of Chucky. I'm not going to defend or attack him for that, because I've never seen it.) In Bride he conducts, like the best of the fantasy Hong Kong masters, an opera or ballet. Every word, every move is larger than life, everything fraught with meaning, promise or threat--this is not "everyman" action; this is epic. Like many epics, it sometimes does suffer from excess.

Bride is, in my opinion, not quite as good at humanizing its characters as Tiger. Both are Romeo and Juliet stories, but Lin's Lien Ni Chang and Cheung's Zhou Yi Hang are not as fully rendered as the star-crossed lovers of Tiger (either pair). They're archetypes. But they're grand and glorious archetypes. Who cares that Lien Ni Chang was raised by wolves who somehow taught her the mastery of wind instruments? Who cares how precisely the villains came by their genetic-defying bond? That isn't the point in this film, and people who allow themselves to bog down on these issues are, I believe, depriving themselves of a transporting film experience. Go willing to enjoy, and you probably will.

Those disturbed by the loose ending of Tiger, be warned: Bride isn't likely to satisfy you much more. If the "what then?" haunts you too much, you can find an answer in The Bride With White Hair II. It returns all the major characters and picks up where the other left off.

First, the movie: I saw this film in the mid 90s at a film festival in Houston. I had no information or expectations before-hand. I just sat in a dark room and it showed up in front of me. It immediately went on my top 10 list and I dragged all of my friends to see it a few days later. It's way over the top in every dimension. Visually stunning and unapologetically emotional. Brigitte Lin kicks ass so hard you can actually believe that a goth-fu loner like Leslie Cheung would turn the world upside down just for her.

Second, the DVD: Blech. A soft, non-anamorphic transfer of an ugly print. Gargantuan subtitles fill a big chunk of the image. Not a significant improvement over the Tai Seng US release laserdisc.

5 star movie, 2 star DVD.

well boys and girls, im back! I just saw this movie earlier today (although i bought it over a month ago), so it's fresh in my mind. Thank god that finals are over...oh, sorry back to the movie.

Well, i agree with the overall consensus, this movie is quite good. I was exceptionally skeptical due to the trailors i had seen, but the customer reviews swayed me to take a dive, and i did, and i enjoyed the swim afterwards. This movie is more story than martial arts. it has fighting in it, but if youre looking for a kick and punch thriller (what i kinda enjoy) then this may not be the movie that will satisfy your appetite, however, it will impress you nonetheless.

It's quite an interesting story about two young martial artists from opposing clans that fall in love, they meet, they fall in love, they vow to love one another, they do, and then something happens. what you ask? well, watch the movie, i wont ruin it anymore than i already have. haha.

It's not cheesey, although i was expecting it to be (remember i took a dive). Although, i have a complaint about the unnecessary nudity in the film. there was one scene that showed some naked woman wearing a mask, yeah, not your typical martial arts studio activity (i havent seen something like that,and ive been involved with MA for 12 or so years). but its a movie, so if youre planning on watching this with your children, don't! it only occurs one time, but my other complaint was with the sex scene in this movie. no nudity here, just acting, but quite explicit. so if youre easily offended by this type of material, you have been cautioned.

the story was honestly pretty good, the acting was also very good. I got the DVD copy, so i didnt have any problems with blurriness, i thought it was a pretty good translation (picture and sound quality wise). The dvd has options of english, mandarin and cantonese audio tracks, so its good for those who dont feel like reading. the english language, isnt too bad either. infact, its pretty good. my brother and i looked at one another in shock, it's not bad at all, although, the cantonese with english subtitles is still better.

towards the end, i thought Bridgette Lin's character was really cool, and that she gave a very strong performance. A very good movie, though gloomy, a definite bang for the buck!

Anyone and everyone in America has grown up on the fairtales of Europe. This is one the best movies out there about a classic chinese tale of swords and sorcery of horror and love. As the title suggest. I can't really find the words to explain it but this movies rates up there with Fong Sai Yuk 1 and 2. Its that good.

Ronny Yu chose the perfect characters to play the lovers! Brigitte Lin looks absolutely beautiful in every angle in every scene. This movie will not be good for those who are expecting to see a great deal of martial arts. From the moment Leslie see's Brigette Lin, the story continues to concentrate how the two interact with each other. The love scene is breathtaking with the falling cascades of water around the couple. I have to say I did not expect to see such moves that Leslie made while filming the love scene with Brigette. For those who loves listening to Leslie, the theme song is a must buy!

Finally, I get my first chance to see this Brigitte Lin that so many martial arts film fans keep talking about. She's beautiful, delicate, and absolutely deadly as Lien, a mysterious assassin raised by wolves and later trained in martial arts. With or without the white hair, she is all but untouchable in battle. The only real problem is that she is on the wrong side of the fight, serving as an elite assassin for an evil cult led by a, uh, unique brother-sister pairing that attacks the Eight Clans. Cho Yi-Hang (Leslie Cheung) is the designated successor to the current master of the Wu Tang clan, which makes him the de facto future leader of the united Eight Clans. He doesn't really cherish that role, though; in fact, he doesn't even see a real reason to fight until such time as the cult has actually acted against the Eight Clans in some way. When the battle is finally joined, Cho dishonors his master and his kinsmen by taking off with the enemy's elite assassin. He thinks the two of them can start a new life for themselves elsewhere, leave the fighting and the dying to others, and basically escape their obviously precarious situation - but there are always repercussions to such bold actions as this. This is especially true when you fail to honor a promise you made with utmost earnestness.

There is less fighting action than you might expect - but it's always a treat when Lien shows up. She literally makes mincemeat out of her enemies with nothing more than a strong rope; I mean, this girl is just wicked fast, and she would just as soon snap your head off as look at you - although, it must be said that Cho does manage to see more of her than any other man ever lived to tell about. Obviously, there is a romantic element to the story; it's a sort of Romeo and Juliet star-crossed lovers theme, except the Montagues and Capulets never went so far as to go around beheading each other. The romantic dimension is actually rather subtle, and any viewers who miss the full impact of the revelations toward the end may well wonder how this could be considered much of a love story at all.

Director Ronny Yu's The Bride With White Hair is a beautiful film, but I must admit that I felt it lacked a certain vitality; the picture always seem to be somewhat cloudy in some indistinct kind of way, making the print look older than it is (the film was released in 1993). Still, perhaps the real beauty of the film is its ability to succeed on multiple levels. Naturally, there's the obvious martial arts and romantic themes, but this movie also offers up an intriguing study of good and evil and, in particular, one's personal responsibility toward others on both sides of the conflict.