Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DVD Version is a MUST for Fans of This Film!, April 4, 2001
"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!
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25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Hong Kong Classic, August 13, 2000
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.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal Movie!, November 6, 2000
By A Customer
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.
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