The Bride with White Hair (1993) / Action-Fantasy

MPAA Rated: Not rated, but probably R for violence            
Running Time: 92 min.

Cast: Leslie Cheung, Brigette Lin, Ng Chun-Yu, Lui Sau-Ling, Nam Kit-ying
Director:  Ronny Yu
Screenplay: David Wu (based on the novel, "Bain mao nu" by Liang Yusheng
Review published February 2, 1997

A collection of eight clans collectively known as the Wu-Tang Clan (no, not the rap group) are terrorized by possible extinction by a sorcerous and evil clan led by Siamese twins, who are using a witch-woman (Lin, Handsome Siblings) weaned by wolves to wage war on Wu-Tang warriors. Things take an unexpected turn when Cho Yi-Hang (Cheung, Rouge), reluctant leader of the Wu-Tang warriors, falls in love with the witch, complicating matters for both parties.

There is a lot to like in this film. The cinematography is exquisite, and the high-flying action scenes are breathtaking. The romantic angle is beautifully portrayed, and the directing and acting is better than most films of this ilk. That said, I do feel the film is crippled from being a classic by an overall story that is not very interesting, and some extremely confusing character motivations.

By the time the film ended I was almost entirely befuddled as to what was going on, and found the abrupt ending unsatisfying. Watch it for the beauty of the color schemes and the interesting love story, and forgive the threadbare script and poor editing, and you'll find this quite enjoyable despite the nonsense.

Qwipster's rating::

©1997Vince Leo