The Bride with White Hair (1993)

The sensitive swordsman Cho Yi-Hang is tired of his life. He is the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against foreign ... See full summary »

Director:

Ronny Yu

Writers:

Kee-To Lam (as Kei To Lam), Yusheng Liang (novel)

Stars:

Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Francis Ng

7 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Brigitte Lin	...	Lian Nichang
Leslie Cheung	...	Zhuo Yi-Hang
Francis Ng	...	Male Ji Wushuang
Elaine Lui	...	Female Ji Wushuang
Kit Ying Lam	...	Ho Lu Hua
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
King-Kei Cheng	...	Hsin Cheng
Choi-Chow Hoh
Eddy Ko	...	General Wu San-Kuei
Jeffrey Lau
Lok-Lam Law	...	(as Le-Lin Lo)
Fong Pau	...	Master Tzu Yang
Leila Tong
Kin-Ming Tsang
Kwan-Hong Wong
Richard Yuen

Storyline

The sensitive swordsman Cho Yi-Hang is tired of his life. He is the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against foreign tribes and an evil cult. One day, he meets the beautiful Lien, a killer for the evil cult who is equally unsatisfied with her situation, but their love angers both the Wu-Tang clan and the evil cult.

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Plot Keywords:

cult | warrior | kissing while having sex | hand to hand combat | blood on camera lens | 

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Taglines:

A Classic Chinese Tale Of Swords And Sorcery Of Honor And Of Love

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Genres:

Fantasy | Adventure | Romance | Action

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Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

25 September 1993 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

The Bride with White Hair

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films Distribution

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The love song at the end of the film was performed by Leslie Cheung, and as a gimmick, the song was not released to buy in any way so people who enjoyed the song would have to to re watch the movie in theaters.

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Connections

Referenced in The Legend of Evil Lake (2003)

User Reviews

Heartbreaking, Thrilling, Stunning

Its hard and sad to believe this film will never be truly appreciated, even after the success of crouching tiger there wont be too many people interested in viewing this. Its a very sad day for movies when a film like this is so limited in reaching an audience.

The cinematography is so simple sometimes that its breath-taking. The early scene of the young swordsman against a backdrop of a golden sky slicing through falling pink petals beneath a molting tree is perfection on the eye, just stunning, and never i dont think has a woman looked more beautiul than bridgitte lin as the mysterious witch bathing in a cavernous pool.

The storytelling is so grand, so innocent, so perfect that all hollywood "epics" pale in significance, and the acting is of a high quality to match.

Essentially its a martial arts/swordplay/fantasy/love story but in such a refreshing way it almost fails to fall into any of these genres. Rich in history and traditionalism yet something entirely fresh - remember this is 1993, before Ang Lee brought flying Wudan warriors and epic swordplay to the attention of the public. It should be noted that this has been part of chinese cinema for over a decade, but Bride With The White Hair puts it in an entirely different context to the likes of the Tsui Hark Directed Once Upon A Time In China series.

Not to give too much away but by the end even the hardest of hearts will break and at the very least some of the imagery will stay with you for a long long time - i never thought something visualised on a screen could be so beautiful as everyday sights, but somehow its managed - i have no hesitation in saying this is the best cinematography i have ever seen, and any student of camera work or direction should watch it as a piece of art, or more, a work of art. But please judge it on its merits to touch, involve and entertain the audience too, because it does all these things effortlessly

Outstanding

5/5