Bride With White Hair (1993)
Director: Ronny Yu
Script: Ronny Yu Yan-Tai, David Wu Tai-Wai
Producer: Raymond Wong Pak-Ming, Wong Hak-Hoi
Cinematographer: Peter Pau Tak-Hei
Action: Phillip Kwok-Tsui
Cast:
Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing, Francis Ng, Elaine Lui
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Running Time: 90 min
Merit:
• Winner, 13th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Cinematography (Peter Pau Tak-Hei); Best Art Direction (Eddie Ma Poon Chiu); Best Costume Design (Emi Wada, Cheung San-Yiu)
• Nominee, 13th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Editing (David Wu Dai-Wai); Best Original Film Score (Richard Yuen); Best Original Song (“Hung Ngaan Baak Faat”)
• Winner, 1993 Golden Horse Awards: Best Song (Leslie Cheung, Tsik Lam); Best Adapted Screenplay (David Wu, Lam Kei-To, Tseng Pik-Yin, Ronny Yu Yan-Tai)
• Winner, 1993 Fantastica Film Festival (Paris): Grand Prize
• Winner, 1994 Gerardmer Film Festival: Grand Prize
• Winner, 1994 Fantafestival (Rome): Best Film
• Nominated, 1995 Fantasporto (Portugal): International Fantasy Film Award,
One of the most over-rated of Hong Kong new wave films, this production made Ronny Yu into a big-time director, for no apparent reason. There are some nice visuals here, i.e. Brigitte Lin spinning in slo-motion as her hair turns white, and the evil villain, a set of identical male/female twins joined at the spine, but the film really doesn’t deliver in terms of immediate plot motion, thrills, visual bravura (this is the archetypal film for that annoying blue camera tint that is used in way too many Hong Kong productions), and most especially music. In spite of Brigitte Lin’s resolute refusal to open her mouth during the kissing scenes (those lips clamp down like a vice), there are some very erotic segments between her and Leslie Cheung. But the story, about a bunch of warriors and a wild woman who becomes the bride with white hair, is tremendously convoluted and the film is marred by dark, overly-confusing cinematography.
Reviews
“[BRIDE] is long considered to be a definitive film of Hong Kong new wave. The story itself takes elements of classic Chinese fantasy and mythology and mixes it with a brooding modern narrative style. ”
—Mark Pollard, KungFuCinema.com
“… simply one of the finest films ever made, classic beauty of Brigitte Lin, evil cult leader Francis Ng, perfectly complemented by Leslie Cheung’s own beauty and irresistible charm. This is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, with well-defined characters, dollops of love, jealousy, hate, and betrayal. Overall, a lushly beautiful piece that deserves to be seen on the big screen.”
—Alison Jobling, Heroic Cinema
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