The Bride with White Hair

This highly stylised and superbly choreographed fable is a swordplay-martial arts fantasy like no other! The late Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin star as doomed lovers caught in the crossfire of fiercely warring clans.

Based on a well-known martial arts novel, the characters are vividly brought to live in this no holds barred Hong Kong ‘wuxia’ film from 1993. The film begins with a brief prologue scene (which is actually the epilogue) in which swordsman Zhuo Yihang (L. Cheung) sits alone on a remote mountain guarding a magical flower which apparently blooms only every several decades and has the ability to reverse ageing, in particular this flower can turn white hair back to dark hair. The reason why Zhuo is guarding this precious and rare flower is then revealed in flashback…

A little orphaned girl is raised by wild wolves, hence her nickname ‘Wolf Girl’. Along her perilous journey she meets a boy called Zhuo and the two take a liking to each other but fate intervenes. Years later, it transpires that Zhuo was raised by the Taoist Ziyang (Pau Fung) belonging to the Wudang Sect (aka Wu-Tang-Clan). Now the grown-up and somewhat rebellious Zhuo is tasked with leading a coalition force comprised of eight major martial arts sects. Their mission is to eradicate the evil Demon Cult.

Meanwhile, ‘Wolf Girl’ has grown into a beautiful and powerful woman called Lian Nichang (B. Lin) who has been adopted by Ji Wushuang (Francis Ng and Elaine Lui respectively) who not only is the leader of the feared Demon Cult but he is part male-part female, that is to say the two Ji Wushuangs are conjoined twins – with the male part in love with Lian and the female part bloodthirsty and jealous. Ji has bestowed Lian with magical power and her mission is to eradicate the rival clans, which she is eager to achieve… until Zhuo and Lian meet again by chance during one particularly blood-drenched battle. Reminding her that he is the boy from years ago she does recognise him but tells him that she has orders to kill anyone who belongs to the Wudang Sect or other rival clans but Zhuo won’t give up easily. Finally Lian gives in to her feelings and the two depart as lovers with Lian promising she will leave the Demon Cult to live a normal life with Zhuo. It goes without saying that Ji Wushang isn’t willing to grant her this wish and – consumed with rage and jealousy – attempts to make love to her in exchange for letting her go. The scene in which he attempts his lovemaking with his conjoined twin sister on top of him (imagine a triple burger…) has to be seen to be believed! With the female twin whispering nasty words into his ear, the male Ji Wushuang finally comes (no, not really…) to the conclusion that Lian will never return his feelings and bans her from his temple. But first she must walk along a pathway spiked with razor-sharp blades while other cult-members keep on beating her with sticks. Certain that Lian won’t survive this terrible ordeal Ji Wushuang has no other option than setting her free when it emerges she has in fact survived against all odds.

At the same time, Zhuo Yihang returns to the Wudang Sect to a horrifying discovery: during his absence his fellow Sect members have been brutally slain, including his Master. The few surviving members are certain that Lian is behind this cowardly attack and accuse Zhuo that his love to her has made him blind. As bad timings go, Lian arrives at this very moment to announce to Zhuo she is free from the Demon Cult when the Wudang members attack her, forcing Zhuo to turn against her in the process. Raging that her lover actually believes that she could be responsible for the slaughter, Lian shape-shifts into a white-haired killer-witch and slays all the remaining Wudang members. Just as she is about to kill her lover, Ji Wushuang makes a surprise appearance and announces that he/she is behind the massacre. Outraged, Lian and Zhuo join forces one last time to battle the Demon God but then she leaves Zhuo and makes it clear she will never forgive him… The film concludes with the scene at the film’s beginning.

Peter Pau’s outstanding cinematography and of course the stunts and costumes make this adventure a feast for the senses though a word of warning perhaps: certain scenes involve graphic violence such as decapitations and other delights, in once scene a man is sliced into nice pieces though thankfully this happens so quick we’re already in the next scene before all has sunk in. Equally outstanding is David Wu’s skilful editing, it really makes the film complete.

THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR is available on Blu-ray from a brand new 4K restoration and comes with the following Special Features:

* Limited Edition O-Card slipcase [2000 copies]
* Cantonese audio, available in original stereo and restored 5.1 presentations
* Newly translated English subtitles
* Brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng
* Audio commentary and new interviews
* Archival “making of” featurette
* Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writings, and more.