I’ve been checking out another the remastered releases from Eureka Entertainment with THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, Ronny Yu’s action-fantasy Wuxia classic, which is on Blu-ray from a brand new 4K restoration as part of the Eureka Classics range. Available from 9 November 2020, featuring a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase and Collector’s Booklet [First Print Run of 2000 units only].
Ronny Yu (The Phantom Lover; Warriors Of Virtue; The Bride of Chucky) directs this highly operatic fable based on a well-known martial arts novel with Leslie Cheung (A Better Tomorrow; Farewell, My Concubine) and Brigitte Lin (Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain; Police Story) as doomed lovers caught in the crossfire of warring clans.
Cheung plays Zhuo Yihang, a rebellious but extremely talented swordsman of the Wudang Sect (aka the Wu-Tang Clan, a fictional martial arts sect that appears in many wuxia novels and films). One day he meets and falls in love with Lian Nichang (Lin), the adopted daughter of a rival cult led by the villainous Ji Wushuang. Zhuo convinces Lian to leave the cult to be with him, a decision which will ultimately lead to death and betrayal.
If you are a fan of the fight sequences in Kill Bill then you are going to love the action in this magical movie that I have to say looks great in its new 4K restored Blu-ray release, the colours are vibrant helping bring the story to life.
I grew up watching martial arts TV shows and movies with the likes of Monkey, The Water Margin and many more and back then nearly all TV series were dubbed and dubbed badly, for the purposes of this review I watched it in it English dub and the restored 5.1 Cantonese audio, I have to say that the English dub in 2.0 stereo sounded OK, it really didn’t distract from the story of the film.
But when it comes to movies such as this, you have to watch them in their original language and for me, I much prefer the Cantonese audio, it takes the sound that step further with its 5.1 mix and it seems to flow better.
The Bride with the White Hair is a magical movie and one for the collectors of the genre.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling [First Print Run of 2000 units only]
- 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a stunning new 4K restoration (this restoration has been newly colour graded exclusively by Eureka Entertainment and officially approved by director Ronny Yu)
- Cantonese audio, available in original stereo and restored 5.1 presentations
- Optional English and Mandarin audio tracks
- Newly translated English subtitles
- Brand new feature-length audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
- Audio commentary with director Ronny Yu
- Brand new interview with director Ronny Yu [41 mins]
- Brand new interview with actor Joe Tay [21 mins]
- Brand new interview with screenwriter Jason Lam Kee To [56 mins]
- Brand new interview with composer Richard Yuen [24 mins]
- Brand new interview with editor David Wu [81 mins]
- Archival “making of” featurette
- Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver [2000 copies ONLY]
Available from 9 November 2020, featuring a Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase and Collector’s Booklet [First Print Run of 2000 units only]
A Cantonese Classic
Movie title: The Bride with the White Hair
Movie description: Cho Yat-Hang, the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against an evil cult, falls in forbidden love with Lien Ni-Chang, a killer for the evil cult.
Date published: November 9, 2020
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 29min
Director(s): Ronny Yu
Actor(s): Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Francis Ng
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Romance
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
