Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

White Haired Witch Blu-ray Movie Review

Your hair would be white, too, if you had to figure this thing out.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 9, 2015

Films like King Vidor’s lush but misguided War and Peace prove how risky it can be to try to adapt an overflowing novel into something manageable on the screen. That same stumbling quality might be at least partly to blame with the occasionally exciting White Haired Witch (released originally as The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom), a film based on a bestselling novel by Liang Yusheng entitled The Bride With White Hair. I’ve frankly never read this book, but a bit of online sleuthing uncovered the fact that it, along with many others by Liang (a pen name for one Chen Wentong), helped to define a then nascent wuxia genre in Chinese literature in the mid-20th century. The Bride With White Hair offered several wuxia tropes within a larger context of political intrigue and, of course, star-crossed romance, but it was evidently such a labyrinthine commodity that it was severely pared down when it was first adapted for the screen in the generally well regarded 1993 Ronny Yu epic The Bride With White Hair. This “new, improved” version evidently reinstates a lot of Liang’s original source novel, but in doing so ends up careening off into an increasingly confusing set of sidebars, with the result being that many Western viewers, folks who probably are already not that well versed with the ins and outs of this period of Chinese history, will feel a lot of the story has (as they say) gotten lost in translation.

A rather interesting opening sequence (which includes interpolated credits) seems to suggest that White Haired Witch is going to traffic in the supernatural and some element of magic, as we see a gorgeous young (black haired) woman suddenly transformed by an unseen force into the titular white haired witch. That initial impression turns out to be at least somewhat misleading, for White Haired Witch is much more concerned with levels of political intrigue and, ultimately, various forms of swordplay and other modes of combat.

A martial arts training school engages in what almost seems like a whimsical Quidditch like tournament from a Harry Potter movie, with white and black clad acolytes battling each other atop a precariously perched rock ledge which tilts and careens depending on how weight is shifted. An intentional sacrifice on the part of one of the crew dressed in white brings him to the attention of the school’s masters, and soon Zhuo Yihang (Huang Xiaoming) finds himself appointed to a master position in the Yudang Clan. In an event that may or may not be based on actual historical happenings, Zhuo is tasked with delivering little red pills to the Emperor, pills which are deemed urgently necessary for the Emperor's continued health.

When the Emperor in fact expires, that sets the main plot in motion. An adorable little tyke who may remind some of a similarly youthful royal in The Last Emperor is heir to the throne, but it’s the power behind (or perhaps more appropriately, just off to the side of) the throne who turns out to one of the Macchiavellian schemers behind the ensuing turn of events. Head eunuch Wei Zhongxian (Ni Dahong) pays playful lip service to the toddler Emperor, but in reality he’s positioning himself to be the true seat of power.

Meanwhile, two tangential subplots play out. A machinating soldier named Jin Duyi (Vincent Zhao) murders the Yudang’s chief general during a battle where chaos reigns. Jin accuses the mysterious female Robin Hood like figure of Jade Rackshasa (Fan Bingbing) with the crime, something that makes the desperado even more of a wanted criminal, and an accusation that for a while at least carries a certain weight with Zhuo, who just so happens to be the murder victim’s grandson. The second subplot actually begins a bit earlier in the film, when Zhuo, on his way to deliver the little red pills, stumbles inside a rather luxe cave and discovers a mysterious woman, who of course is later identified as Jade Rackshasa, and who is even later “really” identified as Lian Nishang. There’s evidently supposed to be a Romeo and Juliet-esque doomed love affair on display here, but you often wouldn’t know it from this film’s oddly darting structure and increasingly complex (to the point of incoherence) storytelling capabilities.

White Haired Witch has the look of a film which may have begun under auspicious circumstances but which for whatever reason may have gone off the rails during production and (especially) post-production. Oddly shabby looking at times, especially with regard to less than convincing CGI and matte elements, and featuring some really perplexing editing and framing choices which tend to subvert the visceral intensity of the fight scenes and wire work, White Haired Witch ultimately loses steam, to the point that the central transformation of Jade/Lian into the titular creature seems almost like an afterthought. This is another curious release in a second respect. White Haired Witch was evidently released in 3D theatrically, but it’s presented in 2D here, in what has been a recent trend in at least some Asian titles matriculating to Blu-ray. The irony is that even in 3D, White Haired Witch probably seemed incredibly flat.

White Haired Witch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

White Haired Witch is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is generally a very sharp and clear looking presentation, at least when some of the less than ready for prime time CGI elements aren't in play. Detail in things like costumes and sets is often exceptional (see the cool crosshatchings in the chainmail suit in screenshot 14 for a good example). Color grading is once more fully on display, and once more largely proscribed to blues and yellows. The yellow tinged scenes, many of which play out indoors, do tend to feature less general detail than the bulk of the presentation. Contrast is consistent and when not toyed with, the palette is quite striking, favoring some exotic teals, purples and reds. Shadow detail is variable, but a lot of the film features very brightly lit environments, mitigating that aspect. The CGI and matte work in this film looks like it was cobbled together on a shoestring budget and perhaps at the last moment. Much if not all of the CGI is very soft looking and never very convincing. As stated above in the main body of the review, White Haired Witch evidently screened in 3D, and there are some requisite "in your face" framings here that look a little silly in 2D.

White Haired Witch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

White Haired Witch's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is about what you'd expect from a typical wuxia outing, with good placement of sound effects in the fight scenes, including whooshing noises, the clank of steel against steel and occasionally the crack of a breaking bone or two. Dialogue is very cleanly presented as well. The film features a better than average score that features some ethnic instruments, and that fills the surrounds quite convincingly and provides an often lush sonic bed for the visuals.

White Haired Witch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-rays, the supplements have been authored together in one big "clump," as it were, with optional access to individual segments via the Supplements Menu (with the understanding that once you've selected any given individual supplement, it will simply move on automatically through the rest of the supplements, the trailer and sneak previews).

• Supplements (1080i; 20:04) include:

  Huang Xiaoming

  Jianghu Heroes

  Arrival of the Witch

  Nirvana After 100 Rebirths

  Wudang Swordsman

  The Debut

• Trailer (1080p; 1:39)

White Haired Witch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I've watched White Haired Witch one and a half times now (with that half being devoted largely to the film's final act), and I'd still be hard pressed to detail some of the plot machinations and especially character motivations that are on hand here. Even that problem might have been overcome had the film's action scenes been better handled, but either through original shooting issues or later editing decisions, there is a decided lack of excitement on hand (and/or foot) with regard to this aspect. The film is quite beautiful to watch, though, despite some lackluster CGI, and even though it never makes very much sense. Technical merits are very strong for those considering a purchase.