6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
In the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial court is plagued by corruption as tyrants rule over the land. With the Manchurians preying on a weakened empire, war is imminent. To save the victims from their suffering, sorceress Jade Raksha fights the soldiers that oppress people for their own gain. As payback, local government officials decide to pin the murder of Governor Zhuo Zhonglian on Jade, turning her and the members of her cult into wanted fugitives for a crime they didn’t commit.
Starring: Fan Bingbing, Xiaoming Huang, Wenzhuo Zhao, Xuebing Wang, Dahong NiForeign | 100% |
Action | 44% |
Fantasy | 15% |
Adventure | 7% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
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.
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'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.
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).
- Huang Xiaoming
- Jianghu Heroes
- Arrival of the Witch
- Nirvana After 100 Rebirths
- Wudang Swordsman
- The Debut
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.
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