The Bride With White Hair (1993)

Think twice before breaking your promise

1993’s The Bride with White Hair is a classic Hong Kong kung fu movie I’ve wanted to see for some time now. It finally became available on a site I use. I wasted no time making the popcorn and sitting down to watch this star-crossed love story encased in a bonkers package. Director Ronny Yu spared no weirdness in the making of this film.

Cho Yi Hang is an orphan brought up in the 8th Clan, groomed to be his master’s heir. As he grows it becomes clear to everyone but his master that Cho’s heart is too gentle to take on a job where “Conscience is a hindrance.” When Cho was a child, a “wolf girl” saved his life, a deed he never forgot. Lien was also an orphan but raised by a psychotic conjoined sister and brother who lead the dark magic Supreme Clan. They trained her to be obedient and a ruthless killer. Both clans hate each other and have terrible plans to eliminate their enemy. As fate would have it during a battle, Lien spares Cho’s life and Cho in return saves her. Love blossoms and trust is promised, but those promises can be hard to keep with so much hatred surrounding them.

This film started out gradually with the development of Cho and Lien. It was hard to tell who the good guys were as betrayals and cruelty were practiced on nearly all sides. The twins were clearly overly the line, but the government and clans had blood on their hands, too. Once it got cranking, the action, romance, and violence never slowed. The lovers were the focus of the film as they danced around each other, fell in love, and ultimately succumbed to betrayal. Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin were gorgeous and completely believable as two lonely people having found their soul mate. Despite their suffering they could almost taste the happiness and freedom within their grasp. Unlike the more believable lovers, the twins often went OTT in every scene they were in.

I would put the violence and gore in this film more in the campy than gruesome category. Bodies were cleaved in half and heads were removed but in that early 1990s unrealistic style. There was other violence that was more realistic and two brief sexual assaults. One scene with the White Witch was so pinball crazy as to be funny. I did not care for the martial arts choreography and filming. Everything was either undercranked or sloooowed down with jerky, blurred filming techniques. Kudos to the stuntmen who sold the overly stylized action.

The Bride with White Hair is dated in both storytelling and appearance, but for fans of these old films it’s worth seeking out for Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin. I’ve seen Brigitte in several films but never has she looked more beautiful or fierce than she did here. In comparing films from this time frame, Bride was above average. Filmed too late to be rated on my kung fu curve, I still gave it a little extra love for Brig.

6 November 2025

Trigger warnings: Cleaving, beheadings, dismemberment, blood spewing. Sexual assault. Nudity. Sexual content. Snake.

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[Watched/Reviewed on Letterboxd 5/03/2021]

One of the influences behind "Xena: Warrior Princess" (and "Mortal Kombat 3"), "The Bride with White Hair" feels more like a lead-in to a more substantial story than a narrative unto itself.

The literal Bride with White Hair doesn't show up until the climax of the film, something that feels altogether rushed, but no less satisfying as a conclusion to the film that is basically a flashback setting up events for its sequel, "The Bride With White Hair II".

The film is supported primarily by its flair, 'wuxia choreography', and visual style. Outside a reliance on anti-Black and anti-indigenous stereotypes (actors walking around in outfits seemingly inspired by the Tiki villain in ,"Scooby Doo," and brownface), the film's soft lit, dreamy cinematography works for the almost fairy-tale approach to the story.

It communicates just enough about its lead characters (Cho Yi-Hang and the wolf-girl, Lian Ni Chang), and the ideology of their supporting cast that, even with how rushed things turned out, the story isn't a clear cut tale of good and evil.

It's a solid example of what happens when vendettas and tribalism turn communities on each other. It's just a shame that the story never tried to build Cho Yi Hang and Lian Ni Chang's relationship to explore that rift outside their apathy or objection to war altogether. Most of their screen-time is wasted on soft-core (porn) sex scenes in the water.

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