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The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom

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The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom
Theatrical poster
Traditional Chinese白髮魔女傳之明月天國
Simplified Chinese白发魔女传之明月天国
Hanyu PinyinBáifà Mónǚ Zhuàn Zhī Míngyuè Tiānguó
Directed byJacob Cheung
Screenplay byKang Qiao
Wang Bing
Zhu Yali
Shi Her'an
Guo Junli
Based onRomance of the White-Haired Maiden
by Liang Yusheng
Produced byHuang Jianxin
StarringFan Bingbing
Huang Xiaoming
Vincent Zhao
CinematographyAndy Lam
Edited byEric Kwong
Music byPeter Kam
Production
company
Distributed byBona Film Group
Release date
  • 31 July 2014 (2014-07-31)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Budget100 million yuan
(US$16 million)[1]
Box officeUS$64.2 million

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom is a 2014 Chinese wuxia-fantasy film based on the novel Romance of the White-Haired Maiden written by Liang Yusheng. Directed by Jacob Cheung and co-produced by Bona Film Group and Huang Jianxin Tsui Hark as the creative consultant, the film stars Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, Vincent Zhao, and others in the supporting cast.[2] Originally scheduled for release on 25 April 2014, the film was moved to 1 August 2014, then moved a day earlier to 31 July 2014.[3][4]

Plot

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhuo Yihang, who had just been elected as the new leader of the Wudang Sect, was ordered to bring the Red Pill to Beijing as a tribute. Along the way, he met the demon cult witch Lian Nishang. The two went from being strangers to being unable to help but fall in love, and promised to spend their lives together in Mingyue Village where Lian Nishang was stationed. Soon, the Jinyiwei attacked Mingyue Village and pointed out that Lian Nishang was the murderer who killed Zhuo Zhonglian, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Zhuo Yihang went to the capital alone to find out the truth. Soon after, he heard that he had surrendered to the court and married another beautiful wife. Lian Nishang was filled with grief and anger, and her black hair turned white overnight.

Cast

Production

The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom was produced at a budget of 100 million yuan. Shooting started in November 2012 and ended in March 2013. During filming, Huang Xiaoming had a three-metre fall after a wire accident on the set and he fractured two toes on his left foot. He had to sit in a wheelchair for weeks, but resumed filming even though he had yet to fully recover. On 2 April 2013, Huang and Fan Bingbing attended a press conference in Beijing to talk about their experiences in filming White Haired Witch.[1][2]

Reception

Box office

The film grossed US$61,900,000 in mainland China[5] and a total of US$64.2 million internationally.[6]

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from audiences. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a 0 approval rating from critics, with an average score of 4.3/10, based on 6 reviews.[7] The Hollywood Reporter said, "it's a shame that Cheung's first film in seven years is eventually weighed down by this rushed, uneven sprawl of a story credited to five screenwriters, each of whom possibly bringing their own references (ranging from political-parable historical dramas like last year's Life of Ming, to the contemporary dramas like Infernal Affairs) and their perspective in how to make The White Haired Witch connect with a new generation of viewers. Their attempt in reinventing this tale sits uncomfortably with the one central element that couldn't be moved—that is, the troubled (and sloppily presented) romance involving the title character."[8]

On Chinese movie review site Douban, the film has a rating of 3.8/10, based on 51590 viewers.[9] On Mtime.com, it has a score of 5.5 out of 10, based on 13137 viewers.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Fan Bingbing and Huang Xiaoming Completes [sic] Filming "White Haired Witch"". Jayne Stars. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b "White Haired Witch drops a poster! (and literally drops an actor!)". TarsTarkas.net Blog. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  3. ^ 《白发魔女传之明月天国》北京首映- 黄晓明获赞"送嫁男神"(图) (in Chinese). NetEase. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  4. ^ 新《白发魔女传》改档七夕 五一档大片扎堆 为放映空间而调整 (in Chinese). mtime. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Weekly box office 11/08/2014 - 17/08/2014". english.entgroup.cn. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  6. ^ Nancy Tartaglione and David Bloom (10 January 2015). "'Transformers 4′ Tops 2014's 100 Highest-Grossing International Films – Chart". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  7. ^ "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom". rottentomatoes. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  8. ^ "'The White Haired Witch of the Lunar Kingdom' ('Bai Fa Mo Nu Zhuan Zhi Ming Yue Tian Guo'): Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  9. ^ "白发魔女传之明月天国". douban.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  10. ^ "白发魔女传之明月天国". mtime.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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