''The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom'' is a 2014 Chinese

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted f ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

film based on the best-selected novel '' Romance of the White-Haired Maiden'' written by

Liang Yusheng Chen Wentong (5 April 1924 – 22 January 2009), better known by his pen name Liang Yusheng, was a Chinese writer. Credited as the pioneer of the "New School" (新派) of the ''wuxia'' genre in the 20th century, Chen was one of the best known ...

. Directed by

Jacob Cheung Jacob Cheung Chi-leung is a Hong Kong film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His credits include '' A Battle Of Wits'' (2006), which was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay at the Golden Bauhinia Awards, and ''Beyond the S ...

and co-produced by

Bona Film Group Beijing Polybona Film Distribution Co. Ltd. (), also known as Polybona Films or the Bona Film Group, is a Chinese production company and distributor of films from mainland China and Hong Kong. It is run as a subsidiary of the China Poly Group, and ...

and

Huang Jianxin Huang Jianxin (born 14 June 1954) is a Chinese filmmaker. He also writes film scripts under the pen name Huang Xin. He is normally considered part of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers (a group that includes Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and Ti ...

with the creative consultant led by

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as ''Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...

, the film stars

Fan Bingbing Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on ''Time'' ...

Huang Xiaoming Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang (, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor, singer, and model. He graduated from the Performance Institute of the Beijing Film Academy in 2000. Huang first rose to prominence in 2001 for playing Emperor Wu of Han in ...

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

and others among the supporting cast. 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.

Cast

as Lian Nishang *

as Zhuo Yihang *

as Jin Duyi * Wang Xuebing as Murong Chong *

Ni Dahong Ni Dahong (; born 1960) is a Chinese actor best known for his roles as Sima Yi in the historical television series ''Three Kingdoms'', based on the classical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' by Luo Guanzhong; and Su Daqiang in family dram ...

Wei Zhongxian Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuc ...

Tong Yao Tong Yao (; born 11 August 1985), also known as Tanya Tong, is a Chinese actress, best known in film for portraying Chen Shu in ''A Big Deal'' (2011), May in '' Snowfall in Taipei'' (2012) and Annie Yang in '' To Love Somebody'' (2014), and has ...

as Ke Pingting * Li Xinru as Tie Shanhu *

Cecilia Yip Cecilia Yip Tung (; born 8 March 1963) is a Hong Kong actress whose work is known throughout Asia, especially in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Career She began her acting career in 1982 with ''Nomad'' for which she was nominated for t ...

as Ling Yunfeng *

Yan Yikuan Yan Yikuan (Chinese: 严屹宽; born 24 January 1979), formerly known as Yan Kuan (Chinese: 严宽) and also known as Kevin Yan, is a Chinese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Taiji Prodigy'' (2002), ''T ...

as Huangtaiji

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 } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to talk about their experiences in filming ''White Haired Witch''.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed US$61,900,000 in mainland China and a total of internationally.

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from audiences. The review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 0 approval rating from critics, with an average score of 4.3/10, based on 6 reviews. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' 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." On Chinese movie review site

Douban Douban.com (), launched on 6 March 2005, is a Chinese online database and social networking service that allows registered users to record information and create content related to film, books, music, recent events, and activities in Chinese c ...

, the film has a rating of 3.8/10, based on 51590 viewers. On Mtime.com, it has a score of 5.5 out of 10, based on 13137 viewers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom, The 2014 films Wuxia films Martial arts fantasy films Works based on Baifa Monü Zhuan Films based on Chinese novels Chinese romantic fantasy films 2014 fantasy films Chinese 3D films 2014 3D films Films directed by Jacob Cheung Films based on Baifa Monü Zhuan Polybona Films films