This article needs a plot summary.(September 2023) |
The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom | |
---|---|
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 Pinyin | Báifà Mónǚ Zhuàn Zhī Míngyuè Tiānguó |
Directed by | Jacob Cheung |
Screenplay by | Kang Qiao Wang Bing Zhu Yali Shi Her'an Guo Junli |
Based on | Romance of the White-Haired Maiden by Liang Yusheng |
Produced by | Huang Jianxin |
Starring | Fan Bingbing Huang Xiaoming Vincent Zhao |
Cinematography | Andy Lam |
Edited by | Eric Kwong |
Music by | Peter Kam |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Bona Film Group |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | China |
Language | Mandarin |
Budget | 100 million yuan (US$16 million) [1] |
Box office | US$64.2 million |
The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom is a 2014 Chinese wuxia-fantasy film based on the best-selected 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 with the creative consultant led by Tsui Hark, the film stars Fan Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, Vincent Zhao and others among 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]
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]
The film grossed US$61,900,000 in mainland China [5] and a total of US$64.2 million internationally. [6]
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]
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