The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom

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. 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.

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

 * Fan Bingbing as Lian Nishang
 * Huang Xiaoming as Zhuo Yihang
 * Vincent Zhao as Jin Duyi
 * Wang Xuebing as Murong Chong
 * Ni Dahong as Wei Zhongxian
 * Tong Yao as Ke Pingting
 * Li Xinru as Tie Shanhu
 * Cecilia Yip as Ling Yunfeng
 * Yan Yikuan 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 to talk about their experiences in filming White Haired Witch.

Box office
The film grossed US$61,900,000 in mainland China and a total of US$64.2 million internationally.

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. 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."

On Chinese movie review site Douban, 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.