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What begins as a simple, bittersweet tale about a widower's daughtergrandly unfolds into a rich, mythical adventure in Hallmark's production ofSnow Queen. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, this story whisksviewers to a remote mountain town where winter claims a surprising number oflives, beginning with the local innkeeper's wife. Many years later, the woman'sdaughter, Gerda (Chelsea Hobbs), finds true love when her father hires Kai(Jeremy Guilbaut) as the inn's new bellboy. About one hour into this three-hourproduction, the mood turns rather sinister as the Snow Queen (Bridget Fonda)bewitches and captures Kai. Scenes of Gerda's search--through the lushtemptations of each season personified--are interspersed with downright creepyscenes of Kai held prisoner in the Snow Queen's ice palace. Keen acting andsmart direction engross the viewer, but those under 8 years old might not beready for the repetitive themes of seduction and temptation. --LianeThomas ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Drags On and On...Just Like Winter
I recently took this off the shelf at my local video rental store because the picture on the box showed a white haired Bridget Fonda dressed in a beautiful sparkly white dress and a snow white cloak made of feathers. It looked to me like Hallmark Entertainment was going to at least try to do this film up right.
As it turned out, a lavish budget did provide many beautiful costumes, sets, and location scenery, but the simplicity and innocence of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale got lost in three hours of so-so acting, a poor screen play, dreadful dialog, bad film editing and lousy direction from David Wu.

In the original fairy tale the protagonists are two children named Kay and Gerda. In this film Kay has been changed to Kai and both Kai and Gerda are young adults who are in love.

One day Kai gets beguiled by the Snow Queen who rules the season of Winter and he is kidnapped and taken to her Ice Palace. Gerda begins a long (and in this film I do mean LONG) quest to discover his whereabouts and to rescue him. In order to do this she must travel through the lands of the other Seasons. She meets with the eccentric denizens of Spring, Summer and Autumn and each of them attempts to kidnap her. The idiosyncratic Andersen's take on the seasons was odd enough in the original story, but in this film is all the more exaggerated.

Kai has a talking Polar Bear (crafted with skill by Jim Henson's Creature Works) for a prison guard. His involvment with the polar bear is one of the many reasons this movie drags. Several ridiculous minutes are spent with Kai teaching the bear to ice-skate, for example.

The actors portraying Wolfgang, the father, Gerda, and Kai are tolerable if not note-worthy. Bridget Fonda, in my opinion, was not right for the part of the Snow Queen. Her performance is lackluster and she delivers her lines as though she's LaFemme Nikita rather than a character in a fairy tale. She looks the part but she doesn't seem particularly frosty or seductive as the script calls for her to be. Her lines are delivered in a flat emotionless way that I suppose is meant to be icy, but comes off as dull. You really wonder how in the world Kai could have been beguiled by such a person.

The interior sets, the costumes, the lighting...all the cosmetic trim of this film are beautiful and they are what made me so want to love this movie, but the magic is missing and I was never able to get swept away by the story.

At three hours in length and with a plot that focuses on mature themes of love lost, grief and seduction, even suicide, this film is most decidedly NOT for children of any age. Yet, with the corny talking bear and a talking reindeer and some really silly robber characters, I can't say it is a film for adults, either.

There is some really cheesy dialog that is too much like modern slang for example when the Summer Princess comments on Gerda's dress by saying, "That peasant look is so last year," or later when she asks Gerda, "Do I look a porker in this dress?"

There is a whole lot of trite symbolism featuring red roses that further takes up time for no real benefit. In the original story Andersen has a "demon" creating havok with a magical mirror but in the film the minor league demon has been changed to Satan himself and they actually say the mirror is crafted in Hell. They make the devil look really cliche in this film and I feel it was too heavy-handed and out of sync with the rest of the picture. Sadly, this production just doesn't work. Even with a big budget, lavish decorations and costumes, talented actors, and a story that has enchanted people for over a century and a half, it still falls flat. I'd say skip this one...and for sure, do not try to make your kids sit through it. It's no fun.

Romantic and dark, A very pleasing tale
I find that epic movies whether Hallmark or any kind sometimes end up being too cute or boring or just over the top for no reason.The Snow Queen was none of these things, starting out as a simple romance between two teens entering adulthood, (she's 17 he's 18) it slowly moves into the magical realms of the seasons as the main character, Gerda, attempts to save her first and only true love from the Snow Queen. The scenery is very lush and beautiful but the thing that truly makes this a fine epic movie is the acting, which is superb. All the characters hold their own weight and I would reccomend this movie to anyone who enjoys an engrossing tale which deals with temptaion, love, and loss, although I agree with the other poster who considers this for the 8 and up set, some of the darker themes may be a little ovewhelming for those younger then eight.

Single, white, female...
but's she's no Snow Queen. What a disgrace to Hans Christian Andersen! A horrible attempt at a beautiful classic. One star is too generous.

A must see film!!!!!!!
I saw the Snow Queen on sky 1 over Christmas and i LOVED it! I loved the Snow Queen i thought she was great and was played very well. Kai and Gerda are quite annoning and me and my friends Sarah and the Louise wanted to shoot Gerda and Kai sometimes. I thought the ending was good and liked the polar bear he was good too. I loved the Snow Queen so much that i searched the internet looking for the DVD suitable for my DVD player. I never had heard of Bridget Fonda before i watched the Snow Queen but she played the Snow Queen so well that i found what other films she was in and now she's my favourite actress.Dont just watch the snow queen watch other films with Miss Fonda in them too and see what a talanted actress she is...... but what do i know im other 13!

follow your heart
hello,its wonderful to meet so many people who have seen the film and like it,i love it too.
i think ,the love in the real life will meet as many difficulties as that in the film showed,the snow queen is not a bad women,and the bear who loves her is great and full of tolerance. ... Read more

Description

The BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR saga continues with the bloody massacre of the followers of the Eight Clans.Powerful, insane and obsessed with hatred, The Bride (Brigitte Lin) has gone on a killing rampage, and can only be stopped by the one person she loves (Leslie Cheung). ... Read more

Reviews (17)

a victim of sequalitis
this movie was a pretty good sequel to the first one. but it should have been better. i think that if it werent for the acting ability of brigitte lin this movie would have been a flop. dont get me wrong its a good movie but when you compare it to the first one you can tell it falls short and carries all the symptoms of sequalitis. the best part of the whole movie, which about 90 min. in length, is the end scenes. even though i give it a lower rating i would recommend getting this one, or you will never know how the story ends.

What was this
Bride with the white hair had hardly any action and really disappointed me. I like the story line and everything and it's pretty sad, but I wanted to see more fight scenes. Don't get this movie is you are expecting action.

Mindy's Review
well as a Brigitte Lin Chin Hsia Fan, i would say that part 2 wasen't all that cause part 2 can't even compare with part 1 but, the story line is kinda dull but, this movie is sooo dam worth siting and staring at the screen just to see the end. where Brigitte and Leslie comes back together as Brigitte white hair turn back to black (cause they forgave each other and kiss while i guess they died while makine out haha) so worth sit through all them exta stuff just to see the end! but, if you haven't seen part 1 then i really suggest that you should see part 1. well if you didn't like part 1 then you souldn't get part 2 just think of it as leslie died in the moutain waiting for the rose! haha And of course you should see Brigitte Lin other movies such as Peking Opera Blues......etc

Mindy Yang

Great Movie..but watch Part 2 first..
This is a great movie and well done. The only bad thing here is that, Part 2 was suppose to come out before part 1. Becuz after watching part 1, you get the feeling you want to watch part 2 with hopes of the characters continuing just like that.. Trust me, this is one of the great movies ever, watch 2 first, you would be craving to watch part 1.. And there ya go, you would watch it over again.. Well Done..

Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be
While it certainly isn't up to par with its predecessor, Bride with White Hair 2 is not an awful movie. I admit that I bought the movie because of the sheer beauty of the first; and it did try its best to rectify the open ending that the original had.

The fighting scenes were bizarre and interesting to say the least, with Brigitte Lin's white hair strangling and piercing bodies all over the place, and the story was, while not terribly engaging, was not tepid enough to be utterly uninteresting. While the relationship between Sunny Chan and Joey Maan is not as interesting as that of Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin (hence the four stars, though I wish I could give 4.5 stars..), the young couple were somewhat convincing. Veterans, Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung electrifies in their wondrous renditions of the two doomed lovers. Too bad there's only a few minutes of screen time for the pair ;-(

Bride with White Hair 2 certainly is not a bad movie; living up to the original Bride with White Hair's greatness was not an easy task mind you, so the sequal did a decent job. Comparing BWWH2 with other HK wuxia flicks, this one is solid. If you want BWWH2 to give you the same, mind-numbing experience that the original delivers, you're going to be in for a disappointment. Watch the movie on its own, without comparing it to the magnificence of the original. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Witty and Fun
Once a thief are great entertainment the screen play and all the exagerations are so funny. If you love great action then it is a must own

Bad Movie
The worst movie ever. If you want to see a real good Woo film, go watch "Face/Off". Now thats a good movie.

Great!!!
it's just... so canadian... brilliant, really... funny, full of action, suspense... it has it all.

3 stars movie
Not bad film. Quite stylish action. Me recommend to buy it only if u saw a same TV series! Problem with the soundtrack: crackling noise during many scenes. Sound in Dolby Prologic only. :(

Don't Buy - Lousy Audio
I like the movie and the video portion of the DVD is great. However, the audio is horrible. Constant crackling like an old, scratched record (for those who remember what they are). I have three (yes 3) original copies of this DVD and all 3 are defective. Don't waste your money. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Forgettable.
What do you get when you have John Woo direct a movie in which bloodshed is not allowed, the actors are all terrible Canadian nobodies, and the general feel is that of a TV-show pilot?

That's right, you get Blackjack.

Well, you also get this weak little remake of his 1989 Hong Kong film, but without Chow Yun-Fat and Jacky Cheung.

When will they release the whole series on DVD?
They SO need to release the whole TV series on DVD. Hurry up John Woo some of us were disappointed that the series got cancelled!

Warring: this film [is bad]
Warring this is not a good film. The screenplay is bad, the acting is bad, and about every thing about this film is bad. John Woo is a good director; this is not a good film. Woo's Hollywood success with BROKEN ARROW and FACE/OFF emboldened FOX TV to remake Woo's Hong Kong action comedy hit ONCE A THIEF (1992) for TV. Wath we got was nothing more then a movie that rips off Woo's (good) Hong Kong films (a little bit of HARD BOILED can be seen in the film) with a no name TV movie stars (like Nicholas Lea) who wood bee better off acting in plays or something like that. This film was also to be a pilot for a TV program it looks like they got the ratings in this film [is bad] (you may know that by now, but I hate this film). The story (if there is one) is set in Hong Kong and then in Vancouver but that is all I wath to put to words, the rest is too dumb (or has been used before in the 92 film). Look for the 1992 film. The video is a "Never before Seen R-rated Director's cut", but there is no blood or nothing in it. A much better Woo U.S.A. made film is HARD TARGET.

1997. TV Film. ??? MINS.

Rated R For Violence.

Fun start to an even better series
While I won't call this movie high art, it was a lot of fun to watch. And ignore the...comment. While the show has not yet aired in the States (but will be on many ABC stations next fall), it was turned into a series that was much better, including episodes that satirized everything from Waiting for Godot and the Maltese Falcon to James Bond and X-Files.

Disappointing
Ok let me say that I saw this movie on TV a few years ago and I was intrigued when it was called "John Woo's Once a Thief" because the original (Chinese version, 1990)with Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat is one of my favorite movies. This movie had none of the slapstick laughs and rapport that Cheung, Chow, and Chung had in the original. The acting quality was also very poor. So for all of you seeing this washed out and weak version, do yourselves a favor and see the Chinese version. ... Read more