- English name：It’s love
- Broadcast time：September 28, 2011
- Starring：李连杰（Jet Li）、黄圣依（Eva Huang）、林峯（LAM Raymond）、蔡卓妍（Charlene Choi）、文章
- director：程小东（Siu-Tung Ching）
Introduction
Today,we are going to talk about a film named, The Sorcerer and the White Snake (白蛇传说báishé chuánshuō). It’s directed by Ching Siu-tung (程小东Chéng Xiǎodōng) and starring Jet Li (李连杰Lǐ Liánjié). It is based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake (白蛇传báishé zhuàn). Production started in September 10, 2010 and ended on January 16, 2011. The film will be in 3-D and it is estimated to release at the end of the year.
Leading actors Ethan Ruan (阮经天Ruǎn Jīngtiān), Peter Ho (何润东Hé Rùndōng) , Mark Chao (赵又廷Zhào Yòutíng) and Raymond Lam (林峯Lín Fēng) fought for the lead role in the film. In the end, Lam got the role. It was reported that Ruan and Chow were dropped as they were deemed to be not well known enough in China and Ho’s image did not suit the male lead.
Jet Li was announced to be part of the cast during early pre-production however his role was not revealed until September 2010, when some actors’ roles were announced including Jet Li as Fa Hai, Eva Huang as White Snake, Raymond Lam as Xu Xian, Charlene Choi as Green Snake and Wen Zhang, whom Li invited to play his disciple Neng Ren.
Regarding the action scenes, Jet Li said he had never been this exhausted before. Li says, “ After fighting the White Snake, fight the Green Snake. After fighting the Green Snake, then fight the Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight another Demon. After fighting this Demon, then fight the Water Monster. Everyday on set I was letting out a big sigh.”
Raymond Lam said he was always being hit by others, “ Especially Ah Sa, she even requested for the director to add fight scenes. As a result, added scenes to hit me! Furthermore she fought much more fiercely than before!”
Filming wrapped on January 16, 2011. Originally titled Madame White Snake in English, the film logo was unveiled during the production wrap press conference with the new official English title, It’s Love. However, the English title was changed to The Sorcerer and the White Snake when the distributor was announced.
Plot
The Great Song Dynasty moved south and made its capital Lin’an. Unexpectedly, a group of evildoers in the mountains and forests succeeded in cultivating themselves and committed all kinds of evil. A catastrophe in the world began. Fahai (played by Jet Li), the host of Jinshan Temple, and his disciple Neng Ren (played by Wen Zhang) were entrusted with justice for heaven. Catching monsters everywhere, he first started a fierce battle with a snow monster (Vivian Hsu), and then was seduced by a group of fox monsters.
The White Snake (played by Huang Shengyi) who has been practicing in the mountains for thousands of years cannot bear the loneliness in the mountains, so he travels around the world with the Green Snake (played by Charlene Choi) in human form. By chance, he meets Xu Xian (played by Raymond Lam) and falls in love with her. Xu Xian does not know that she is a powerful man. The snake demon.
With the help of Green Snake and a group of demon friends, White Snake finally made her dream come true and got married to Xu Xian… After being able to bear the demon blood, she gradually became indistinguishable between humans and demons. When she discovered that Green Snake was also a demon queen, she even cherished each other. . Fahai traced the whereabouts of the white snake during the Dragon Boat Festival and used a clever plan to capture it. A fierce battle between the two sides was earth-shattering… In the end, Fahai trapped Xu Xian in Jinshan Temple. White Snake and Green Snake were killed side by side. The endurance of humans and demons suddenly appeared. Jinshan Temple faced the impact of huge waves, and a battle between humans and demons began. The thousand-year decisive battle between , magic, law and heaven has begun.
Professional evaluation
Positive reviews
The Legend of White Snake follows the standard routine of commercial films. The story progresses smoothly and quickly, and the transitions between the beginning, development, turning point and ending are all supplemented by lively action scenes. The overall effect is one wave after another. Although the characterization of the group portraits cannot be said to surpass the classics, at least the two characters of Fahai and Bai Suzhen have radiated their due brilliance. The three opposing relationships of law and emotion, etiquette and desire, and humans and demons are presented one by one, creating a lot of dramatic conflicts in the literary drama. The strengths of the film are played and the weaknesses are avoided, making special effects the protagonist of the film. A major contribution of the Legend of White Snake is the special effects. In this regard, the Legend of White Snake has created the history of domestic blockbusters. The human-shaped snake body, the flooding of Jinshan Temple and other effects, which were usually only seen in Hollywood films in the past, are at least “realistic” (Yangtze Evening News review) [29]. At the beginning of the movie, “Fahai fights the snow demon in a fantasy world” brings the audience into the world of special effects. The demon world where the White Snake and the Green Snake are located is beautifully created by computer special effects. The “flooding of Jinshan Mountain” at the end of the film is the climax of the whole film. In the approximately 30-minute fighting scene, the movie creates a doomsday disaster scene like “2012”.
Negative reviews
The film’s visual effects, action scenes, and characters’ emotions are somewhat disconnected (Sina Entertainment Review) [31]; compared to the special effects, the emotional scenes are relatively weak, and Fahai’s scenes are too many compared to the White Snake’s scenes; the love story between the White Snake and Xu Xian is too hasty, and the scene of the woman chasing the man is a bit exaggerated, turning the graceful and elegant White Snake into a flamboyant and eccentric woman.
