Shaw Brothers Studio
Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited (Chinese: 邵氏兄弟(香港)公司) was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, operating from 1925 to 2011.
For the Malaysian film company with a similar name, see Astro Shaw.
Native name
邵氏兄弟控股有限公司
Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. (1958–2011)
27 December 1958
28 November 2011
Merged with Shaw Brothers to form a new Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited
Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited
Worldwide
Shaw Brothers International Pictures
邵氏片場
Shào Shì Piànchǎng
Shào Shì Piànchǎng
Shao Shih P'iench'ang
Shàu Shr̀ Pyànchǎng
Siuh Sih pin chèuhng
Siu6 si6 pin3 coeng4
In 1925, three Shaw brothers—Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shanghai, and established a film distribution base in Singapore, where Runme and their youngest brother, Run Run Shaw, managed the precursor to the parent company, Shaw Organisation. Runme and Run Run took over the film production business of its Hong Kong-based sister company, Shaw & Sons Ltd; in 1958, a new company, "Shaw Brothers," was set up. In the 1960s, Shaw Brothers established what was once the largest privately-owned studio in the world, Movietown.
The company's most famous works include The Love Eterne (1963), Come Drink with Me (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), King Boxer (1972), Executioners from Shaolin (1977), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Five Deadly Venoms (both 1978).
Over the years, the film company produced around 1,000 films, some becoming the most popular and significant Chinese-language films of the period. It also popularized the kung fu genre of films. In 1987, the company suspended film production in order to concentrate on the television industry through its subsidiary, TVB. Film production resumed in limited capacity in 2009.
In 2011, Shaw Brothers was reorganized into the Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited; its film production business was taken over by other companies within the Shaw conglomerate. However, the company continues to remain active in producing TV shows under the Shaw Brothers name to this day as of 2022.
Legacy[edit]
Directors[edit]
Shaw Brothers is noted for film directors such as King Hu, Lau Kar-leung, P. Ramlee[24] and Chang Cheh. King Hu was an early director who is best remembered for his film, Come Drink with Me, a martial arts film which differed from those of Chang Cheh in that it featured a capable female protagonist and revolved around romance in the martial arts world, rather than fast-paced action and the tales of brotherhood which Chang Cheh would later popularize. Chang Cheh, who was more fond of the latter components, would go on to be Shaw Studio's best-known director, with such films as Five Deadly Venoms, The Brave Archer (based on the works of Jin Yong), One-Armed Swordsman, and other classics of Wuxia and Wushu film. Almost equally as famous was fight-choreographer-turned-director Lau Kar-leung, who would produce such highly regarded kung fu films as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, while P. Ramlee was known for Malay style romantics and comedy such as Nujum Pa' Belalang, Seniman Bujang Lapok and Do Re Mi.
Shaw Studios[edit]
The Clearwater Bay site at Clearwater Bay Road and Ngan Ying Road is the former home of Shaw Studio (built 1960–1961), as well as the vacated TVB headquarters and studios (1986–2003, since relocated to TVB City) and Celestial Pictures.[27] There are also apartment blocks used to house Shaw actors. The newer Shaw House and Shaw Villa are there. The site has been vacant since 2003[28] and has been targeted for redevelopment several times since 2006.[29] In 2015, Hong Kong's Antiquities Advisory Board declared the entire studio complex a site of cultural significance and subsequent redevelopment plans have included measures to restore and preserve the existing structures.[29]
A new Shaw Studios (note the plural s) was built at Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate and opened in stages between 2006 and 2008.