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The Shaw
Chronology
| Year |
Shaw
Story |
| 1896 |
Runje
Shaw was born. |
| 1898 |
Runde
Shaw was born.*
*Some publications indicate that his year of birth
was 1899. |
| 1901 |
Runme
Shaw was born. |
| 1907 |
Run
Run Shaw was born. |
| 1924 |
Runme
Shaw went to Singapore and Malaysia to pave way for Shaws' distribution
business.**
**The year is recorded in accordance with the information
extracted from Runme Shaw's interview with the National Archives of
Singapore. |
| 1925 |
The
Shaw brothers founded Unique (Tianyi) Film Productions in Shanghai.
Inaugural film: New Leaf/Li Di Cheng Fo |
| 1928 |
Shanghai's
Star (Mingxing), Great China, Minxin, Youlian, Shanghai, and Huaju
formed Liuhe (United Six) Film Company to challenge Unique's dominance.
Known in film history as the 'Liuhe Encirclement'.
Renje Shaw dispatched sixth brother Run Run to station in Singapore
and Malaysia to assist Runme in establishing distribution and exhibition
networks.***
***The official Shaw Organisation website states that
Run Run Shaw arrived at Singapore in 1926. Most other findings, however,
establish that he left for Singapore only after the 'Liuhe Encirclement'. |
| 1931 |
Unique
produced the first film with a soundtrack, The Nightclub Colours/Gechang
Chunse, a breakthrough in Chinese cinematic technology. |
| 1933 |
Unique
collaborated with renowned Cantonese opera artist Sit Kok-sin to make
Platinum Dragon/Bai Jinlong in Shanghai, the first Cantonese
sound film. |
| 1934 |
Runje
Shaw established Unique (HK branch) at 42 Pak Tai Street, To Kwa Wan,
Kowloon. Inaugural film: Mourning of the Chaste Tree Flower/Qi
Jinghua (a Cantonese opera film) |
| 1937 |
Unique
(HK) was renamed Nanyang. Runde Shaw replaced Runje Shaw as studio
boss. |
| 1946 |
Runde
Shaw became a shareholder of Great China Film Company and leased Nanyang
Studio to Great China. |
| 1950 |
Nanyang
was renamed Shaw and Sons Ltd, and shifted its production focus from
Cantonese to Mandarin films. Nanyang Studio was also renamed Shaw
Studio. |
| 1952 |
The
Screen Voice Pictorial (HK edition), official publication of
Shaw and Sons, was published. |
| 1955 |
Shaws'
Cantonese Film Group was formed.
The first Cantonese film produced under the Shaw banner was The
Opera Boat in Singapore/Xingdao Hongchuan, shot on location in
Singapore. |
| 1957 |
Production
of Love with an Alien/Yiguo Qingyuan, Shaw and Sons' first
co-production with a Korean company; Nishimoto Tadashi (Chinese pseudonym
He Lanshan) was cinematographer.
Run Run Shaw took over production business in HK.
Southern Screen, SB's official publication, was published. |
| 1958 |
Shaw
Brothers (HK) Ltd was founded with Run Run Shaw as President. Shaw
bought a land in Clearwater Bay, Kowloon to build the Shaw Movie Town.
Shaw & Sons switched to focus on distribution and cinema operations
in Hong Kong.
Diau Charn/Diao Chan won five major awards at the 5th Asian
Film Festival, including Best Actress (Linda Lin Dai) and Best Director
(Li Han-hsiang). |
| 1959 |
The
Kingdom and the Beauty/Jiangshan Meiren won Best Picture award
at the 6th Asian Film Festival.
Co-produced Three Dolls in Hong Kong/Xianggang San Xiaojie in
Hong Kong with Japan's Toho.
Raymond Chow joined SB as publicity officer. |
| 1961 |
The
Southern Drama Group was founded with Ku Wen-chung as leader, providing
acting training for Shaws' budding stars.
Shaw Studio began operation on 6 December. |
| 1962 |
Yang
Kwei Fei/Yangguifei (dir Li Hanxiang) won Grand Prix de la Commission
Supérieure Technique du Cinéma Français at the
15th Cannes Film Festival for its achievement in colour cinematography. |
| 1963 |
The
Love Eterne/Liang Shanbo Yu Zhu Yingtai broke box office records
in HK and Taiwan, lifting the curtain on the huangmei diao
hit trend.
Li Han-hsiang left SB and founded Grand (Guolian) Motion Picture Company
in Taiwan. |
| 1966 |
King
Hu's Come Drink with Me/Da Zuixia marked the beginning of
the 'new wuxia' era in Hong Kong cinema.
Hong Kong Movie News, the second official publication of
SB, was published.
America's Life magazine published a feature article on the
Shaw Movie Town. |
| 1967 |
One-Armed
Swordsman/Du Bi Dao, starring Jimmy Wang Yu and directed by Chang
Cheh, hit the million dollar mark at HK box office. It also steered
the cinema to a violent, male-centred dominance which Chang termed
yang gang (staunch masculinity). |
| 1969 |
Mona
Fong joined SB and worked in the purchasing department. |
| 1970 |
Raymond
Chow left SB. |
| 1971 |
Co-founded
with TVB the Shaw-HK-TVB Training Centre, replacing the Southern Drama
Group.
SB issued shares and became a public-listed company. |
| 1972 |
Li Han-hsiang
returned to SB and made The Warlord/Da Junfa. TV star Michael
Hui was chosen to play the title role. |
| 1973 |
King
Boxer/Tianxia Diyiquan, starring Lo Lieh, was released in the
US and soon became a popular hit among western audiences.
Chor Yuen's The House of 72 Tenants/Qishi'erjia Fangke was
a critical as well as box office success, reviving the declining Cantonese
cinema.
Co-produced with Hammer Film Productions the horror film Dracula
and the 7 Golden Vampires, starring John (David) Chiang, Shi
Sze and Peter Cushing.
The Hongkong Shaw Foundation was founded to raise funds to support
charity organisations, and set up scholarships and teacher training
programmes.
Runde Shaw died. |
| 1974 |
Michael
Hui left SB.
Lui Kay founded Jinhe Film Company, a satellite company of SB.
Chang's Film Company went into production in Taiwan.
Run Run Shaw received the CBE. |
| 1975 |
Run
Run Shaw announced his HK$60 million investment in Taipan,
a film adaptation of James Clavell's bestseller of the same title.
Production commenced at Shaw Studio the following year.
Runje Shaw died on 17 February. |
| 1978 |
SB invested
US$16 million in Meteor (1979), a Hollywood production starring
Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, and Henry Fonda. |
| 1980 |
Run
Run Shaw became the largest shareholder of TVB, heading the board
of directors. |
| 1982 |
Run
Run Shaw invested in the sci-fi classic Blade Runner, directed
by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford. |
| 1985 |
SB wound
down its production. The company leased its circuits to Dickson Poon's
D & B.
Runnme Shaw died on 2 March. |
| 1986 |
Shaw
Movie Town was leased to TVB. |
| 1988 |
SB and
TVB co-founded Cosmopolitan Film Productions Co Ltd, with Mona Fong
in charge of the new company. Inaugural film: Mr Possessed/Zhuang
Xie Xiansheng
TV City, located in Clearwater Bay, officially opened. |
| 1999 |
Copyrights
of over 700 SB films were sold to the Malaysian group Usaha Tegas
Sdn Bhd for HK$600 million. The consortium later set up Celestial
Pictures Ltd in HK. |
| 2001 |
Run
Run Shaw and Mona Fong founded Film Power Co Ltd. Inaugural film:
Martial Angels/Jue Se Shentou |
| 2002 |
Run
Run Shaw founded the 'Run Run Shaw Award' to honour scientists who
have distinctive achievements in areas of mathematics, medical science
and astronomy. The award, totalled at US$1 million, is considered
the 'Nobel Prize of the East'. The first 'Run Run Shaw Award' will
be held in 2004.
Celestial digitally re-mastered more than 700 SB films and releases
them in VCD and DVD formats. Among them are classics such as The
Kingdom and the Beauty/Jiangshan Meiren, Love Without End/Bu
Liao Qing, The Love Eterne/Liang Shanbo Yu Zhu Yingtai,
The Blood Brothers/Ci Ma, The Empress Dowager/Qing Guo
Qing Cheng, etc. The library of films will be released in batches
in the next few years. |
| 2003 |
The
new Tseung Kwan O TV City, a billion-dollar joint venture with China
Star Entertainment Group, is to be completed in 2004. The new movietown
will house a post-production centre, an administration building, studios,
cinemas and exhibition halls. Mona Fong indicated that Shaws would
resume film production after the completion. |
Editor's Note:
This chronology aims to trace Shaw's development in Hong Kong. Therefore,
activities of Shaw's predecessor Unique (Shanghai) are noted in brief, while
Shaws' marks left in Southeast Asia and Taiwan are omitted. For more detailed
discussions on Shaws' business in these two regions, please refer to the
research papers presented in the 1st and 2nd Conferences on Shaw Brothers
Enterprise (all papers are written in Chinese except the last one):
1. Chen Meiling, 'Shaw Brothers in Singapore, From the Twenties to Seventies'
('Shaoshi Xiongdi Zai Xingjiapo, Ershi Niandai Zhi Qishi Niandai')
2. Chen Meiling, 'The Fire-Bathing Phoenix: A Study of Shaw Brothers' Entertainment
Enterprise and the Leisure and Entertainment of People in Singapore and
Malaysia After WWII Based on Entertainment Magazine' ('Yu Huo Di
Fenghuang: Cong "Yule" Kan Er Zhan Hou Shaoshi Xiongdi Di Yule
Shiye Yu Xin Ma Renmin di Yule Xiaoqian')
3. Liu xiancheng, 'Shaw Brothers' Movies in Taiwan' ('Shaoshi Dianying Zai
Taiwan')
4. Law Kar, 'Shaw Brothers' Cross-Boundary Development: 1920-1970' ('Shaoshi
Xiongdi Di Kua Jie Fazhan: Yijiu Erling Zhi Yijiu Qiling Niandai')
5. Timothy White, 'Exactly the Same but Completely Different: Product Differentiation
in the Singaporean Films of Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Productions and Cathay-Keris'
The 'Hong Kong Cinema Story' section sketches the development of film industry
in Hong Kong; the 'Hong Kong Story' section traces the social and political
development of the local community. Together these two sections provide
the backdrop against Shaws' own evolution, and its interaction with the
society and the time.
Reference:
1. Cai Hongsheng, Song Jialing, Liu Guiqing (eds), Xianggan Dianying
Bashi Nian (80 Years of Hong Kong Film), Beijing: Beijing Broadcasting
Institute Press, 2000.
2. Chung, Po-yin Stephanie, 'The Industrial Evolution of a Fraternal Enterprise:
The Shaw Brothers and the Shaw Organisation' in this volume.
3. Paul Fonoroff, Silver Light, A Pictorial Histroy of Hong Kong Cinema,
1920-1970, Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (HK) Co Ltd, 1997 (Chinese and
English Versions)
4. The Hong Kong Filmography (Vols 1-4), Hong Kong, Hong Kong Film
Archive, 1997-2003
5. Tang Kaijian, Xiao Guojian, Chen Rongjia (eds), Xianggang Liuqian
Nian: Yuangu-Yijiu Jiuqi (6000 Years of Hong Kong: Ancient-1997), Hong
Kong: Unicorn Books Ltd, 1998.
6. Teo, Stephen, Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions, London:
BFI, 1997.
7. Yu Mo-wan, 'Shaw Brothers and Hong Kong Cinema' (Shaoshi Xiongdi Yu Xianggang
Dianying'), research paper published in the Conference on Shaw Brothers
Enterprise and Asian Urban Culture International Conference, Department
of Chinese Studies, The National University of Singapore, 2001.
8. Yu Mo-wan, Xianggang Dianying Bashi Nian (Eighty Years of Hong Kong
Cinema), Hong Kong: Regional Council, 1994.
9. Yu Mo-wan, Xianggang Dianying Shihua (Anecdotes of Hong Kong Cinema),
Vols 1-5, Hong Kong: Sub-Culture Ltd, 1996-2001.
10. Zhan Youpeng, Lan Chao, Shao Yifu Zhuan (Run Run Shaw: A Biography),
Hong Kong: Mingliu Publishing, 1997.
Magazines:
Southern Screen, Hong Kong , 1957-1979; Hong Kong Movie News, Hong
Kong, 1966-1979
Website:
Official website of Shaw Organisation, Singapore at http://www.shaw.com.sa/shawstory/shawstory.htm
Our special thanks to Law Kar, Stephanie Chung Po-yin and Lui Tai-lok for
proofreading the frist draft and providing us with invaluable comments.
Collated by Grace Ng
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