Family Owned & Operated
Without these men where would any of us "Kung-fu Fanatics" be? They are responsible for building an empire that has started a cultural revolution in Asia for the bulk of the 20th century. With dreams and aspirations of making "Hollywood-styled" movies, they embarked on a journey that would entertain millions of people for many years. Together, these brothers would transcend the norm to become (2) of the richest men in the world and if that wasn't enough, they made millions of people happy in the process. Pick someone (anyone) in the kung-fu film industry and you will see, that if it weren't for this man they may have been somewhere, taking someone's order (restaurant).
These people would still exist, but not to magnitude that we know them today. He built the Shaw Bros' studio from the ground up, researching the industry, the foreign market, as well as the International market, in order to give us (Americans) a whole new world in which we would exist, for the next (35+) years. Though, they began making films in the early 1900's, business didn't really began to take shape until 1951, this was when their films became more widely known.
These people would still exist, but not to magnitude that we know them today. He built the Shaw Bros' studio from the ground up, researching the industry, the foreign market, as well as the International market, in order to give us (Americans) a whole new world in which we would exist, for the next (35+) years. Though, they began making films in the early 1900's, business didn't really began to take shape until 1951, this was when their films became more widely known.
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They published the magazine Southern Screen, which became another success for them and the magazine's publisher in charge Raymond Chow, who would later start his own film company - Golden Harvest (and film magazine "Golden Movie News"). They were slowly taking over the Asian film world and through their hard work and determination, they would change how America view Asian films forever. They had many theaters throughout Asia, constantly opening new ones in areas that didn't have "Movie-houses" or this type of entertainment in their area.
Run Run dealt with the Hong Kong operations, helping to bring their name to new heights and more business to the studio through a variety of resources. Older brother Runme Shaw ran their Singapore operations, since this was where they originally started distributing films when they began. Runme was a Philanthropist, was constantly giving to (and setting up) Charitable organizations, such as "Food Drives" to help the elderly. He was the chairman and director of over (24) companies that were associated with various Shaw organizations. He was also the main Producer of Shaw films, a job that would later go to, Mona Fong.
Run Run dealt with the Hong Kong operations, helping to bring their name to new heights and more business to the studio through a variety of resources. Older brother Runme Shaw ran their Singapore operations, since this was where they originally started distributing films when they began. Runme was a Philanthropist, was constantly giving to (and setting up) Charitable organizations, such as "Food Drives" to help the elderly. He was the chairman and director of over (24) companies that were associated with various Shaw organizations. He was also the main Producer of Shaw films, a job that would later go to, Mona Fong.
If they didn't raise the standard for films being made throughout Asia, people like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and others may not have seen the film industry as a career move. There is no way that their work and contributions can be overlooked, as they were trendsetters in the way of making and marketing successful films throughout Asia and eventually the United States. It was their film 5 Fingers Of Death that started the initial "Kung-fu Craze" in the first place.
They've produced hundreds of films (on a variety of subjects) and had built one of the most successful and respected film companies in Asia. Regardless of what type of status a star achieved, if you were working in any part of Asia during their reign, it would have been impossible not to have heard of them or wanted to work at the famous Shaw studio. Many of the top names in both the Kung Fu and the Swordplay genres, have come from or through their studio. This was also true of most of the best Directors in the genre as well. They set a standard of excellence, that is still hard to beat. They will go down in history as (2) of the most important figures in Asian cinema (and rightly so).
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