Film Category

At the end of World War II, its sizable capital allowed Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited (Shaw Bros.) to build a broad network of cinema lines in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. But to ensure the quality of the films and a steady supply to its cinemas, Run Run Shaw returned to Hong Kong in 1957 to set up a film producing operation. He built and ran a studio along the lines of Hollywood’s studio system, and every aspect of the operation -- from management, production, training and promotion to distribution -- was organized according to the American studio’s assembly-line mode of production. The strategy made possible an enormous annual output. Between 1958 and 1980, Shaw Bros. produced over 800 films, averaging 20 to 40 per year. With such an intensive film production line, Shaw Studios blossomed into one of the key Chinese-language film-making centres in Asia.

Films are not only works of art; they are also popular merchandise. Once standardized, they sell easily across borders. With the rise of Hollywood studios, the concept of film genres also spread. At the time, a rich diversity of genres prevailed in American cinema, the most popular being western, horror, thriller, musical and detective. Shaw’s borrowed more than just hardware from Hollywood; it also adopted software from American studios in terms of the promotion and packaging of films, training and the creation of stars. To cater to the taste of Chinese-speaking audiences, Shaw Studios developed a number of film genres, among them wenyi (drama), musical, period drama, huangmei opera, kung-fu/martial arts/action, horror, fantasy and comedy, and marketed them aggressively.