Shaw Brothers fans in the USA, Dying breed?

[Guest Agent Orange]

Sup boys. I read about the Lo Mang weekend in philly. Im very pleased to see ''Golden Arms'' himself

is a great guy and down to earth enough to come visit us in the states. To us he is a HERO without

question. He's just way too cool. Ive even had dreams about the guy Lo mang storming shaolin temple.

Personally i do not recall any other dreams about shaw brothers actors or movies. But i had to have

had them. Most of them were probably day-dreams. Some sparkling moment where the curtain went

up and we invisioned we were the heroes.

It just a testament to how we are amazed by what these actors and martial artists were able

to show on film. It shows how highly we regard them. Amazed and sometimes even mesmerized.

I so much wish now i could have gone to philly to meet him. Were you guys all starstruck or what?

Shoot id be speechless and just start laughing because this guy has captured so much Greatness

on film in those fights it's just plain ridiculous. What some of those actors captured on film was just

plain and simply Gold made.

I heard that there were not that many people at the Philly fest around 50 or so and that it was more

of a meet and greet than an expo. I wish more people would have known about this or that there

was the occasional commercial about it on the tube so more people could have shown up because

he really deserves it. All the Shaw Brothers actors do. But it made me think ... Just how many

Shaw Brothers fans are in the US? For the first time i wondered if we really so few and far between?

These people are our Heroes whether they know it or not. Im so glad companies like Media

Blasters, Dragon Dynasty, Image and Celestial are there to expose people to these films.

Most of us not all but most were born in the early to late 70's. That brings up another

question in hindsight. Will there be even less fans to appreciate Shaw Brothers in the

future. In essence are we a dying breed..

I dont care what anyone says these actors i love them all they are so special and resposible for

so many times that were memories that either helped me through a day.. or helped me even to

enjoy one. (nothing like that weekend Shaw Brothers flick!)

I think we all love these guys. I just hope people are there to appreciate these films in the future.

[Guest teako170]

Dying breed? I don't think so as long as we continue to support these films by getting the next generation interested in these movies.

Next year, hopefully, there will be a second expo and I know I can count on you guys supporting this event by attending it.

So, Agent Orange... how many tickets can I pre-book you for?

[Guest oldeschool17]

bring it to Atlanta teako and im there in a flash.

As for the dying breed bit, rest assured when i have kids they will not watch Barney or Seasame Street. Instead they will watch Crippled Avengers(to learn that one can overcome adversity, handicaps thru friendship and teamwork), 36 Chambers of Shaolin(to be patriotic and that bad guys should be punished) and 5 Element Ninjas(to learn about the elements and more patriotism)

[Guest Shaolin Patriot]

Most of us not all but most were born in the early to late 70's. That brings up another question in hindsight. Will there be even less fans to appreciate Shaw Brothers in the future. In essence are we a dying breed..

I'll have to disagree. Looking at the age ranges of the fans on the board, some were born in the 60's and even 80's. I think SB films and its fans will continue to survive as long as there is an interest in martial arts films and boards like this one to spread the word.

[Guest Austin Jones]

bring it to Atlanta teako and im there in a flash.

Ditto that - I'm 30 mins. outside of ATL myself.

Austin Jones

[Guest oldeschool17]

oh cool man, what part? pressureworld is also in atlanta. Im in the va highlands/emory area.

*sorry for the thread derail fellas!

[Guest raider yang]

Chicago chinatown...would be a great venue.

[Guest Poelie]

I agree with Shaolin Patriot. I was born in 1960, started watching Hong Kong New Wave movies around 1992 and got hooked on Shaw Brothers around 2002!

I believe when people are interested in martial arts movies it is inevitable that there comes a point where you check out the Shaw Brothers movies. I first believed they were just cheap chopsocky movies and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of a LOT of their movies. I now own about 200 Shaws, thanks to the internet and boards like this.

[Guest Karlos]

To be brutally honest, and as much as I love 'em, I just can't see a rosy future for SB flicks.

Here in the UK, like the US, they've always been very much a niche part of an already niche market.

Not SB's fault, of course, as the vast majority have been unavailable to us all for so many years, as we all know.

The problem I find is that the younger generation (I'm 30+ - like most of you guys, I'm guessing) is simply showing very little interest.

And this is whilst the films are (in the main) easily available.

What will happen when they're no longer as accessible?

Raised on generic actioners and stuff like The Matrix, SB films seem archaic to the young KF fans - I've spoken to a fair few, most of whom shun them as they're "old"!

I really hope I'm proved wrong here, but as we face most of the SB back catalogue sinking under the waves once more, I can't honestly see them getting the chance to take their rightful place in film lover's consciences.

[Guest Stuntman Jules]

I seem to be the only person in my early 20s who is into these films. I literally don't know anybody else my own age who's a fellow hardcore Shaw Brothers enthusiast, or at least enough of one to import the DVDs.

[Guest Steve Barr]

Here in the UK, like the US, they've always been very much a niche part of an already niche market.

OTOH, all these SBs were remastered to show on TV in Asia. There are versions of some of the SB discs made in Thailand and China (and Malaysia and Singapore, IIRC).

I think there will always be some US/EU fans for the films, perhaps being introduced to them through their martial arts school, or getting interested in such films by seeing a Jackie Chan film or CTHD or whatever. There's a quality to a lot of (pre-198x) SB films which should allow them to make the transition to HD without looking too bad. Only the sfx and some makeup, mainly in the horror films, look really dated.

For now, the films made by people trained in Chinese Opera or in Mainland martial arts academies seem unique because of the physical skill on display. One all of that can be perfectly replicated through CGI, I don't know if SB films will lose some of their ability to appeal to new audiences.

[Guest killer meteor]

At 20, I'm probably one of the younger fans. I think more exposure, such as on TV, is needed to attract newbies. Something along the lines of Black Belt Theatre

[Guest Austin Jones]

oh cool man, what part? pressureworld is also in atlanta. Im in the va highlands/emory area.

East of Atlanta in Gwinnett County area - Loganville, Georgia.

I agree - sorry for the derail guys!

Austin Jones

[Guest Agent Orange]

Hi, i agree with you guys in the respect that you CAN become hooked into Shaw Brothers flicks

at any time teens, 20, 30's 40- and on and on. I just wish the stars of the Shaw Brothers movies

would get more recognition for their works in the states they are not publicy even known to most.

It seems as if it were a shame because we really love those movies but your right Shaw Brothers

does have kind of a Niche audience. It doesnt help that Run Run Shaw locked those films for

almost 30 years. What was he thinking? Honestly was he trying to protect something? What was

the reason he did it esp for so long could someone tell me because i do not know.

Im pleased to feel that we are not a "dying breed'' so to speak. For a minute there it seemed like

there were going to be less and less of us but now i realize there will always be new Shaw Headz

on the rise.

When Celestial/IVL started releasing the movies it was only Released in China Region 3 DVD'S

and although we still had ACCESS to those films ACCESS and Exposure was limited...

but now that Some companies like Image and Dragon Dynasty or Media Blasters are releasing

the films in the USA there is a lot of hope because eventually one of those movies is going to

end up in the hands of people who would not normally see them EVER but also someone who

has the power to give the stars not only the movies their long overdue credit.

[bobo]

i for one don,t believe shaw fans are a dying breed- we may be stalled but not dying. as most people on this and other forums admit we became interested by seeing these movies in theatres or on tv with the dub versions. what we need now is more dvd releases and get some shaws back on tv. the last shaw i saw on tv was 5 venoms about 2 years ago on drivein theatre. they seem to be showing them on tv in the UK(killer clans etc). the north american public need to be exposed to these movies again to rekindle interest and the easiest way is to get some of them on tv again. also i think we need a few more tittles available as well as the old standbys. most of the shaws americans saw were the same 50 or so tittles. they need to get some of the less seen shaws like- LIFE GAMBLE--KILLER CLANS--GOLDEN SWALLOW--TRILOGY OF SWORDSMANSHIP--HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL--with the dub versions of course--afterall most average americans won,t watch a subbed movie especially on tv. get new people interested the same way we got interested and hooked by haveing easy access to a multitude of tittles. well- thats my opinion and possible solution. by the way i didn,t write this to start another dub lovers vs dub haters war.

[Guest Tosh]

I don't think we're a dying breed, but we've always been few and far between, believe me when I meet someone for the first time and there into SB I light up like a christmas tree, my non-kf friends run for the hills because they know it's about to be on:lol

Nothing against the people that threw the expo but philly wasn't the best place to have something like this, I could of flown to Costa Rica for the price to fly to Philly, NY would of been better and I think you could of had a better turn out, regardless, hopefully next time I'll be able to make it no matter where it is.

oh cool man, what part? pressureworld is also in atlanta. Im in the va highlands/emory area.

I'm in the Highlands to, we all need to meet up for a brewski! Problem with Atlanta - No Chinatown>: I think the majority of our Asian population here is Korean, still, cheap flights to Atlanta, I'm all for it.

[Guest oldeschool17]

closest thing we have to chinatown is Buford Hwy or Gwinnett :lol

we'll def have to meetup

[bboyninku]

I'm only 21 and I'm a martial arts movie fanatic. Even though I didn't discover Shaw Brother films until they began re-releasing them, I have just about ever Venoms, Lau Kar Leung, Chang Cheh and the like movies in my collection! Even classics that were relatively unknown like Lion v.s. Lion found it's way in my collection! I believe there are many martial arts movie fans but are just scattered and need the right exposure. Actually, I had a friend who was doubtful of Sammo Hung's skill until I laid Magnificent Butcher, Eastern Condors, SPL, and Pedicab Driver and now he thinks Sammo is one of the greatest! People just need to be exposed correctly and not get stuck on that stupid stereotype of the chop-socky dubbed old skool trend.

[Guest remo]

If it weren't for the "stupid chop-socky dubbed old skool trend" this board probably would not exist. Like it or not, subtitled content will rarely be accepted by the masses in the U.S. -- and rarer still on TV. And without TV, yes the pool of Shaw fans will assuredly continue to dwindle.

[Guest Ko Fei]

I don't think we are a dying breed either guys. Sure the shaw actors and movies could definetly use alot more attention but I think the shaw brothers are bigger than they ever have been.

I live in canada and we have this channel called "Drive In" which still shows the occasional shaw movie. I;ve seen 5 venoms, Shaolin Temple, and Super Inframan so far not mention a whole pile of other classic kung fu movies. They have a show called Kung Fu Mondays with nothing but kung fu in the eveneings. Its Awesome!