Member The Shaolin Master Posted November 2, 2009 Member Share Posted November 2, 2009 I'm producing a study on Shaw Studios, it's history and impact on society. I was wondering what Shaw Brother's martial arts films mean to each of you individually? - How were you introduced to the Shaw Brothers? - Which are your favourite films, and why? - What influences do you think Shaw Studios had on society and culture? Thanks for your feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mwesley@morehouse.edu Posted November 2, 2009 Member Share Posted November 2, 2009 I'm producing a study on Shaw Studios, it's history and impact on society. I was wondering what Shaw Brother's martial arts films mean to each of you individually? - How were you introduced to the Shaw Brothers? - Which are your favourite films, and why? - What influences do you think Shaw Studios had on society and culture? Thanks for your feedback. The Shaw brothers mean the world to me. I am 40 years ols and i remember all of the Kung fu theatres. I really wish i could actually go to old studio and fell a since of greatness within those sets and props. My dream is to meet Ti Lung, Lar Kar Yueng, John Wang, David Chiang, Meng Fei etc... i could go n forever!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Kwok Choi Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 I'm producing a study on Shaw Studios, it's history and impact on society. I was wondering what Shaw Brother's martial arts films mean to each of you individually? - How were you introduced to the Shaw Brothers? - Which are your favourite films, and why? - What influences do you think Shaw Studios had on society and culture? Thanks for your feedback. Hope this helps http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=59%2035%20193%2039%2078%20227%20238%20144%20186%20229%20185%2078%20181%20196%2042%2031 ( Click the arrow on the right at the bottom of the page by the index ) and check this as well. http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3558 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Silver Fox Posted November 4, 2009 Member Share Posted November 4, 2009 - How were you introduced to the Shaw Brothers? Kung Fu Theatre,Sat afterrnoons in early/mid 80's. - Which are your favourite films, and why? Hard question, there are so many. Five Element Ninjas-gonzo film making. Extreme in every way,awsome weapons work and hand to hand combat,heroic bloodshed, lots of fake blood. Killer Constable-dark and gritty, a powerhouse performance by Chen kuan Tai.lots of fake blood. Human Lanterns-Disturbing and great. lots of fake blood. Kid from Kwangtung-hopping vampires,Hwang Jang Lee,chicken versus centipede-how could this not be amazing.some fake blood. Secret Service of the Imperial Court/Usurpers of Emperors Power-2 great movies,movies with long names rule and are automatically more important than other movies.buckets of fake blood. The Boxer from Shantung-rags to riches to an axe in the gut, and an emporium of fake blood. - What influences do you think Shaw Studios had on society and culture? I can't really comment on society or culture but Shaw Bros movies provide a neat little world that I can retreat into for a couple of hours after work. The familiar sets,actors and ambiance are fun and I like collecting the newly remastered DVD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member make believe Posted November 8, 2009 Member Share Posted November 8, 2009 Hope this helps http://www.shaw.sg/sw_abouthistory.aspx?id=59%2035%20193%2039%2078%20227%20238%20144%20186%20229%20185%2078%20181%20196%2042%2031 ( Click the arrow on the right at the bottom of the page by the index ) and check this as well. http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3558 Thanks for providing that first link even though it wasn't aimed at me. That's a lot of reading I'm going to do now. I've always been hesitant on reading the second link because I haven't seen a good portion of movies mentioned in there and don't want to come across spoilers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Shaolin Master Posted November 9, 2009 Author Member Share Posted November 9, 2009 thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member StarDreamCan Posted November 9, 2009 Member Share Posted November 9, 2009 The sets had an aura to them. Like the Silver Fox said, its a little world you can go to. Its own universe not on this earth but very much apart of it. I havent seen enough to comment on my favorites but I wanted to add that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted November 9, 2009 Member Share Posted November 9, 2009 In a way, those MA films from the late 60's, early 70's were the original superhero films for a great deal of audiences; an escapism for those who wondered at the prowess of these film stars. The lavish sets, costumes, wigs, beards, eyebrows, stunts, even the dubbing/sound effects, gave us all something so different, and great-from Hollywood. Just an opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted November 10, 2009 Member Share Posted November 10, 2009 Shaws are the kind of films that stays in a young person's mind & they spend decades searching for those great memories. Part of the fun was rediscovering them and learning that the memories are real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted November 10, 2009 Administrator Share Posted November 10, 2009 I was wondering what Shaw Brother's martial arts films mean to each of you individually? - How were you introduced to the Shaw Brothers? After getting into Bruce Lee, I watched all the (extremely limited) martial arts VHS at my local video stores. One day I was with a friend/fellow student that lived in the city, and we stopped into his video store. I saw a box for EXECUTIONERS OF SHAOLIN (which actually featured a picture of the film's final climactic finishing move right on the cover!) and thought the bloody action depicted looked exciting. He was cool enough to rent it for me and let me borrow it. Wow! I had never seen anything like that. As others have mentioned, it was like a whole secret world had been introduced to me. At times realistic, with incredible, complex kung fu. At the same time, surreal, with the painted backdrops, stage-like acting, and bizarre concepts and special effects. - Which are your favourite films, and why? Probably my favorite is HEROES OF THE EAST. The story of people in turmoil over a lack of communication, and realizing that they are all basically the same- looking for love, acceptance, respect, and a deep understanding of the martial arts- really speaks to me. Plus, it features a wide range of diverse skills being pitted against one another in the way that only Lau Sifu could show! I also related more, for whatever reason, to the upstanding moral chivalry and brotherhood shown it these films than I did to similar themes in westerns, war movies, tales of King Arthur, ect. The lessons of compassion in CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS may seem corny to some, but I find it very moving. I love when they show these "brothers" sacrificing their lives for the greater good, sticking by one another, and fighting on even after they've been riddled with arrows, dismembered, ect... The stoic masters of kung fu fighting with their own human skills instead of with guns or from inside of tanks or planes. I was also drawn to the powerful female heroines in these films. Perhaps because I grew up with a Mom that is very ladylike and feminine, yet also gladly joined my father in racing cars, shooting competitions, and other "cool adventures", I could relate to, and liked seeing a more extravagant version of female empowerment in the wuxiapan action films. Too many US films simply showed women as screaming victims waiting to be rescued and reassured by some tough guy. - What influences do you think Shaw Studios had on society and culture? As a kid, I thought that if you went to China, it WAS the Shaw Brothers world! I would probably never have learned any kung fu or had such an interest in the Chinese culture if not for the SB films. If I hadn't watched these movies, the odds of a suburban kid from PA learning to use a three-piece staff would have been extremely slim! I know of many, many others that were influenced in the same way. Innner city kids from Philadelphia that grew up appreciating the Chinese culture and arts that they would otherwise not have been exposed to. My first trip to Philadelphia's Chinatown was made specifically to search for more SB films, and of course, I found so much more. Getting to meet, talk to, and befriend Chinese Americans opened my eyes to a whole other culture and world viewpoint. Where I grew up, there was not a single Asia student in my entire school. My father was friends with a great guy named Georgie that was from the Phillipines, and he was everything I ever knew (or thought I knew) about Asian people for the first 13 or 14 years of my life! Shaw Brothers also opened the door for me to discover other Asian cinema too, as I was basically always trying to find more of their films, but settling for whatever else I could find during my searches. I doubt that more than a few months have gone by in between my veiwings of SB films in all the years since I saw that first one. And of course, there are many times in my life when I've watched 4 or 5 in a week. They have influenced my way of thinking, my art, and my decor (SB posters on the walls). And I have talked about these films and introduced them to a wildly diverse new audience that includes a New York Times editor, a fine arts gallery owner, a new age therapist, a family doctor, a lover of art films, a chemical engineer, a medical malpractice lawyer, and even my own Grandmother (she loved MAD MONKEY KUNG FU bless her heart!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member CominAtYa! Posted November 27, 2009 Member Share Posted November 27, 2009 What Shaw Brothers means to me is fantastic sets, that rival that of Hollywood's golden age, and wonderfully choreographed fight sequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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