Death of the Kung Fu King

Joe Nolan — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 04:08:15 +0000

It’s difficult to over-estimate the impact that Run Run Shaw and his invention of the kung-fu film genre have had on action films specifically and on world cinema in general. I heard on the radio this morning that Mr. Shaw has left the Earth for that big movie palace in the sky. Here’s The New York Times:

Run Run Shaw, the colorful Hong Kong media mogul whose name was synonymous with low-budget Chinese action and horror films — and especially with the wildly successful kung fu genre, which he is largely credited with inventing — died on Tuesday at his home in Hong Kong. He was 106.

His company, Television Broadcasts Limited, announced his death in a statement.

Born in China, Mr. Shaw and his older brother, Run Me, were movie pioneers in Asia, producing and sometimes directing films and owning lucrative cinema chains. His companies are believed to have released more than 800 films worldwide.

After his brother’s death in 1985, Mr. Shaw expanded his interest in television and became a publishing and real estate magnate as well. For his philanthropy, much of it going to educational and medical causes, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and showered with public expressions of gratitude by the Communist authorities in Beijing.

Mr. Shaw enjoyed the zany glamour of the Asian media world he helped create. He presided over his companies from a garish Art Deco palace in Hong Kong, a cross between a Hollywood mansion and a Hans Christian Andersen cookie castle. Well into his 90s he attended social gatherings with a movie actress on each arm. And he liked to be photographed in a tai chi exercise pose, wearing the black gown of a traditional mandarin.

Asked what his favorite films were, Mr. Shaw, a billionaire, once replied, “I particularly like movies that make money.”

Shaw’s first big film was 1972′s the One-Armed Swordsman and by the time the kung-fu genre began to tire, Shaw was savvy enough to become an investor in a little sci-fi cop film called Blade Runner. In between, he made some of the most important action films of all time. To celebrate the man and his life, here’s one of my favorites: The Five Deadly Venoms

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Death of the Kung Fu King