14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most prominent figures in Chinese cinematography, Run Run Shaw, passed away at the age of 106. He was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the 20th century Chinese film industry, and the one responsible for popularizing the kung fu movie genre.
He spent most of his life involved in filmmaking, starting out in the industry at the tender age of 19 in Shanghai and Singapore. Later, he would go on to found his own film studio called Shaw Brothers, together with his brother Runme.
At one point, the Shaw Brothers film production company was one of the largest in the world. Its portfolio includes 760 titles that today are available in a library operated by Celestial pictures.
Run Run himself has a portfolio that includes 360 titles, among which is the famous Ridley Scott classic “Blade Runner,” on which he served as producer.
He is credited with personally launching the “Golden Era” of Chinese cinema by his fierce competition with rival studios, as well as offering breaks to directors and actors that went on to achieve fame in cinematography.
The Shaw Brothers company dominated the Chinese film industry well into the '70s when it began losing ground to rival “Golden Harvest” founded by ex-employee Raymond Chow and aided by their rising star Bruce Lee, whom Shaw turned down initially.
After this, Shaw turned his attention to television, founding the Television Broadcasts Limited company, which remains the dominating television company in Hong Kong to this day.
In the later years of his life, Shaw turned away from the media industry and focused his attention on philanthropy and charity activities. In 1977, he was awarded a knighthood from the British government.
The only details of his death are that he passed away at his residence surrounded by his family. Oddly enough, his exact age cannot be established and has long been a subject of discussion. Some sources claim he was actually 107 at the time of his death on January 7.