Shaw Brothers in 1970
On the surface, the Shaw Brothers of 1970 looks pretty much the same as the Shaw Brothers of 1969 or 1968. But as with 1969 that seeming consistency hid large changes behind the scenes.
Continuing the trend of the past two years the studio upped production slightly, to 35 releases. Unlike the past few years the studio made more Modern than Classical films. Despite the ongoing popularity of wuxia films, 60% of the studio’s output in 1970 were set in the Modern(ish) day. Most of these were romances and musicals, but with plenty of dramas and thrillers as well.
Also boosting the number of Modern films released in 1970 is Shaw’s new genre. It would eventually be absorbed into the title of Kung Fu film, but I don’t think that name quite fits yet. Usually set in the late 19th or early 20th century and focusing on conflicts between classes or between locals and foreign powers, these movies eschew the mythical China that appears in Shaw’s Classical movies and instead feature a more realistic setting with plenty of parallels to the modern world.
Chang Cheh kicked the genre off with Vengeance! and Jimmy Wang Yu broke it wide open with The Chinese Boxer. But these movie’s plots, time period or choice of villains were not unique to these movies. The Cantonese Wong Fei-hung series, which had almost 80 entries between 1949 and 1970, used this plot structure to great success. In many of them the Cantonese folk hero would defeat colonialists, collaborationists, or capitalists that were flouting Chinese tradition.
Similar to what the studio did with wuxia films, Shaw Brothers adopted a common Cantonese style and polished it. Bigger budgets, widescreen, color film, a shooting schedule that lasts a few weeks instead of a few days. And they added some new features as well; like youthful heroes and the all-important training montage which allows the youthful hero to finally defeat the villains.
If you went to see a Shaw Brothers film in 1970, regardless of genre, you would have seen plenty of familiar names in the credits. Director Lo Wei released two movies. Lead actor Jimmy Wang Yu directed his first film, and starred in it to boot. Newer action lead Chang Yi appeared in 4 wuxia adventures. Newer names like Sammo Hung appeared more and more frequently, showing an upcoming cadre of young stars.
But by the time most of these movies were released these people had already left the studio to join the new Golden Harvest studios, founded by former Shaw Brothers executives. That competitor wouldn’t release their first movie until 1971, but their presence was already being felt.
Unlike previous exoduses these folks weren’t leaving to start their own studios in Taiwan, or to join another big studio like Cathay. Instead they were leaving to join something different, an independent producer that focused on creator freedom, better pay, and working outside the Shaw-style studio model. How would Shaw respond to this upstart competitor? We’ll find out in 1971!
Ian Whitney
Published: 2026-02-14