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Celestial Pictures Limited, which owns the Shaw Brothers Film Library, has shown its support of film heritage preservation by donating in separate batches large quantities of pre-print materials (negatives and sound elements), prints and trailers of the Shaw Brothers Film Library to the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA).
Speaking at the "Celestial Pictures - Shaw Brothers Film Library Archive Handover Ceremony" today (April 30), the Assistant Director of the Leisure and Cultural Services (Heritage and Museums), Dr Louis Ng Chi-wa, said Shaw Studios had produced a large number of Cantonese and Mandarin Hong Kong film classics.
He said that as many of the Shaw Brothers' classics had not been released in other media since their public screening years ago, there were limited chances for the younger generation to appreciate them and also it was difficult for researchers to conduct research.
It was not until Celestial Pictures Limited restored the films from their original negatives and released them on DVD from 2002 that audiences from all over the world had the opportunity to rekindle the interest into these archival treasures, Dr Ng said.
General Manager - Corporate Affairs of Celestial Pictures Limited, Ms Shirley Chung pointed out that the Archive was fully equipped to preserve film materials and collect and preserve Hong Kong cinematic culture. Celestial Pictures was glad to have the Shawˇ¦s 50-year archival treasures to be presented in the Archive as part of the film heritage.
She also hoped that the younger generation could continue the spirit of Shaws' productions to explore more new topics and produce high quality films of different genres.
Also present at today's handover ceremony were directors and film stars, including Ti Lung, Kay Tse, Gordon Liu Chia-hui, Susan Shaw Yin-yin, Nora Miao, Golden Chen Hung-lieh, Ku Kuan-chung, Wong Kam-fung, Joe Cheung, Ye Nianchen, Tenky Tin, Derek Kwok and Heiward Mak.
Since its inception, the Film Archive has received staunch support from individuals, the film industry and the general public. The Archive acquisitions include more than 8,000 films and about 890,000 items of film-related material. This is the biggest and most complete film library donation ever made since the opening of the Film Archive.
The donation comprises more than 700 films, including "Diau Charn", "The Kingdom and The Beauty", "The Blue and The Black", "Let's Make Laugh", "Hong Kong Nocturne", "The Warlord", "One-Armed Swordsman", "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin", "The Empress Dowager", "The Blood Brothers", "Enchanting Shadow", "The House of 72 Tenants", "Come Drink With Me", "Love In A Fallen City", "The Love Eterne" and "Justice, My Foot!".
Ends/Thursday, April 30, 2009
Issued at HKT 20:06
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