HONG KONG: Raymond Chow, the co-founder of Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest which launched the careers of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, died on Friday (Nov 2) aged 91.
He was an instrumental figure in building the golden era of the Hong Kong film industry, first working under Run Run Shaw at Shaw Brothers Studio and then co-founding Golden Harvest in 1970.
Chow was also among the first to bring Hong Kong films to global attention through international partnerships and distribution.
Born in Hong Kong in 1927, Chow studied journalism at St John’s University in Shanghai and began working as a reporter at the Hong Kong Tiger Standard upon returning to the city in 1949. He had a brief stint with Voice of America, before leaving journalism for filmmaking when he was recruited by Shaw Brothers Studio in 1958.
He joined the company as the publicity chief and later became head of the production department.
Chow then left Shaw Brothers Studio, citing creative differences, and co-founded Golden Harvest with Leonard Ho Koon-Cheung in 1970. He reinvented industry practice by partnering with independent studios, contradicting the studio system at Shaw Brothers.
Chow’s Golden Harvest was best known for discovering Lee, making him an international kung fu star and cultural icon, who is still influential today. Their first film, The Big Boss (1971), made Lee an instant legend, setting new box office records at the time.
It was then followed by Fist of Fury (1972) and The Way of the Dragon (1972). The subsequent Enter the Dragon (1973) was a co-production with Warner Bros, the first co-production between Hong Kong and Hollywood.
Jackie Chan also found initial fame from filming the kung fu comedies Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978) and Drunken Master (1978), produced by Golden Harvest. The pics became a new sub-genre of kung fu movies.
Unlike many Hong Kong filmmakers, Chow was keen on venturing into the international market, particularly Hollywood. One of his most notable successes was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), a screen adaptation of the comic series of the same name.
The live-action film grossed more than US$200mil worldwide.
But Golden Harvest suffered great financial losses during the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the same year when Chow’s partner, Ho, died. Chow sold the company to China’s Wu Kebo in 2007 and it changed its name to Orange Sky Golden Harvest after merging with a mainland Chinese partner.
“Mr Chow set up Golden Harvest in the 1970s. The company has since produced a good number of movie classics, helped nurture a pool of Hong Kong talents, and brought them to the international stage," said Edward Yau, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development.
"We are most grateful for his great contribution to the development of the Hong Kong film industry,” he added.
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