Geographic origin of SHAOLIN TEMPLE (1982)

[Brian Thibodeau]

Noticed the DB has the country of origin for this one as Hong Kong. Wouldn't this more likely be a Mainland production, as its two sequels appear to be?

http://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?i ... ay_set=eng

[dleedlee]

I've wondered about this too. But looking at the HKFA entries, it seems that all three should be Hong Kong productions.
Chung Yuen Film Production and Pearl River Film Production are listed as HK companies.

Experts?

[calros]

They are Mainland productions, but they were re-released by a HK distributor, so some sites say they are HK productions. The last movie of the series is a Mainland/HK co-production.

[Brian Thibodeau]

They are Mainland productions, but they were re-released by a HK distributor, so some sites say they are HK productions. The last movie of the series is a Mainland/HK co-production.

This speaks to the long-standing need for multiple selections when listing the country of origin for many films. In the database, SHAOLIN TEMPLE 3 is listed as a Mainland production only, presumably because we can't add Hong Kong to the list. This was brought up in the "changes" thread in the editors forum in late 2007, but I guess it can't be changed.

Based on Carlos' info, I'm guessing the first SHAOLIN TEMPLE needs to be re-set to Mainland China. Too bad we don't have a separate field for re-releases, since that seems to be where the information on this film came from when it was first entered into the database.

[dleedlee]

They are Mainland productions, but they were re-released by a HK distributor, so some sites say they are HK productions. The last movie of the series is a Mainland/HK co-production.
They are Mainland productions, but they were re-released by a HK distributor, so some sites say they are HK productions. The last movie of the series is a Mainland/HK co-production.

Chung Yuen is also listed as the production company.

Found this on Brian Naas' site, by Yves Gendron:

SHAOLIN TEMPLE’s exact pedigree is a bit clouded for while indeed the film was made inside Mainland China and showcased Mainland born Wu-shu performers, it was produced by a H-K based film company, Chung Yuen. But Chung Yuen was a leftist studio meaning that while it was located within the British colony it was aligned and largely sponsored by the Communist Mainland. In the end this reviewer does not know if it was someone at Chung Yuen that originated SHAOLIN TEMPLE or if the film was a commissioned Mainland planned project. The Shaw Brothers studio also got involved in the film’s making by graciously providing advice from some of its expert directors as well as lending some of its inside sets.
http://www.brns.com/pages2/jet14.html

This speaks to the long-standing need for multiple selections when listing the country of origin for many films

Especially true when almost every Hong Kong film is a co-production these days.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Found this on Brian Naas' site, by Yves Gendron:

SHAOLIN TEMPLE’s exact pedigree is a bit clouded for while indeed the film was made inside Mainland China and showcased Mainland born Wu-shu performers, it was produced by a H-K based film company, Chung Yuen. But Chung Yuen was a leftist studio meaning that while it was located within the British colony it was aligned and largely sponsored by the Communist Mainland. In the end this reviewer does not know if it was someone at Chung Yuen that originated SHAOLIN TEMPLE or if the film was a commissioned Mainland planned project. The Shaw Brothers studio also got involved in the film’s making by graciously providing advice from some of its expert directors as well as lending some of its inside sets.
http://www.brns.com/pages2/jet14.html

Wow. Quite the behind-the-scenes mystery there. Now I really wish we had the ability to post multiple regions.

Especially true when almost every Hong Kong film is a co-production these days.

Paging Bob! Come in, Bob!