Celestial Pictures has announced the seal of an exclusive pay TV deal with Viasat Broadcasting UK Limited to broadcast Shaw Brothers kung fu and wuxia movies in 15 territories across Russia, the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and the Baltic States. This includes the Russian Federation, Georgia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan so even Borat will be able to watch licensed Shaw kung fu movies.
Genre classics such as COME DRINK WITH ME, THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN and BLOOD BROTHERS will be available on Viasat’s TV1000 Action East Channel, opening the door for Celestial’s Shaw Brothers films to a combined population of over 200 million.
The latest deal is a continuation of the successful partnership from the Viasat’s TV3 Slovenia deal featuring Shaw Brothers martial arts films screened on Pay TV in Central Europe. The deal also marks the first time these kung fu masterpieces will be available in Eurasia.
“The distribution in Eurasia is a landmark deal for Celestial’s Shaw Brothers martial arts movies,” said Terry Mak, Executive Vice President, Distribution and TV Networks of Celestial Pictures. “Kung fu has always been a popular genre amongst global audiences, and we are delighted to premiere these masterpieces in Russia, the CIS, and the Baltic States.”
While Celestial clearly continues to find new world markets for its Shaw Brothers film library which consists of 760 films, this success is tempered by setbacks by licensees in getting these films to the public here in the U.S. This includes the closing of Cablevision’s Kung Fu HD channel, the closing of Navarre’s BCI Eclipse home video unit and the scaling back of Shaw releases by The Weinstein Company’s Dragon Dynasty home video label.
Although Dragon Dynasty’s sales have been generally good, a source close to TWC cites poor sales of its classic kung fu and wuxia releases as reason for a halt in its planned release of 50 Shaw classics, as well as martial arts classics from Fortune Star’s Golden Harvest library.
The problem that U.S. distributors of Shaw classics have is the lack of name recognition among the films’ leading cast members. Anything with Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Tony Jaa on the cover sells well but such is not the case for movies starring Chen Kuan-tai, Ti Lung or Lo Lieh, all once superstars of Hong Kong cinema but largely unknown to general audiences here.
With the economy in shambles and home video sales in steady decline for the past two years, it’s unlikely we’ll see many more licensed Shaw classics released in the U.S. That leaves three possibilities for collectors still yearning for more, either buy licensed, gray market import releases from other territories, trade amongst each other or buy unlicensed and usually inferior bootleg releases from a handful of shady kung fu movie purveyors still in operation. For longtime fans of Shaw Brothers movies who have waited nearly two decades to see their favorite films officially reissued, it’s a frustrating but familiar situation.
Tags: Celestial Pictures, Shaw Brothers
GIVEAWAY: ‘Samurai Princess’ DVD from Well Go USA
Warner Bros. Japan to adapt 47 Ronin
Production begins on John Woo’s ‘Rain of Swords’ with Michelle Yeoh
John Woo introduces ‘Red Cliff’
Kane Kosugi and ‘City of Violence’ duo are ‘Timeless’
Former kung fu starlet Kara Hui talks
First look at ‘Ip Man 2′
First look at MMA actioner ‘Circle of Pain’
‘Chyna’ joins ‘Kung Fu Hero’ cast
Jay Chou’s ‘The Treasure Hunter’ preview