Golden Harvest

Golden Harvest (嘉禾娛樂公司) was a Hong Kong-based film production and distribution company. It was the first Chinese film company to achieve major success in Western markets as well. Golden Harvest ceased film production in 2003. Among the company's most prominent figures were veteran film producers Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho Koon Cheung. Chow and Ho had been executives at Shaw Brothers, a major Hong Kong film studio, before leaving in 1970 to establish Golden Harvest with Leung Fung. Golden Harvest succeeded by adopting a different organizational approach from Shaw Brothers' centralized production model. It worked with independent producers, offering greater creative freedom and more favorable compensation. In 1971, the company signed a deal with martial arts star Bruce Lee after he rejected Shaw Brothers' low-paying offer.

In 1972, Golden Harvest entered into an agreement with Concord Production Inc.. In 1973, Enter the Dragon, an English-language martial arts film, was produced by Warner Bros. and Concord Production Inc., with Sequoia Pictures also credited as a production company. Warner Bros. distributed the film internationally, while Golden Harvest handled its distribution in Hong Kong and China.

Golden Harvest overtook Shaw Brothers as one of Hong Kong's leading film production companies from the late 1970s through the 1990s. From the 1980s onward, it produced many of Jackie Chan's films, as well as films featuring Jet Li and Donnie Yen. The company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1994. Li Ka-shing and EMI became shareholders in 2004.

Following a decline in its film production activities, Golden Harvest shifted its focus to film financing, distribution and cinema management in Hong Kong and mainland China. In 2007, Chinese businessman Wu Kebo became its largest shareholder through Orange Sky Entertainment Group. In August 2009, the company changed its name to Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment (Holdings) Limited, reflecting its integration with Orange Sky Entertainment Group.

Movies

The company has produced:

• The Big Boss (with starring Bruce Lee in 1971)
• Fist of Fury (with starring Bruce Lee in 1972)
• Way of the Dragon (with Concord Production Inc. in 1972)
• The Game of Death (with Concord Production Inc. in 1972)
• Bruce Lee, the Man and the Legend (with Concord Production Inc. in 1973)
• No End of Surprises (1976)
• The Boys in Company C (1978)
• Game of Death (1978)
• The Young Master (1979)
• Death Hunt (1981)
• Game of Death II (1981)
• Winners and Sinners (1982)
• Wheels on Meals (1983)
• The Seventh Curse (1984)
• Bruce Lee, The Legend (1984)
• Eastern Condors (1987)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (English production in 1990)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (English production in 1991)
• Death Wish 2 (1992)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (English production in 1993)
• Twin Dragons (1994)
• The Killer Meteors (1995)
• To Kill with Intrigue (1995)
• Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1995)
• Spiritual Kung Fu (1995)
• New Fist of Fury (1995)
• Death Wish 3 (1995)
• Ebola Syndrome (1996)
• Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1997)
• Para Para Sakura (2001)

The company has distributed:

• Enter the Dragon (with Warner Bros. in 1973)
• Concord Production Inc. movies

References

Other websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Golden Harvest.

• Golden Harvest at IMDb
• Golden Harvest films at the Internet Movie Database