Orange Sky Golden Harvest (OSGH) () , previously known as Golden Harvest () from 1970 to 2009, is a film production, distribution, and exhibition company based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It dominated Hong Kong cinema box office sales from the 1970s to the 1980s,Chu, Yingchi. 003(2003). Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self. Routledge. and played a major role in introducing

Hong Kong action films Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese culture, Chinese and Culture of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling an ...

to the world, especially those by

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

( Concord Production Inc.),

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

, and

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for ...

History

Notable names in the company include its founders, the veteran film producers Raymond Chow () and

Leonard Ho Leonard Ho (1925 – 17 February 1997) was a Hong Kong film producer. Ho formed Golden Harvest in 1970, with Raymond Chow, after leaving Shaw Brothers. The first film he produced was ''A Man Called Tiger'' from 1973. In 1989, he was nomina ...

(). Chow and Ho were executives with Hong Kong's top studio

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shang ...

but left in 1970 to form their own studio. They succeeded by taking a different approach from the highly centralised Shaw model. Golden Harvest contracted with independent producers and gave talent more generous pay and greater creative freedom. Some filmmakers and actors from Shaw Brothers defected. But what really put the company on the map was a 1971 deal with soon-to-be

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preser ...

superstar

with the film '' The Big Boss'', after he had turned down the low-paying standard contract offered him by the Shaws. Golden Harvest's films with Lee were the first Hong Kong films to reach a large worldwide audience. In 1973, Golden Harvest entered into a pioneering co-production with Hollywood for the English-language Bruce Lee film, '' Enter the Dragon'' (), a worldwide hit made with the

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

studio and Concord Production Inc. Following Lee's death, Golden Harvest found success with the Hui Brothers' comedies such as ''

Games Gamblers Play ''Games Gamblers Play'' () is a 1974 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui, with action direction by Sammo Hung. The film also co-stars Sam Hui, who also served as one of the film's music composers. Although very successful ...

'' (1974), '' The Last Message'' (1975), ''The Private Eyes'' (1976), '' The Contract'' (1978) and ''

Security Unlimited ''Security Unlimited'' (Chinese: 摩登保鑣) is a 1981 Hong Kong comedy film directed by and starring Michael Hui and co-starring his brothers Samuel Hui and Ricky Hui, who are known as the Hui Brothers. Michael Hui was awarded Best Actor at th ...

'' (1981). The studio supplanted Shaw Brothers as Hong Kong's dominant studio by the end of the 1970s and retained that position into the 1990s. Golden Harvest developed a worldwide film distribution operation and started producing films for an international market and had released eight by 1980, including '' The Amsterdam Kill'' (1978) starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

and '' The Boys in Company C'' (1978) directed by Sidney J. Furie. It also released

's first film for the international market, '' The Big Brawl'' (1980), although it did not match the success of ''Enter the Dragon''. In 1981, ''

The Cannonball Run ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action comedy film. It was directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including B ...

'' was a big hit. The studio also made

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations ...

's first two films with him in a starring role, '' High Road to China'' (1983) and '' Lassiter'' (1984). Following the disappointing performance of these and others, Golden Harvest quietly withdrew from the US market. From the 1980s until very recently, the studio produced almost all of the films of Jackie Chan, the studio's greatest asset for years. Golden Harvest has also produced a number of films with

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years ...

and

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

. Starting in 1990, Golden Harvest had a big international success again with the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' trilogy. In 1992,

Golden Village Golden Village is a cinema operator based in Singapore, fully owned by Orange Sky Golden Harvest of Hong Kong. It was initially set up as a 50:50 joint venture between Golden Harvest (predecessor of Orange Sky Golden Harvest) and Village Ro ...

, a 50:50 joint venture between Golden Harvest and

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...

of Australia was set up to develop and operate modern, multiplex cinemas in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. In 1993, Golden Harvest sold its film library to Star TV. Golden Harvest was listed on the

Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is rep ...

in 1994. Golden Harvest's activity has declined since the death of Leonard Ho in 1998. In 2003, they withdrew from film-making to concentrate on film financing, distribution, and cinema management in Hong Kong and in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

. In 2004,

Li Ka-shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 13 June 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of June 2019, Li is the 31st richest person in the world, with an estimated net wealth of US$33.4 billion. He is the senior ad ...

and EMI became shareholders of the company. In 2007, Raymond Chow sold the company to Chinese businessman Wu Kebo, who owns the China-based Orange Sky Entertainment Group. In early 2009, Golden Harvest merged with Orange Sky and was renamed Orange Sky Golden Harvest (). From 2009 to 2011 it was operated by Kelvin Wu King Shiu who become the CEO of the company. At that time Golden Harvest announced their relaunch and previewed a new trailer set for movies in 2010. In October 2017, Golden Harvest acquired the other 50% stake of Golden Village from its joint venture partner,

, and therefore having full ownership of Golden Village. This was after a prior bid by Singapore-based media mini-conglomerate MM2 Asia to acquire the Village Roadshow stake in June 2017, as Village Roadshow failed to secure the approval of Golden Harvest. It is unknown whether the Village name will be dropped from Golden Village as a result of the acquisition.

Cinemas

Orange Sky Golden Harvest has cinemas not only in Hong Kong, but also in Mainland China,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, and

. Most of these are joint ventures.

, now fully owned by Orange Sky Golden Harvest, was a former joint venture with

responsible for the operation of Gold Class cinemas and Asia's first multiplex. In Malaysia, the group was instrumental in the formation of the country's two largest cinema chains:

Golden Screen Cinemas Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC) is Malaysia's largest cinema exhibitor and a wholly-owned subsidiary of PPB Group Berhad (a member of the Kuok Group), which is an exhibitor and distributor of movies and content in Malaysia. It operates ove ...

, a joint venture with Malaysia's PPB Group who bought out Golden Harvest's stake for full ownership, and TGV Cinemas (formerly Tanjong Golden Village), a joint venture with

Tanjong Tanjong Public Limited Company is a Malaysian powere generation, entertainment, and real estate conglomerate. It was founded as Tanjong Tin Dredging Ltd on 2 January 1926 in England. The company subsequently changed its name to Tanjong PLC in 1 ...

of Malaysia and

of Australia, the former having bought out the remaining stakes for full ownership. The company has recently acquired Warner Village in Taiwan.

Films produced

References

* Bordwell, David. ''Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000. * Teo, Stephen. ''Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions''. London: British Film Institute, 1997. * Yang, Jeff. ''Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema''. New York: Atria, 2003.

Notes

External links