El Rey Network Bringing Iconic Shaw Brothers’ Martial Arts Movies to Network
The El Rey Network just added some more awesomeness to it’s lineup. Robert Rodriguez’s genre network has joined forces with Celestial Pictures Limited to bring access to 255 iconic martial arts films from the Shaw Brothers vault.
Over the years Shaw Brothers produced some 1,000 films, before film production was suspended in 1987 to concentrate on the television industry, through its subsidiary TVB. Film production resumed in 2009. I grew up watching the Shaw Brothers’ movies on USA’s Kung Fu Theater on Sundays. The ridiculously dubbed dialogue and the sound effects make these martial arts movies a must-watch.
Keep reading for the press release and to watch a reel of some of the Shaw Brothers’ classic films.
Official Press Release:
El Rey Network (El Rey), maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s new genre-busting cable network, and Celestial Pictures Limited (Celestial Pictures) announced today a long-term programming partnership. The new five-year deal begins October 1, 2014, extending and expanding on an existing program licensing agreement. The new deal will provide the network with access to 255 iconic martial arts titles from the Shaw Brothers vault – the world’s leading martial arts collection, many on an exclusive basis. Financial terms were not disclosed. The parties are also in discussion on new original programming concepts based on the Shaw Brothers’ films.
New titles available to El Rey through this deal include “The Five Deadly Venoms,” “Mad Monkey Kung Fu,” “The Brave Archer Trilogy” and “Have Sword Will Travel,” which will air throughout the schedule as well as during the network’s monthly Kung Fu marathons. All films come with English subtitles and/or English dubbed tracks.
Robert Rodriguez, El Rey Network founder and chairman, said: “These iconic films have really resonated with our viewers and we are excited to be the American home of this incredible library. As a kid, I found this kind of content wildly entertaining and these dazzling, kinetic and epic spectacles are still a great inspiration in the work I do to this day.”
Kristen Tong, Chief Operating Officer of Celestial Pictures, added: “We are delighted to build on our strong relationship with El Rey and Robert. The network has already proven to be a great platform to showcase our classic titles to a new audience, and we look forward to pursuing further exciting opportunities together.”
El Rey Network Salutes the Shaw Brothers with this awesome reel:
The Author
