Shaw Brothers Ltd.

Background

Shaw Bros. is one of the largest and oldest film studios in Hong Kong. In 1924, Run Run Shaw and Runme Shaw founded the Shaw Organisation in Singapore as a distribution company. In 1930, they founded South Sea Films in Hong Kong, later renamed Shaw Brothers Studio. It is famous for its martial arts films. Today, Shaw Bros. only distributes films in Southeast Asia. The company went defunct in 2011 as it was reincorporated into the Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited, but in 2015 it was revived as Shaw Brothers Pictures by TVB Group, which was Shaw's former subsidiary.

1st Logo (1930s-1958)

Logo: On a blue background, we see a shield, which is turquoise with a red border. In red, the following text is on the shield:
A
SHAWS
PRODUCTION

Under it is a yellow ribbon with some red Chinese text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic 20th Century Fox-like fanfare.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on martial arts films released by the company.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1940s-1959)

Logo: We see the same shield from before, except it's bronze, along with the text "A SHAW PRODUCTION". It is set on a midnight blue satin-like background with some tan-colored satin sheet-looking material at the top and bottom.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Very rare. See above.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1958-2011)

Logo: The background looks like some kind of glass, with various colours waving behind it. First, a shield, similar to the Warner Bros. shield, appears with the the letters 'SB' in gold on it. It fades out and some Chinese text appears on the same background. It fades out and the shield appears again under some more Chinese text. The shield is between 'SHAW' and 'SCOPE'.

FX/SFX: The constant moving of the shapes in the background and the various fading ins and outs.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic fanfare with drums and trumpets.

Availability: Common. Seen on every Shaw Bros. film of the period since 1958. Also appears on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 with the Miramax logo overlapping the first segment of this logo.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1979-1980s)

Shaw Brothers Studio (1979?)Shaw Brothers Intertitle (1980's)

Logo: We see the inside of the shield from the last logo, animated to look like a spinning sunburst background (a la Toho). The initials "SB" zoom-out via trail effect. We then zoom out from the shield, which is placed on a starburst background. The shield leaves a slightly transparent trail which then merge with the logo turning it gold. The shield flashes, turning into orange Chinese text.

FX/SFX: The zooming. Very unprofessional animation, and the transition from the normal to golden shield is a little bit choppy.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: TBA

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (2000s-2011)

Logo: We see many clips from Shaw Bros. movies zooming out and transforming into the SB shield. "SHAW" then rotates, and fairy dust effects sprinkle over it.

FX/SFX: The clips merging the shield and text. Decent CGI, but the next one is even better.

Music/Sounds: An abridged version of the previous logos' music with the fiery swoosh sound and the gong.

Availability: TBA

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (2015- )

Logo: On a space background, we see the shield (without the initials "SB") rotating for a bit, done in glorious CGI. The initials then zoom onto the shield letter-by-letter. After that, the shield emits sparks (like fireworks) as it zooms back in a comfortable distance. Fairy dust effects wipes in the words "Shaw Brothers Pictures LTD" and its Chinese translation (which rotates a bit). The byline "A member of TVB Group" rotates, and finally, a comet appears flying into the right side of the byline and flashes into the TVB logo (a white rounded square with a tri-colored circle on the center).

FX/SFX: This is one of the best-looking Hong Kong logos ever. Every little detail is present in this logo, including the shield.

Music/Sounds: A remastered version of the previous logo's music.

Availability: Current. Seen on movies released by the company such as Triumph in the Skies and From Vegas to Macau II.

Editor's Note: None.