30 YEARS OF GOLDEN HARVEST

by Tony To

• 1970: Golden Harvest is founded by Raymond Chow, Leonard Ho and Leung Fung.

• 1970: "Zatoichi and the Blind Swordsman" is the first GH-Japan co-production. Early productions also include "The Invincible Eight" and "Shaolin Boxer," setting a trend for martial-arts films.

• 1971: Raymond Chow signs Bruce Lee to GH.

• 1971-1973: The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Enter the Dragon, Return of the Dragon and Game of Death (both directed by Bruce Lee)

• 1973: Bruce Lee passes away.

• 1973: GH diversifies with "Chelsea My Love" (romance), "Naked Comes the Huntress" (suspense) and "Hapkido" (action).

• 1973: Signs Sammo Hung as director, spurring action-comedy tradition with "Iron-Fisted Monk," "Knockabout" and "Prodigal Son."

• 1974: GH makes its first "Hollywood" film: "Amsterdam Kill," starring Robert Mitchum.

• 1974-1977: John Woo directs Cantonese opera "Princess Chiang Ping"; Kang Wei helms pop musical "Gonna Get You."

• 1974-1977: Michael Hui and his brothers make the first modern social comedy films including "Games Gamblers Play," "The Private Eyes" and "The Contract." Besides breaking B.O. records in Southeast Asia, these films cross over into the Japanese market as a series under the title "Mr. Boo."

• 1978: John Woo directs comedy "Money Crazy" and period action "Last Hurrah for Chivalry." Golden Harvest becomes the largest Chinese-language film production company in the world.

• 1979: Jackie Chan joins GH, His directorial and starring debut, "The Young Master," wows Japan.

• 1979: Roger Vadim directs "Night Games" for GH.

• 1981-1983: Jackie Chan's "Project A" and "Armor of God," and Yuan Biao's "Champions" continue to bring GH films to new heights of popularity in Japan.

• 1982: GH offers Burt Reynolds a then-record $5 million to star in "The Cannonball Run."

• 1983: Raymond Chow is awarded Showman of the Year by the National Assn. of Theater Owners.

• 1983: Jackie Chan stars in his first Hollywood film, "The Battlecreek Brawl" (aka "The Big Brawl"), for GH.

• 1984-1988: GH produces such Hollywood-influenced pictures as "Death Hunt" (directed by Peter Hunt, and starring Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson), "High Road to China" and "Lassiter" (both starring Tom Selleck) and sci-fi thriller "Rats."

• 1985-1990: GH produces 25-30 films per year, becoming the largest Chinese film enterprise in the world with a distribution network and cinema connections worldwide.

• 1985-1990: GH begins work with Australia's Village Roadshow to build modern multiplex cinemas in Southeast Asia; it controls almost 300 screens.

• 1989: "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" puts GH on the international map again as it breaks B.O. records and spawns two sequels.

• 1994: Golden Harvest Entertainment (Holdings) Ltd. is publicly listed Nov. 23.

• 1997: Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

• 1998: The Asian economic crash, emergence of new technologies and media, and rampant piracy deal heavy blows to the film industry in Asia.

• 1998: "The Stormriders" sets a new H.K. record for an opening weekend.

• 1998-1999: GH takes advantage of new computer technology to make "The Stormriders," "Hot War" and "A Man Called Hero," which incorporate locally produced visual effects.

• 1999: Romantic comedy "Fly Me to Polaris," directed by Jingle Ma and starring new actress Cecilia Cheung, sets B.O. records across Asia during Chinese New Year.

• 2000: GH takes on new technology partner, Taiwan giant Acer. GH and Acer are the major shareholders of Golden Harvest Entertainment (Holdings).

• 2000: Action adventure "Tokyo Raiders," directed by Jingle Ma, and starring Cannes 2000 best actor Tony Leung, Ekin Cheng, pop star Kelly Chen and Cecilia Cheung further boosts the H.K. film industry during the Chinese New Year.

• April: GH, Acer and Morningside Technologies create I-Content, an Internet company and launch a Web site, eolAsia.com, hailed as the first through which pop music by various artists can be downloaded legally.

• May: "Double Tap," starring screen and music sensation Leslie Cheung and Alex Fong, opens across Asia.

Variety, June 26, 2000; © 2000, Cahners Publishing Company, Gale Group