Union Film
Union Film was a film company established in 1952 by Weitang Xia (夏維堂), Rongfeng Sha (沙榮峰), Taoran Zhang (張陶然), and Jiuyin Zhang (張九蔭), and was officially registered in 1953. The four founders were businessmen in the textile industry in China who decided to invest in the movie industry after they relocating to Taiwan after the 1949. They began the business by distributing Hong Kong films in Taiwan and gradually collaborated with movie theaters, eventually owning their own theaters to showcase the movies they released. They also expanded their business to movie production and constructed their own movie studio in Danan, Taoyan (桃園大湳). Union Film ceased operation in 1977, when most of the shareholders opted to sell their properties to the construction company instead of continuing with the movie business.
History
When Union Film was officially established and registered, the founders had a great vision of developing the Chinese speaking film market in post-war Taiwan, where the majority people spoke Japanese and Taiwanese after the 40 years of colonialization (from 1895 to 1945). The four establishers foresaw the prosperity of Taiwan Cinema, and devoted themselves to the film industry. The Union film initially helped to release films from Yonghua Motion Picture Industries (Yung Hwa Motion Picture Industries, Chinese: 永華影業). The first film released by Union Film was Love Eternal (Chinese: 巫山盟) (Yan Jun, 1953). They released many popular singing films, such as Rose, Rose, I Love You (玫瑰玫瑰我愛你) (Guangqi Tu, 1953), Singing Under The Moon (翠翠) (Yan Jun, 1953), and The Golden Phoenix (金鳳) (Yan Jun, 1955).[1] These films, starring Li Li-hua (李麗華) and Linda Lin Dai (林黛), were especially popular and contributed to Union Film’s success at the time.
Union Film prospered during the 1960s and 1970s. In the decade between the 1950s and the 1960s, the Hong Kong film industry was dominated by two film studios: the Shaw Brothers and Motion Picture & General Investment (MP&GI, Chinese: 國際電影懋業), also known as Cathay Organization (國泰機構). The Union Film helped both the MP&GI and the Shaw Brothers to release films in Taiwan. During the time of the Cold War, the Hong Kong film industry was divided into left and right. Some stars and filmmakers joined the leftist study groups, while others joined the Hong Kong and Kowloon Movies Industry Free Association (港九電影戲劇事業自由總會). For all movies to be released in Taiwan, the filmmakers, including directors, actors, or actresses had to be members of the Free Association.[2] Filmmakers from the Shaw Brothers and the MP&GI came to Taiwan to celebrate various events in October, including October 10th (National Day), October 31st (President Chiang Kai-shek’s birthday), and the Golden Horse Awards. Union Film served as an intermediary between Hong Kong filmmakers and the Taiwan government, and also provided accommodations for the filmmakers from Hong Kong.[3]
Contributions to Taiwan cinema
Union Film played a significant role in public relations between the Hong Kong film industry and the Taiwan government. The Union Film played a crucial part in persuading two famous directors from the Shaw Brothers to Taiwan, thus helping to consolidate the foundation of Taiwan Cinema: director Li Hanxiang (Lee Han-hsiang, Chinese: 李翰祥) and director Jin Hu (King Hu, Chinese: 胡金銓). Director Li came to Taiwan and established the Grand Motion Picture (GMP, Chinese: 國聯影業有限公司) in 1963. When the Shaw Brothers engaged in fierce competition with the MP&GI, director Li worked for the Shaw Brothers, and his talent helped them win the “twin movies” war, which involved both studios making movies based on the same story, and the studio that released the film first would attract the majority of the audience.[4] After director Li achieved great success with the huangmei film The Love Eterne (梁山伯與祝英台) (Li Hanxiang, 1963), the founder of the MP&GI, Lu Yuntao (Loke Wan Tho, Chinese: 陸運濤), and one of the four founders of the Union Film, Xia Weitang, persuaded Li to start his own film studio.[5] With Mr. Loke’s promises, Li soon made plans to leave the Shaw Brothers and establish Grand Motion Pictures. Since Li was under contract with the Shaw Brothers, Taiwan was the only place where he could establish his film studio.[6] The Taiwan government welcomed Li, and the Union Film played an important role in facilitating this. The name of Grand Motion Pictures, Guolian, was derived from “Guo” of Cathay (Guotai), and “lian” from the Union Film (Lianbang).[7] Unfortunately, in 1964, a plane crashed and took away the lives of many significant figures in the Taiwan and Hong Kong film industries, including Lu Yuntao and Xia Weitang. This was a tremendous loss for the Union Film, MP&GI, GMP, and Taiwan Cinema. Rongfeng Sha took the lead at the Union Film after Xia. The MP&GI transformed into Cathay but became less compatible with the Shaw Brothers after losing Mr. Lu. And the GMP lost its investors and hence started on a crumbly way in Taiwan.The Union Film, nonetheless, continue to thrive under Sha’s lead. In 1966, the Union Film began building their own studio in Danan (Taoyan). Meanwhile, the Union Film successfully persuaded another famous director, Hu Jinquan, from the Shaw Brothers to sign a two-year contract (1966-1968) with them.[8] King Hu made his famous film, Dragon Inn (龍門客棧) (King Hu, 1967) in Taiwan. Dragon Inn quickly gained popularity globally, and it was released not only in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but also in the United States (New York and San Francisco), Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and countries in Central and South America.[9]
The Union Film started by releasing movies, the cooperating with the movie theatres chains, and eventually producing their own movies in their own film studio. In the 1970s, the Union Film produced many Kung Fu movies and melodramas of Qiongyao (瓊瑤) films. The Union Film played a crucial role in consolidating the foundation of Taiwan film industry. Sha Rongfeng provided assistance to many directors and individual filmmakers in Taiwan, sometimes by investing their budgets, renting out the film studio and occasionally waiving paychecks.[10] The Union Film has witnessed and contributed to the development of Taiwan cinema from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Union Film ceased film production in 1974. In the 1970s, many individual filmmakers began producing their own movies. Although Sha Rongfeng desired to continue the film business and expand the studio in Danan, the remaining founders and shareholders decided to sell the lands in Danan. This decision was made without Sha’s consent while he was visiting his daughter in the United States in 1979.[11] Despite Sha’s efforts upon his return to Taiwan, the decision could not be reversed with all his efforts. The shareholders had already sold the land and buildings to the construction industry.[12] While the shareholders earned a substantial amount of money from selling the land, it resulted in a great loss for the Taiwan Cinema.
Films produced by the Union Film
| Year | Film Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Dragon Inn (龍門客棧) | King Hu (胡金銓) | Best Narrative Feature, Best Screen Play of Golden Horse Awards in 1968 |
| 1968 | Morning Mist (晨霧) | Kao Li (高立) | |
| 1968 | The Knight of Old Cathay (掌門人) | Su Li (李溯) | |
| 1969 | The Melody of Love (情人的眼淚) | Li Hsing (李行) | Special Awards of Asian Film Awards in 1969 |
| 1969 | Iron Mistress (鐵娘子) | Sung Tsun-shou (宋存壽) | |
| 1969 | Black Invitation (黑帖) | Hsu Chiang Chou (周旭江) | |
| 1970 | A Touch of Zen (俠女) | King Hu (胡金銓) | |
| 1970 | Prosperous of Family (三娘教子) | Ting Shan-hsi (丁善璽) | |
| 1970 | The Grant Passion (烈火) | His-ching Yang (楊世慶) | |
| 1970 | A City Called Dragon (龍城十日) | Zhongxun Tu (屠忠訓) | Most Promising Actress of Golden Horse Award |
| 1971 | Rider of Revenge (萬里雄風) | Tingwu Xiong (熊廷武) | |
| 1971 | The Ghost Hill (十萬金山) | Ting Shan-hsi (丁善璽) | |
| 1971 | The Fly Dragon Mountain (飛龍山) | Chen Hung-Min (陳洪民) | |
| 1971 | The Lost Romance (雲山夢回) | Joseph Kuo (郭南宏) | |
| 1971 | She'd Hate Pather Love (刺蠻王) | Hui-ying Hua (華慧英) | |
| 1971 | The Bravest Revenge (武林龍虎鬥) | Lung Lin (劍龍) | |
| 1971 | I will Always Be with You (有我就有你) | Steven Liu (劉家昌) | |
| 1971 | The Brave and the Evil (黑白道) | Jimmy Wang Yu (王羽) | |
| 1972 | The Decisive Battle (精忠報國) | Evan Yang (易文) | Best Narrative Feature of the Golden Horse Award in 1971 |
| 1972 | A Girl Fighter (女拳師) | Shih-Ching Yang (楊世慶) | |
| 1973 | A Tough of Zen Part 2 (俠女第二部) | King Hu (胡金銓) | Best Art Direction of the Golden Horse Award in 1975 |
| 1973 | A Ghostly Face (鬼面人) | Shih-Ching Yang (楊世慶) | |
| 1973 | Chinese Kung Fu and Acupuncture (中國針灸) | Shengyuan Sun (孫聖源) | |
| 1974 | Gone With the Cloud (雲飄飄) | Steven Liu (劉家昌) | |
| 1974 | The Windows of the Mind (窗) | Tingwu Xiong (熊廷武) | |
| 1974 | Moon River (雲河) | Steven Liu (劉家昌) | |
| 1974 | Blood Revenge (潮州虎女) | Su Li (李溯) | |
| 1975 | Misty Drizzle (煙雨) | Steven Liu (劉家昌) | |
| 1975 | The September Song (楓紅層層) | Steven Liu (劉家昌) | |
| 1977 | The Love Offensive (愛情大進擊) | Wang Shih-Tseng (王時政) |
References
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 11. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 35. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 黃, 仁 (2001). 聯邦電影時代 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 30. ISBN 9789573097235. Search this book on
- ↑ 江怡音, 〈邵氏大導渡台灣：李翰祥與國聯影業〉, 《看得見的記憶：二十部電影裡的百年電影史》, 臺北: 春山出版有限公司和國家電影及視聽文化中心, 2020, 頁162.
- ↑ 李, 翰祥 (1987). 影海生涯（下） (in 中文). 農村讀物出版社. p. 639. Search this book on
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 83. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 李, 翰祥 (1987). 影海生涯（下） (in 中文). 農村讀物出版社. p. 650. Search this book on
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 91. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. p. 68. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 黃, 仁 (2001). 聯邦電影時代 (in 中文). 臺北. p. 19. ISBN 9789573097235. Search this book on
- ↑ 沙, 榮峰 (1994). 繽紛電影四十春 (in 中文). 臺北: 國家電影資料館. pp. 54–56. ISBN 9789579987400. Search this book on
- ↑ 黃, 仁 (2001). 聯邦電影時代 (in 中文). 臺北: 電影資料館. p. 49. ISBN 9789573097235. Search this book on
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