All language subtitles for pista 1

My name is Shih Szu.

My name is Li Ching.

My name is Ling Po.

My name is Chiang Tai-wai.

These beauties
and fearsome men

are some of the stars
of a cinema empire

that you might not have heard of.

The Shaw empire
is located in Hong Kong

and produces 180 films a year

for 200 million spectators

in Asia.

The Shaw empire starts here.

This is one of the Shaw brothers,
the youngest.

His first name is Run Run.

His office is as spacious as his car,
as you're about to find out.

Mr. Shaw doesn't like
people calling it an empire.

We call ourselves
the Shaw organization.

We operate a chain
of a few hundred cinemas.

We also run
amusement parks, live shows,

banks, an import-export business

and insurance companies.

We run many businesses,

but our main business
is the cinema.

This is Shaws Movie Town,

all 18 square kilometers of it.

In Hong Kong.

One square meter of living space
costs 300,000 old francs.

This morning, six films
are being shot at the same time.

This one tells the story
of legendary hero Chiang Tsu.

His main characteristic?
He kills everyone.

Blood spurts out everywhere,

even onto our camera lens.

That means "cut".

Have you seen
how small the camera is?

Shaw Brothers' movies are shot
on 35mm co-lour film with CinemaScope

but with no sound.

There are signs everywhere:
no spitting.

The next shot is a terrifying charge.

The reason for the charge
soon becomes clear.

Rice, meat and vegetables.

They get a ten-minute break

three times a day.

The back of the set.

As soon as filming is over,
the sets are demolished.

Only one remains,
and it's always the same.

This tower which has featured
in the last 300 films by the Shaw Brothers.

It's taken a battering.

It has withstood
the Hong Kong typhoon

and the most brutal attacks
by heroes.

The Shaw empire's underlying principle
is economics.

Office buildings are used
to prop up sets.

And the builders and carpenters
are poorly paid women.

There are three canteens
open night and day

because filming takes place
day and night.

They serve rice, meat and vegetables

to the Shaw Brothers' 4,500 employees

who make the most
of any dead time to rest.

You get a good view
of the Shaw empire from here.

The hill belongs to them.

The coastline belongs to them, too.

The Shaw Brothers have 30 directors
who are housed and fed.

The actors and stars
are housed and fed, too.

He's the Chinese Fernandel.

Silent take, ambush.

Take one.

Here they shoot without sound,
as I said.

The picture is one thing.

The sound is another.

These extras are going
to hand their costumes in and get paid.

The pirate film is finished.

They'll be given another costume
straight away,

and in a few minutes
they'll appear in another film.

Shooting will start
as soon as they arrive.

They might work like this
non-stop for 18 hours.

For 18 hours work
they get paid 25 francs.

The Shaw Brothers have 30 scriptvvriters
who are housed and fed, too.

Each of them is contracted to write
a staggering ten scripts a month

so that the Shaw Brothers
have plenty to choose from.

Shaw Brothers screenwriters
must follow this principle:

a hero must not die.

He must never stop
being able to kill,

even if he is hampered
by a knife plunged into his stomach.

The heroes also appear
in several films in one day.

Everything is done to make sure
the fights don't endanger participants.

The sabers are wooden.

The ground is foam rubber.

But sometimes a foot
might overstep the mark.

There are 100,000 costumes
from every era,

all impeccable,
despite the blood,

the fake blood
they are constantly soaked in.

Some 30 liters of blood,

I mean fake blood,

every day.

The blood is drinkable, sweetened,
and it doesn't stain.

It can be removed
with a bit of water.

It's painted on.

I think the Europeans will like our films.

Because our films are different.
They're exciting.

For instance, not many Europeans
used to like Chinese food,

but now they all go
to Chinese restaurants.

We will first introduce them
to films that aren't very bloody.

And then we will gradually
increase the blood.

Li Ching,

Tina Chin-Pei,

Lili H0.

Liu Wu Chi,

Betty Shu.

All lovely names.

It's an attractive proposition.

The stars sign
an eight-year contract.

They earn about 50 million
old francs a year,

and they are housed and fed.

They are housed here
in these apartments.

Beside the filming studios.

Lily Li.

That's her name.

She's 21 years old.

She has starred
in more than 50 films already.

That's a lot for someone her age.

She hardly ever appears in public

because, as Mr. Shaw said,

"|t is not my girls I want the public to see,
it is my films."