Timeline: Shaw and his empire

Key moments in the life of Run Run Shaw, including the top 10 films, in terms of artistic achievement, produced or funded by Shaw's companies.

1907: Born into wealthy merchant family in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, the sixth of eight children

1925: The Shaw brothers found Tianyi Film Co in Shanghai

1926: Sent to Southeast Asia to help his brothers build a film distribution network

1937: Marries Wong Mei Chun in Singapore

1958: Sets up Shaw Brothers Productions and Movietown in Hong Kong

1963: The Love Eterne: A musical based on a folk tale, one of the best-selling and most-acclaimed films in Chinese cinematic history.

1966: Come Drink With Me: A martial arts masterpiece. Directed by King Hu, it elevated the genre to new heights.

1967: One-Armed Swordsman: Directed by Chang Cheh, it was the first film to gross more than HK$1 million ($129,000) and accidentally spawned a new wave of male-dominated action films.

1969: Mona Fong joins Shaw Brothers, starting in the procurement department before becoming Run Run's right-hand woman in his business and personal lives

1972: Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan: A standout from a slew of erotic films popular at the time.

1973: Launches Television Broadcasts Ltd, which becomes Hong Kong's premier TV station and one of the world's biggest producers of Chinese-language programming

1973: The House of 72 Tenants: An ensemble piece that took advantage of TVB's roster of television stars and served to revive Cantonese cinema in Hong Kong.

1973: The Blood Brothers: Another of Chang Cheh's male bonding-turned-sour epics that foreshadows the movies of John Woo. In 2007, Peter Chan remade the film as The Warlords.

1975: The Empress Dowager: Directed by Li Han-hsiang, it's one of several historical tales set in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and carries strong political undertones.

1977: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

1978: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin: A regular martial arts flick with an emphasis on the training regimen. An unexpected hit overseas.

1982: Blade Runner: US sci-fi movie. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, it lost money on its initial release, but eventually gained status as a classic.

1984: An Amorous Woman of the Tang Dynasty: A slightly erotic art film with psychological depth.

1986: Shaw Brothers leases Movietown production facilities to TVB

1997: Marries Mona Fong in Las Vegas

1998: Awarded Grand Bauhinia Medal by Hong Kong government

2000: Sells film library comprising 760 titles to Celestial Pictures for $84 million

2002: Launches the Shaw Prize, an international award, for astronomy, math and life sciences, with individual prizes worth as much as $1 million