Thursday, June 28, 2012

The Prodigal Son - Yuen Biao (1981) - Tai Tung Wo Liu, Sai Kung

The second of the two identifiable locations used in this classic Sammo Hung film is used in the finale when Yuen Biao fights (and inflicts a rather sickening injury) on Frankie Chan.


As you can see, there are glimpses in the back ground of a very striking mountain range which are actually the northern Sai Kung side of Ma On Shan. The finale was filmed on what seems to be a very flat piece of ground and actually this area of the NT is quite flat. Here is a modern view courtesy of streetview of the same ridgeline. Bear in mind that on film the camera lens sometimes stretches or squashes the picture along certain planes in order to fit the TV screen/monitor.


There is a small village called Tai Tung Wo Liu here and the finale would have been filmed on land very close to the village given the angle of the mountains and other features that can be seen on the film.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The finale was actually filmed in Che Ha Tuen (close to Tai Tung Wo Liu), I was 13 at the time and living in the village. I played on the set after they’d left it. It was made from polystyrene blocks. They filmed half a dozen takes for the final somersault and jacket grab. I didn’t think I’d ever see any of the films I witnessed, thank you for the screenshots and recovery of my memories.

Graham99 said...

The finale was actually filmed at Che Ha Tsuen, close to Tai Tung Wo Liu, I was 13 years old and lived in the village. I watched them film it, they set up a small trampoline for the somersault jacket grab at the end. The set was made from polystyrene blocks. I played on the set after they’d left. I never thought I’d see any of the films I witnessed, thank you so much, I have so many happy memories from that time.

Graham99 said...

The finale was actually filmed at Che Ha Tsuen (close to Tai Tung Wo Liu). I watched it being filmed, I was 13 years old and lived in the village. The set was primarily made from polystyrene blocks. I played on the set after they’d left. I never thought I’d see any of the films I saw being made. Thank so much for your screen grabs, I have so many happy memories from that time.

Pip the Troll said...

Graham, many thanks for the comment and clearing up the precise location of the filming. I'm glad I wasn't too far away. I have been able to revise some of my "guestimates" over the years, but not got around to this one yet. The place has recently changed beyond all recognition with new high rise residential developmenst going up. It's so sad to see. At least we have these films to help memorialise the area as it was.

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