For obvious reasons, filmmakers like to include helicoptered shots of the HK skyline and here is one in which we can see a few recognisable landmarks. Starting with picture one below we can see the east tower (i.e. Block 3) of Exchange Square and next to it the towering blue-glassed oblong of the Hang Seng Bank HQ. Incidentally, this latter one stands where the old Central Fire Station used to stand.
Believe it or not even this angle from a helicopter is no longer possible because right smack bag in front of the Hang Seng Building now stands IFC1 - part of the IFC development that includes what was once HK's tallest building (until the ICC was built in Kowloon) - the IFC2 - and a huge mall.
In these next couple of shots we can see some much smaller buildings to the right of the Hang Seng HQ. It looks as though the next 4 buildings have already all been demolished - up to and including the gold one with the red sign at the top. What stands in their place now is the new Hong Kong HQ of the Agricultural Bank of China.
All other buildings (including Chinachem Plaza with the red top) on the right hand side still remain, as can be attested by this Streetview grab.
3 comments:
I don't remember these as helicopter shots, more static/panning shots taken from an office block. But I'm as likely wrong as right - and I don't have the movie to watch the sequence again! But I know we weren't allowed to film helicopter shots over urban areas in the single-engined chopper Heliservices used at the time and that's why I'm dubious they are aerial shots..
Hi Neil, I don't know how else these could have been shot - other than either by heli or by a small plane perhaps? These days I guess you could use a nice big zoom from the ICC, but back in the 80's I have no idea which building these could have been taken from.
As I say, I haven't got the film so can't see the shot sequence; it could well be a helicopter shot but I know back in the day no one was allowed/supposed to fly over the city in a single engined chopper. Maybe they cheated on this occasion!
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