Golden Needles - Joe Don Baker (1974) - View over Central, HK Island

Here is a familiar shot from the opening of the film that shows a view over Central from what I suspect is the Peak Road/Magazine Gap Road area. Take a good long look at this scene because my next post will show a very similar one (it could even be the same bit of film for reasons I will explain) from another film.

What can we see? Well, not much on this one because the camera pans only a small amount so most of our screen is taken up by the 1974 (or perhaps 1973, we shall see) version of the mid-levels.

You see the wire? Just below the wire is a building, or at least its roof, pointing away almost in a straight line away from the camera. This to me looks very much like the old British Military Hospital between Bowen and Borrett Roads. Though once a hospital it now houses the Carmel School (the local Jewish International school) and the Canadian International School. To its immediate left (on the other side of Borrett Road) is what looks to be the site of Island School. Island School moved there just around the time this scene was filmed, which may explain why the site looks to be newly built with the mountain side scraped away behind for part of the development.

There is actually a small lay-by on Peak Road where this shot could have been taken from but I would need to go there myself to be sure. I've pinned it as the location so if anyone is here and has a bit of time to head up there, feel free to let me know if I am right.

Other buildings that can still be seen now include the Mandarin Oriental (just to the right of the tree trunk) and below that is the former Law courts/LegoCo building soon to become the new home of the Court of Final Appeal.