Friday, March 6, 2015

That Man Bolt - Fred Williamson (1973) - Tai Pak and Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Another trip to Aberdeen for this film - although thankfully on this occasion, it's the right way around.

This first picture shows Griffiths (played by Byron Webster) catching a sampan out to the restaurant. This is how you used to do it (and still can if you want) before the dedicated shuttle boats were introduced. Note the buildings in the background where the original pontoons were.


I wanted to show you how this part of Aberdeen has changed. Although the colourful ones behind Webster's head have since been replaced, the white building on the left (Ping On House?) is still around and can be seen on the following Streetview picture taken from the Aberdeen Praya Road exit/entry ramp. As you can see the waterfront right in front of that building is now taken up by the Aberdeen Bus terminus and a rather significantly widened Aberdeen Praya Road (not mentioning all the high rises that have risen up at the back).


Moving on and we get some nice colourful shots of the Tai Pak with Ap Lei Chau behind it.


Behind Williamson's head in the background of the following shot we can just see the roof of the Aberdeen Seminary top left, and the steep slope in the far distance is the side of Brick Hill - anyone who has been to Ocean Park will have seen this hill because it's the one with the Ocean Park seahorse emblem on it and the cable car running up it.


Here's another angle showing the Aberdeen Chinese Permanent Cemetery - but I'm not sure what the grey concrete structure is below it. Perhaps one of the bases of the industrial buildings being built?


And a final look behind Fred as he tackles some chopsticks, this time the camera seems to be point more north with the Aberdeen Seminary directly behind his head and a cluster of factories/industrial buildings in Wong Chuk Hang.

4 comments:

gweilo8888 said...

Whatever that long gray building was, it can be seen in this undated period photo:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shuibien_chen/5019217047/sizes/o/in/photolist-8DwNmX/

Perhaps a market, factory or godown of some kind? It seems to sit about where Bayshore Apartments is located today...

Phil said...

Great find. It matches the angle of one of my earlier flipped Aberdeen posts. Look at all the water coming from under the power station.

Anonymous said...

Hi Phil,

I wonder if the greyish long building was one of those of the former dockyard there.

T

Phil said...

possibly. Do you think the 5 openings were dry docks? The grey concrete appearance though just reminds me of a newly poured base for one of the high rises.

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