Thursday, September 17, 2015

Codename: Wildgeese - Lewis Collins (1984) - Aberdeen Tunnel, Wong Chuk Hang

Only opened a couple of years before this film was made, the Aberdeen Tunnel is the site of one of THE most ridiculous car chase scenes I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Collins and Borgnine are pursued in their car and a fast chase ensues involving Collins driving into a partially completed tunnel. The entrance can be seen below and is actually the Wong Chuk Hang entrance of the northbound carriage. I've attached the Streetview grabs for comparison.

Brick Hill (and Ocean Park) at the back

Northbound tunnel entrance

The chase inside the tunnel was obviously made using miniatures and is a passable sequence until the filmmakers thought it would be a good idea to have Collins' character drive up the side of the tunnel wall and drive along it - defying gravity - for a rather lengthy amount of time to avoid the various works going on along the road. It's just s stupid scene it spoils this part of the film for me and I'm pretty sure Collins and Borgnine are both spinning in their graves at the thought of such a cringe-worthy bit of film making. Anyway, exiting the tunnel on the opposite side of the road i.e. the Wong Chuk Hang side of the southbound tunnel and the chase soon comes to a stop with the help of Klaus Kinski.


They eventually come to a stand still near to where the toll booths stand. You can still see the pedestrian ramp/slope at the side of the road. Although it does look like it much use these days due to the amount of foliage covering it now.

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