Monday, September 28, 2015

Knock Off - Jean Claude Van Damme (1997) - Kowloon Bay Breakwater, Kowloon Bay

As JCVD goes off soul-searching, he decides to wander down to the breakwaters that sit across Kowloon Bay near to Kai Tak airport runway. I'm quite certain that at least one of the following screen caps is actually the previously mentioned Todd Senofonte, Van Damme's long-term stunt double. Anyway, the second shot shows the uprights of the Kwun Tong Bypass that runs along the waterfront along Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong.

5 comments:

gweilo8888 said...

That's an interesting-looking ferry (?) in the background. The raked funnels strike me as familiar, but I can't quite place it. Anybody know which it was, or where it went?

I quickly assembled a stitch to show a little more of it in one frame, and removed the sunset color cast:

http://imgur.com/gallery/nVEGwTv

Phil said...

it's possible it's one of the gambling boats that still frequent that part of the harbour. basically, they get a bunch of Chinese on board and sail to the closest bit of international waters so the patrons can gamble without any interference from HK or Chinese authorities, then they sail back in the morning - often with fewer passengers courtesy of the death wish some of the less successful gamblers develop on the way home... *splash*

Anonymous said...

I can confirm the top screencap is of Todd. It was taken one evening after they'd been filming the scene where the van and rickshaw crash into a supermarket. If memory serves, we weren't far from Kwun Tong Ferry pier. Jude

Phil said...

Many thanks Jude, I did think it might be him but wasn't sure. I'd love to hear any memories you have of the filming if you have any that can be shared, that is :-)
Cheers, Phil

gweilo8888 said...

IIRC there used to be a converted minesweeper out around Sai Kung somewhere which was used for much the same thing. Not sure of the name or what ever happened to it; perhaps somebody else will remember.

Also, I believe Star Cruises started out in much the same way, with the Star Pisces sailing out of Hong Kong waters to serve as a floating casino, and the Star Aquarius doing the same out of Singapore. I believe initially they didn't even make a pretense of sailing Pisces *to* anywhere in particular, they just sailed for a day or so, anchored somewhere off Taiwan for a day, then turned around and sailed straight back to Hong Kong.

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