Bons Baisers de Hong Kong - Les Charlots (1975) - Kam Shing Pharmacy, Kwun Chung

This one proved to be a bit of a toughy, largely because initial searches for "金城大藥房" led me to a reference to the place being on Kingston St in Causeway bay. After realising this couldn't possibly be correct I drew a bit of a blank until Thomas found a reference to it on Uwants. The real location? Well, it turns out it was on the corner of Jordan Road and Parkes Street.

The camera is in a car driving along Jordan Road from east to west and Parkes Street can be seen leading away to the south. Judging from the current Streetview images, it looks as though the extended upper floor section still exists although it has had its windows enlarged since 1975.

In case you want to see the Uwants forum thread, it's here courtesy of the indefatigable Thomas Ngan, so many thanks to him once again.

http://www.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=11902654&page=117

Lord Jim - Peter O'Toole (1965) - Old Supreme Court Building, Central

It's difficult to know how to refer to this building these days. It's now officially the Court of Final Appeal but for many years was the home to the Legislative Council and that is how it stood when I arrived here to live ten years ago. However, before all that it was the Supreme Court and, I suppose, this is the role it plays in the film because the exterior was filmed for the marine court building where Jim's tribunal is taking place.

Ferry to Hong Kong - Curt Jurgens (1959) - Rua da Ribeira do Patane, Macau

Given that the last post identified Ponte No.27 as location used for the Macau-based shenanigans of Curt Jurgens, Orson Welles et al, it looks as though the funeral procession we see on film is walking down Rua da Ribeira do Patane towards the pier location.

I initially thought this road might have been Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro given the number of columned shops along the road, but it turns out that Rua da Ribeira do Patane also had them in abundance, although most have now gone.

 Anyway, there are still a few remnants that remain, including the previously blogged about building on Travessa de Guelra. A couple of them also appear to have their original balconies as well. I believe that the taller blocks further down are more recent additions, but the Macanese developers responsible figured it would be a good idea to retain the road side columns. Either that or the original buildings have just had a couple of extra floors added, I can't tell.

Ferry to Hong Kong - Curt Jurgens (1959) - Ponte No.27, Macau

Here's is one from some time ago that I never even bothered to look at because I figured it had long gone. But after wandering around Macau not so long ago I realised there was still some remnants of the location despite the 60 year gap.

The pier scenes in Macau were filmed at a real pier, and the number is recognisable on film, although lack of HD means it is not as clear as it should be. Anyway, the pier number is 27 and although the pier building itself has long gone (although many of the original buildings remain for other piers, some dating back to the 1940s), there is a nearby building that does still exist, although the ravages of time have seen its exterior change somewhat.

Here's a reminder of the pier that once sat along the waterfront on Avenida de Demetrio Cinatti.

Its modern day replacement is much larger and taller, but still occupies the same place along the road. here is the current Streetview.

Opposite the Pier building is an old tenement where, it is implied, Orson Welles' crooked captain keeps a girlfriend. She wanders out onto the balcony to give him a coy little wave as he is about the board the ferry back to Hong Kong. Here she is, followed by a picture of Welles looking suitably coquettish. You can see the lower ground of that same building behind Welles.

The building was, and still is, on the corner of Avenida de Demetrio Cinatti and the small side road (Travessa da Guelra) that connects with the Rua do Visconde Paco de Arcos. Here it is today, although standing it is not in the best of shape.

Look closely and you will be able to see some of the exterior embellishments that have been plastered over. One example is the centre of the side wall above which looks like it once had large rectangular door frame and lintel. If you look at the picture below, taken from both ends of Travessa da Guelra, you can see what it used to look like - positioned in between the two lower balcony supports. Alas, the balconies have also gone - these things are often the first to go in old buildings to ensure they don't get to the point where they prove dangerous. Here's another picture, this time taken from the pier side of the road.

Lord Jim - Peter O'Toole (1965) - Green Island, Victoria Harbour

Just as Jim and his equally yellow-bellied fellow crew are drifting into port after the storm where they abandoned ship, their small life craft bobs past Green Island at the western end of Hong Kong Island. It's recognisable for the lighthouse that still sits up there.

There are actually two lighthouses in the picture, the tall white one (completed 1905) and just to its right is the original Victorian structure built in the 1870's - all are now protected monuments.

Given Brooks' (Richard Brooks, the director) attempts to conceal modern elements from the film by obscuring them with passing junk sails, a non-Victorian element is acceptable here given that it is only out of era by about 4 years.

As an update to this post, I was passing Green Island the other day on the way back from lunch on Lamma and took a snap of the same area. It's not the same angle, but it's close enough.

Lord Jim - Peter O'Toole (1965) - Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter, Yau Ma Tei

One of the great logistical problems of this film was keeping out of view all of the modern anachronisms that would ruin the Victorian era within which the film (and book) were set. I spoke to Chaplin Chang about this because he worked on this film as an Assistant Director and he told me Richard Brooks (the director) largely overcame this problem by having large number of fishing junks in the background - the intention being that the open sails of the junks could be placed in front of items that might otherwise ruin the shot.

To a large extent it does seem to have dealt with the problem, but you will notice in the film that it didn't work every time and in particular with the shot below looking west from Yau Ma Tei, the film makers decided the only thing to be done was to superimpose a large building at the back. My guess is perhaps it was done to obscure a modern warship docked over at Stonecutter Island?

The curved breakwater seen mid-picture is the old breakwater, now buried under several bouts of reclamation, that ended down next to the site where the Ferry Point Estate was located. You can see it on this picture here. The pointy hill behind the fake building is Sam Chi Heung on Tsing Yi island.

Lord Jim - Peter O'Toole (1965) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

Although filmed in HK during 1963, this film wasn't released until 1965. Based on the book by Joseph Conrad, it revolves around a disgraced sailor who tries to make amends on past decisions by helping a local tribe (perhaps supposed to be Malayan?...I haven't read the book so can't say for sure) fight a despotic General.

Aberdeen was actually one of the main stars of the film it seems because the same location is used several times to portray different places. At the beginning of the film it is supposed to be some anonymous port on the Indonesian island of Java, and then later, with a bit of jiggery pokery (some footage of a train superimposed in the background) it gets turned into the fictional post of Batu Kring from where Jim starts his epic up river mission.

In the top picture you can see the promontory that houses the seminary (look closely and you can just make out its roof) with Brick Hill in the background. The second picture shows both the Tai Pak and Sea palace moored in the middle of the harbour.

Later in the film we get the shot below - essentially taken from the same point as the second picture above, but without the zoom, but notice that there is a trail of smoke at the back. This is actually the superimposed train. From the looks of it everything front and middle is real but the far distant shoreline has been manipulated. It's quite convincing for a film shot so long ago, but the big giveaways of course are not only the still obvious floating restaurants in the middle of the harbour, but also the obvious presence of the old Police Station on the hill on the right. This is a great shot of the building because 1963 was obviously a time before any high rises had been built along that part of Aberdeen Praya Road. I'll do a separate post later where the film used those low rises with a closer angle.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Magazine Island, Aberdeen

A final post for this film - at least until I can sort out a few elusive locations - and a nice image of a junk sailing past Magazine Island at the western entrance to Aberdeen Harbour. The name stems from the fact that there is a building on the island that was once used by the British military for storing explosives. It looks as though film camera was located on the harbour's western breakwater. The chimney's at the back are the HK Electric power station over on Lamma Island.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Ap Lei Chau Praya Road, Ap Lei Chau

One of the final scenes of the movie was filmed in a once seldom visited corner of Ap Lei Chau (the island that makes up the southern side of Aberdeen Harbour) that was once the sole domain of various boat maintenance shed. The boat sheds are still around but they now have to share their space with a brand spanking new residential development called 'Larvotto'.

Of course, the opposite side of Aberdeen Harbour has also seen significant development, especially of late. Unfortunately you can no longer see it because of another large development at the far end of the road on the hillock next to the Ap Lei Chau bridge. It's called Sham Wan Towers (named after the common name for the eastern end of the harbour) and can be seen at the end of the road in the Streetview image below.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Lyndhurst Terrace, Central

The tiled pillars in the background here are the ones that hold up the Mid-levels escalator where it crosses Lyndhurst Terrace at the junction with Cochrane/Gage Streets. Nothing seems to have changed much here other than the usual cycle of opening and closing of various establishments but those of who who have read my Chinese Box posts will know that one of the old blocks at the corner of Cochrane St (i.e. this spot) has since been replaced.

The Sand Pebbles - Steve McQueen (1966) - SCMP Article

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the making of The Sand Pebbles, SCMP writer, Stuart Heaver, has done a splendid job in covering Steve McQueen's presence in Hong Kong for the filming. Fascinatingly detailed and full of information I hadn't come across before. it's well worth a read. The SCMP is once again behind a paywall, but if you can bypass it here is the link:

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/film-tv/article/1935713/when-steve-mcqueen-was-talk-town-hong-kong

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay

An easy place to spot here thanks to the SOGO sign at the back. Of all the Japanese department stores that were once in HK, SOGO still survives in two locations. This one is the longer established and more famous because it's right slap bang in the middle of the Causeway Bay shopping district.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Nathan Road, Kwun Chung

I really should have covered this place at the same time as the earlier Tai Lin post, but didn't realise it was the same location until now. Just after the shoot out on Lockhart Road, Patrick's character (he's called Reginald Cameron in the film) does a runner to escape and soon after leaving the scene at Marsh Road finds himself running down Nathan Road just past the junction with Jordan Road. Once again a great example of movie land taking liberties with geography. The fact that this is right next to the other quick shot earlier of the Tai Lin sign makes me think this must have been filmed at the same time.

Just a note about names. Many people incorrectly refer to this area as Jordan because of the MTR station nearby. The station is actually named after Jordan Road and there isn't actually any official location in Kowloon called Jordan. The area is still referred to on maps as Kwun Chung.

Anyway, check out the massive Fairwood (大快活) neon sign that used to stick out of New Lucky House. The curved building at the back is National Court on the south side of Jordan Road.

Sadly, that huge piece of pulsating neon has long since gone (in fact almost all the the neon along this strip is no longer there). Fairwood actually went through a rebranding in 2003 and the logo has been changed from the scary clown face to a sort of  splodgy jumping man. New Lucky House these days hosts various small backpacker hostels and a bodybuilding gym. Here's a rough approximation of the film angle.

Anyway, he then runs across the road to get picked up by his buddies in the car.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Marsh Road, Wanchai

Just after the shootout, Patrick's character makes a run for it and is picked up by his buddies on Marsh Road just a few yards away from the gunfight on Lockhart Road.

The sad story about this scene for me is the fact that the Tung Tak Pawnshop that stood on the corner of Marsh and Hennessy - and its columns can be seen on the right of several shots below - has only just recently been demolished. The sad thing is it was only one of four remaining curved corner shophouses left in the whole territory.

It looks like this small section of Marsh Road (between Hennessy and Lockhart) was a three-lane road back in 1993/4 but these days the pavement has been expanded and narrowed it to two lanes. Here's the Streetview.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Lockhart Road, Wanchai

The street shootout with the hooded gangsters took place on Lockhart Road in Wanchai. The Gala Association sign in the background was on the front of the Wah Fat Mansion at 405-419 Lockhart Road but seems to have disappeared now. Luckily it was captured by Streetview before it was removed, otherwise identifying this spot would have been significantly harder. The Canal Road flyover (seen in the gloom of the background) helped a little bit in narrowing down the rough area.

Wandering down the street - as I did recently - reveals that the doorway used by Patrick to shield himself from being shot was the seemingly unchanged entrance to Caine Mansion at 384-388 Lockhart Road.

Look closely and you can see the sign inside the door is still there.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - Plantation Road, The Peak

Just prior to a major gun battle with some local gangsters we see the film's main characters (played by Robert Patrick, the awesome Brion James and Tim Thomerson) driving a land rover along a small tree lined lane towards their house on the Peak. The subsequent gun battle that takes place was probably filmed in the Philippines (it's listed in the credits as another filming location) because there is a not-so-subtle switch in the vehicle's registration plate and the location background doesn't look like HK anyway. However, the lead up is most definitely in HK, it's Plantation Road just below the Lion Pavilion at the Peak and the following pan across to the house features what looks to be #25 & #26 Lugard Road.

Plantation Road

Houses (#25 & #26) on Lugard Road