Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - St Paul's Church, Macau

 The fnal destination for Fujishima and Chang is the facade of the old church. It's here where they meet with Mo (Tetsurô Tanba). Unfortunately I have no idea what happens in the plot here because I only had the Japanese version. Anyway, I believe they discuss plans for the drugs as they walk around the area of the facade. Anyway, bar the unlikely outcome of me being able to identify some really obscure Hong Kong backstreets, I think this is the last post for this film, and the last post for 2021.

So Happy New Year to everyone and let's keep hoping that the world will start to return to normal at some point this year (unlikely for those of us in Hong Kong though).

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Largo Do Lilau, Macau

After Chang meets with Fujishima, the pair walk to a rendezvous at the St Paul's Church via Largo Do Lilau. This could almost be a complete repeat of the scene shot for Narazumono (I'm still not sure which one was filmed first, but I think it was this one).

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Rua de Santa Clara, Macau

After Kirahata's mission to Hong Kong, his boss in Japan sends Fujishima (Koji Tsuruta) to Macau to arrange the retrieval of the drugs. Chang meets with Fujishima on a park bench on Rua de Santa Clara. In the background of the lower image you can see the Club Militar.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - View of the Inner Harbour, Macau

Once the story moves to Macau, we are given a nice view of the Inner Harbour area for the establishing shot, athough the scene is also aided by an onscreen title in case people didn't recognise where we were.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - 32 Factory Street, Shau Kei Wan

After leaving Chang with the car, Kitahara goes to hand the drugs to Lee Shuka (Yoshiko Mita) a local Cantonese opera star who for some reason has links to the gang (I haven't sussed it out yet - please feel free to comment if you know the plot). He then leaves and crawls out onto the street to die. The location is the end of Factory Street in Shau kei Wan. That's quite an impressive bit of walking with a gunshot wound to the stomach considering he left the car back in Shek Tong Tsui.

The building partially seen in frame is #32. It's one of the area's more aesthetically pleasing buildings due to its age. Most likely a 1950s or earlier build. In general if the build date isn't available (for this one it isn't) then it's a good bet that it's actually pre-war. The occupying Japanese destroyed much of the Colony's paperwork at that time.  The most interesting thing for me from this scene is that it shows where the old waterfront came to because I believe all those stilt houses were constructed on the mud banks of the harbourfront.

Anyway, this is the last Hong Kong location in this film. Although I still have a few Macau locations to post before I'm completely finished with it.

I did actually take a picture of this very building several years ago, but from the road looking up - not quite the angle required to match the film. But anyway, here how it was looking in 2016.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Shek Tong Tsui Tram Terminus

When the pair decide to abandon their car, they drive along the waterfront in Shek Tong Tsui and park the car on Connaught Road. In the background you can see some of the China Provident warehouses where the Kwan Yick Phase 1 building now stands. The camera cuts to the left as a wounded Kirahata walks away and we can see the curve in the tram track that belongs to the tram terminus. The curved trrack is still around but the building with the arched window apertures is gone and been replaced by a small road that connects Des Voeux Road West with Connaught Road West and the Western Wholesale Food Market. 

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - St Mary's Church, Causeway Bay

I know this location is right next door to the last one, but I wanted to give it its own post. It's St Mary's Church on Tung Lo Wan Road in Causeway Bay. If you look closely you can see that the old road route used to pass right along the side of the church (left of image). These days that section of road has been turned into pavement and the road, now one way, instead forces a right hand turn back up the road (Tung Lo Wan Road) away from the church.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay

After being shot at at Magazine Gap, we next see the car driving down Tai Hang Road, not far from the junction with Tung Lo Wan Road. The tall building seen at the back left is the brand new (at the time) Ming Sun Building that still stands on the corner of Tung Lo Wan Road and Wun Sha Street. On the right hand side we can see the ramp that leads down from the St John Ambulance Building.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Magazine Gap, The Peak

After leaving Tiger Balm Gardens, the pair are driving down peak Road through Magazine Gap onto magazine Gap Road when they are shot at by the Hong Kong gang members. In image 1 we can see the slope that formed part of the land that #40 Peak Road used to sit on, and in image 2 you can see Katoomba and in the background, Stonecutter island. There's a wider angle view of the exact same area in this post for Foxbat I did a few years ago. Obviously the geographical reality is that you wouldn't be here if you had just left Tai Hang.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Li Kwan Avenue, Tai Hang

The southern end of this small road - basically an access road for the east entrance to True Light Middle School - can be briefly seen when the pair run away from Tiger Balm Gardens and get to their car. If you squint you can just see some of the Tiger Balm Mansion in the background (top right). This area now appears to be a pick up/drop off zone for the school.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Tiger Balm Gardens, Tai Hang Road

After jumping in a taxi outside the Hilton, Kirahata shows the driver his destination written on a note and it says "Tiger Balm Gardens". It's here where he makes the swap with Chang before they are discovered by the Hong Kong gang members and chased out of the gardens. The location of the swap is the red Burmese-style stupa that sat at the top rear of the garden. This whole upper terrace area was sold in the late 1970s and later redeveloped into Ronsdale Gardens. For what's left of the place now, you can read about my recent visit here.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Hoover Theatre, Causeway Bay

Chang takes a taxi to the Hoover Cinema as he waits for his rendezvous with Kirahata. We get some views down Pennington Street as well as the front marquee of the cinema. The cinema was located here from 1954 until 1981 when the building was redeveloped into Paliburg Plaza.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

During a driving sequence, as Chang heads to the Hoover Cinema to evade his followers, we get to see a brief glimpse of the old Gilman Motors garage that was located on the triangular plot where Johnston and Hennessy Roads meet at their eastern junction. 

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Hilton Hotel, Central

Kirahata's hotel room is inside the Hilton and the view from his window looks down on Garden Road. The old Murray Barracks building can be seen opposite and features in close up because there is someone watching the hotel from the shade of the building's verandah.

The room window looks down onto Garden Road with the Murray
Barracks building in view. It's now the site of the BOC Tower.

According to gwulo, the white building was a Govt Archive building and
later a firestation.

Hilton carpark in the background

The Fate of Lee Khan - Tien Feng (1973) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

We were at this location not so long ago for Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, but here is the old quarry (assuming that's what it was, but actually I can't find any record of quarrying here) at Whitehead Point. This is the only other outdoor location utilised on this film and is where most of the outdoor action takes place, including the final fight between the rebels and Lee Khan.

The screencaps below are from various stages of the film, but I have ordered them so that the initial ones below show some of the identifiable background terrain that proves where we are looking (for the doubters), and the rest are just general shots inside the quarry area that show off some of the geographical features.

Looking SSE, Ngau Ngak Shan in the background

Looking almost directly south towards Tiu Shau Ngam

Ngau Ngak Shan again

Bottom right is the distant Kai Kung Shan (also see 3rd image here)

Again, looking east towards Kai Kung Shan

The rest of the screencaps are difficult to locate in terms of where they were inside the quarry area and perhaps I can do a later post where I can pinpont all these with more accuracy (although the last one shows Pat Sin Leng poking out from behind in the distance). For now though it's just some general views. Following on from its use as a filming location, it dropped out of favour when the Whitehead Point Vietnamese refugee camp was constructed.