The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - The Governor's Walk, The Peak

The last post for this film, at least for the time being. By pure coincidence I was up here a few weeks ago on a bit of a day trip with my youngest and we took some comparison images for Yellow Emanuelle. Had I known I was going to see the same location in another film sequence I would have stuck around and taken more comparison pictures, but such is life.

This is where Lung goes to finally confront Red Scorpion (Steve Lee Ka-ting). By this time I had pretty much lost the plot and I believe part of this might be due to the fact it is several epsiodes edited together rather than one coherent story. Red Scorpion seems to be able to hypnotise people and he has done this to the lady from the airport in an attempt to get her to throw herself of the cliff. Lung to the rescue and arrives just in time.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Park Management Site Office, Mount Austin Road

Despite just being by the Peak Cafe, the very next shot shows the pair running past what is currently the site office for the park management staff who look after the area around the former Mountain Lodge. I was up here a couple of weeks ago and can confirm that getting up here from the upper Peak Tram Terminus involves at least a 20 minute steep, uphill walk that absolutely tired me out (granted, I am getting a bit old, but apparently still fitter than my 16 year old son).

The building is located next to the car park by the podium terrace of what is all that remains of the former Mountain Lodge (a pre-war property used by HK's Colonial Governors). Apparently the building was originally constructed as an office for staff who were responsible for the maintenance and operation of the nearby transmitter stations, but I guess the use of cars makes their need to be there 24/7 no longer a necessity.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - The Peak

Lung manages to catch up with Red Scorpion next to the Peak Cafe and Peak Tower, before the latter scarpers and the foot chase begins again. The cafe still looks more or less the same, although I do believe you might need to remortgage your house to eat there now, however, the Peak Tower has been completely redeveloped from its former curved version to the so-called Terry Farrell designed "flying wok" that is currently there. 

Run away...

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - The Peak Tram

Following a fight in an unknown village (I haven't been able to identify it yet, some rural places are just impossible to find), Lung gives chase to "Red Scorpion" and follows him to the Peak Tram. We see a little bit of the inside of the lower terminus as well as some footage of the tram trundling uphill. Lung tries to follow but has to catch a cab to the top instead (and no doubt was forced to pay the illegal surcharge that lots of HK cabbies try to foist on unsuspecting tourists).

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Lung Cheung Road Rest Garden

Lung and Interpol dude (Bruce Leung) are chased by the bad guys along Lung Cheung Road and pull over into an open space at the side of the road for a fight. Not to be confused with the nearby Lung Cheung Road Lookout, this large open space was the levelled-off part of a small hill that was later turned into Lung Cheung Road Rest Garden/sitting out area. The road has been widened a bit since then and the rest garden is small shadow of its former size and much of this former space is now taken up by the current outside lane of the westbound side.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Estrellita, Repulse Bay Road

The establishing shot for the house where Lung's friends live is the famed "Estrellita" on the higher levels of Repulse Bay Road. The building is quite old and was one of the first "hacienda" style private homes in Hong Kong according to the Gwulo page for it.

These days it's owned by Henry Cheng, the retired patriarch of the New World business empire that is currently undergoing some bad times so perhaps we will see it on sale again soon? It was in the news a few years ago because it was targeted by some obviously very unpatriotic burglars.

I don't think the closeups (not shown here) used the same property, so that's an ongoing search. Sadly, the picture quality doesn't provide me with quite enough information, but from what I can gather the interior and garden scenes were most likely shot elsewhere.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - St Paul's Facade, Macau

It wouldn't be a proper trip to Macau without the old church facade being featured in at least one scene. This is after the fight with Purple Snake and the nefarious blow piped villain had adulterated his spiked tonfa with some sort of poison that has begun to affect Lung. Lung stumbles down the steps in front of the church.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Monte Fort, Macau

Purple Snake is back with his blowdart as he tries again to take out Lung. This leads to yet more karate around the fort's scenic grounds.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Excelsior Hotel, Causeway Bay

The film tries to trick us into believing that the Excelsior Hotel is in Macau, because this is Lung's next stop as he tracks down the man responsible for hiring the thugs to kidnap the woman at the airport. It looks like the interior scene may have also been shot in the hotel with the obvious view over to Kowloon and Beacon Hill in the distance. Then, the next scene we are back in Macau again.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Avenida da República, Macau

The pedicab takes Lung along the old coastal road of the Avenida da República where he is rammed by the baddies car after the pedicab driver deserts him. It looks as though some sections of this sequence were filmed on another road, possibly the (former) Avenida do Dr. Oliveira Salazar, but there's not enough background information to confirm so I will leave those screencaps out for the time being.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Ponte-Cais do Porto Exterior, Macau

We move again to Macau for this film as well as Lung goes in search of his master's killers. I think this first shot must be the entrance to the old ferry pier, although I can't seem to track down an old photo for confirmation. So if anyone can confirm, please let me know. If it's where I think it is then you can read a bit more about it here and what is on the site now (hint: it's not the pier).

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - White Jade, Midlevels

The establishing shot for where the head bad guy is holed up is a quick zoom across the harbour to focus on a mid-rise apartment block known as "White Jade" located at 51 Stubbs Road. As you can see from the image below it looked  quite new in 1975 and that's because it was completed the year before. Purple Snake heads there after failing to eliminate Lung.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Hilton Hotel, Central

Lung is at the hotel to inquire about ferries to Macau when he is attacked by the blowpipe wielding "Purple Snake" (yes, that is the character's name). 

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Tiger Balm Gardens

Lung goes to Tiger Balm Gardens to rescue the kidnapped woman only to find out he has been tricked by Red Faced Tiger (Bolo Yeung Sze).