Company - Aja Devgan (2002) - The Peak Viewing Tower

A couple of scenes were shot on the roof terrace of the Peak Viewing Tower. The first shot is just a rather disjointed one of Mallik smoking a cigarette and there's no evidence that he is on the tower other than the angles of the buildings in the background which perfectly match a later scene as Chandu goes there with his girlfriend for some refreshments.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Fenwick Pier Street Flyover

Another car shot, this time on the flyover that connects Fenwick Pier Street with Harcourt Road. The curved glass building in the background is the CITIC tower building which I featured not so long ago for Hitman.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Hung Hing Road Flyover

A couple of shots of the group as they make their way from the airport to their hotel. These images were taken as their car drives along the Hung Hing Road Flyover in Wanchai.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Aberdeen Harbour

Mallik and friends spends the day on a boat discussing business. This was all shot inside the confines of Aberdeen Harbour.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Kau Sai San Tsuen, Sai Kung

Chandu and his girlfriend have rented a small house out in Hebe Haven in Sai Kung. It took a bit of hunting but it looks like this property is #110 Kai Sau San Tsuen (though the Govt mapping website lists the address as 110 Pak Sha Wan). The open view down to the harbour from the front window though is now obscured because in the years since the film was made, another house has been built right smack bang in front of it.

This is also where Chandu and his girlfriend have to flee from when Mallik sends his goons after them.

Sadly, the Google marker facility on Blogger is so poor that the house doesn't even show up on the map, so instead I have tagged the carpark you can see on the right in the image below and you can try and work it out for yourself from there. On an aside, the Geoinfo map provided by the Govt mapping service has an updated 3D view of the whole territory, much better than what is currently available on GoogleEarth, so for places like Sai Kung (which has no 3D at all on GE) this is a really useful tool, although it takes a while to load the 3D.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - The Regent Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui

As you are probably sick of hearing from me by now, the Intercontinental Hotel in Kowloon has been rebranded to The Regent following the IHG acquisition of Regent Hotels. This hotel really does seem to be the most popular one for film companies coming to Hong Kong. Even this same suite with the direct rooftop access has been used multiple times now. In Company, this is where Mallik sets up shop with his cronies, leaving Chandu and his girlfriend to go and rent a place elsewhere. A significant amount of the Hong Kong scenes were shot in the suite and adjacent terrace.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok

Shot in 2002, Company is a Hindi-language Indian film, supposedly based on some real life gangster shenanigans, that centres around the relationship of a major gangster, Mallik (Ajay Devgan) and his trusted associate, Chandu (Vivek Oberoi). I wish there was an English S/T of this film because it really was good, despite me not understanding the language. If you want to watch the version I saw, then you can find it on this Youtube channel.

Anyway, Mallik and Chandu move to Hong Kong and plan more of their nefarious work from here until a contract they have been hired to carry out causes dissension between the two men. Chandu wants to abort the elaborate vehicle hijack but Mallik carries it out anyway. More than half the film has already passed at this point and Chandu flees as Mallik tries to get him and his girlfriend eliminated. What follows is about 30 minutes of tit-for-tat killing as the Indian police standby and let it all play out.

The first Hong Kong scenes we see is as the gangsters arrive at Hong Kong Airport with their entourage.

Baraka - Ron Fricke (1992) - Tung Tau Estate, Kowloon

Adjacent to Kowloon Walled City was the former Tung Tau Estate. You can see some of the original resettlement estate buildings in this post, however, by the 1980s much of the original housing stock had been replaced by the buildings still standing today. The two exceptions are blocks 22 and 23 which appear in the image below.

This image basically shows the view looking up Lok Sin Road. Block 23 can be seen on the right with Block 22 on the left. Block 23 was demolished in 2003 and Block 22 in 2014. Both were turned into two parts of a smaller separate estate called the Tung Wui Estate.

Block 22 was the last block of the old estate to be demolished (it was built in 1965) and can still be seen (cleaned up) in historical Streetview imagery between 2009 - 2011 (Streetview took a long break between 2011 - 2016).  The lower image shows a close up of the front of Block 22.

Baraka - Ron Fricke (1992) - Kowloon Walled City

Shot in 1992, this film was able to capture some shots of the (in)famous Kowloon Walled City just prior to its demolition. This was the south facing side of the "city" with the flats here overlooking Carpenter Road bicycle track (itself due to be demolished to make way for a market building...because who really needs all those pesky leisure facilities getting in the way of redevelopment?).

Baraka - Ron Fricke (1992) - Kowloon City

Much in the same vein as Powaqqatsi, Baraka is a "non-narrative" documentary that combines a vast amount of footage shot around the world with small vignettes of many different places combined with music. Not surprisngly, Ron Fricke, the director, worked directly with Powaqqatsi director, Godfrey Reggio on an earlier film called Koyaanisqatsi.

The film credits only give us "Kowloon" as the filming location for this part, but it seems that a few places were included. The first appears early in the film and shows an upward angle of a plane flying over Kowloon City towards Kai Tak. The only clue to the whereabouts is the neon sign covered in scaffolding. I haven't been able to pinpoint this one yet, so please feel free to comment if you know.

The lower images are the last bits of footage featuring Hong Kong and show a plane landing from a different angle. This footage was filmed from the east side of South Wall Road. The building with the dirty yellow external decor is part of South Wall Mansion and the northern end of the street. It's a bit cleaner these days.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Cotton Tree Drive, Central

In our last post for this film, after dealing with Munna, Shivam wanders over to Cotton Tree Drive to nurse his wounds.  In the background of the top image is Fairmont House and the Central Barracks building (formerly Tamar). The next image down shows the now-demolished Murray Road carpark. Replaced only recently with a new monstrosity called "The Henderson". Other images showing various views towards the BOC Tower and Lippo Centre.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Star Ferry Car Park, Edinburgh Place

This place is currently sitting in death row awaiting execution. Built in 1957, it was part of the Star Ferry pier infrastructure that suddenly became orphaned when the pier was demolished in 2006. Sadly, I was in Hong Kong for that debacle and the subsequent porky pies trotted out the the then development secretary who assured everyone the pier's clock was to be preserved (it wasn't). Anyway, I'm pretty sure this will go soon if it hasn't already (you can tell I don't go to the Island much).

Anyway, we've seen this place on numerous occasions before now, including quite a few films shooting scenes on the open top floor.

In Awarapan, this is where Shivam is confronted by his arch enemy, Munna, Malik's spoilt son.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Queen's Road Central

Kabir, now in charge of Shivam's part of the business/responsibilities, has been tasked with tracking down Reema's boyfriend, Bilal, and tracks him down on Queen's Road Central next to the old Queen's Theatre. More or less the same location as in this post. He runs to Duddell Street when they finally catch up with him in the car.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen

Shivam heads to the Jumbo, which in this film is a nightclub frequented (possibly run) by Rajan, Malik's brother. He goes to confront him about Reema's whereabouts.

Awarapan - Emraan Hashmi (2007) - Hong Kong Cemetery, Happy Valley

Shivam meets with his right hand man, Kabir (Shaad Randhawa), to explain why he can't kill Reema and her boyfriend. The meeting takes place at the Hong Kong cemetery with the Chapel of Resurrection in the background.