Legacy of Rage - Brandon Lee (1986) - Petrol Station, Peak Road

Although it's been a year since I was looking into Legacy of Rage, here is a late addition to my already significant number of locations from that film. Stalwart blog supporter and fellow locations fan, AP, mentioned to me a while back that Frank Djeng had identified the petrol station (that's a gas station for the Americans among you) where Brandon was working following his release from prison. So credit where credit is due for this one. This is now a SINOPEC outlet, but the gazebo structures above the forecourt remain the same thirty years after the film was shot. You can see for yourself here.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - 13 Wiltshire Road, Kowloon Tsai

I can't vouch for the interior or backyard scenes, although I'm fairly confident it is the same place, but the exterior street shots for Andy's house were done at 13 Wiltshire Road in Kowloon Tsai. In this case the plot markers at the front wall were very helpful - NKIL 4106 and 4107 are just about visible between the two doors in the screencaps. Sadly, like many older houses (many dating from the early 1950s) in this estate, this one was redeveloped along with its neighbour (#11) into the aesthetically underwhelming but expensive "Wiltshire Place" - a cluster of 4 townhouses - circa 1998. I've included a couple of images of the backyard, just in case it is indeed the same place. Sadly I don't have a historical image of the property, but Gwulo does have an image of the street from 1967 courtesy of Mike Cussans.

Cynthia is running towards Oxford Road. The wall in the background hasn't changed.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - Kai Tak Airport

The film features a couple of interesting take off/landing sequences at the old Kai Tak runway. These are used when the movie plot moves back and forth between Hong Kong and Greece.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - Zung Fu Car Park Building, Hung Hom

After leaving the Police HQ, Andy and Winnie head to the carpark where they are cornered by Karov and his henchmen. This was filmed at the Zung Fu carpark building in Hung Hom. Zung Fu are the established local distribution firm for Mercedes Benz, so if you have a Merc in Hong Kong it will have been bought from and maintained by a Zung Fu distributor.

Anyway, the pair manage to escape by rappelling down the outside of the building. The apartment blocks in the background are part of the Whampoa Estate.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - Girl Guide Headquarters, Gascoigne Road

Andy goes to find the younger sister of his friend who asked Andy to meet him in Greece. She is at a gymnastics class in town. Part of the exterior of this scene - particularly the part where Andy jumps from the balcony to rescue her from kidnappers - was filmed at the Girl Guides Headquarters in Homantin.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - Oxford Road, Kowloon Tsai

The location of the school attended by Andy's nephew, Ban Ban, is located at the junction of Oxford Road and Ho Tung Road in Kowloon Tsai. I first tried finding this place according to the plot marker that you can see in the top image. However, it looks as though this plot number (NKIL 4539) was discontinued - most likely the plot was divided up, or joined with another, and assigned a new number. In the end I was guided by the distant image of Lion Rock in the background of image 2. 

The building on the site was/is a real school, although you don't really get to see much of it on film. We can see more of the brown building next door, which is the famous Maryknoll Convent School. I found out a few years ago that Terry McQueen (daughter of Steve McQueen and Neile Adams) attended that school whilst her dad was in Hong Kong filming The Sand Pebbles in 1966.

The Magic Crystal - Andy Lau (1986) - Former Marine Police HQ, Tsim Sha Tsui

Next film up is The Magic Crystal. The film stars Andy Lau (as...Andy!) and is about a mystery lump of jade with magical powers that falls into the possession of his nephew. As a result they are pursued around the globe - well, okay, between Greece and Hong Kong - by a powerful Russian gangster, Karov (Richard Norton). We have Cynthia Rothrock, Max Mok, Wong Jing, and Sharla Cheung in supporting roles.

The film opens with a view of the old Marine Police HQ shot from what is now a non-existent location - the former front area that was removed during the building's 'renovation'. It's now a boutique hotel and the area in front, part of the hill the building stands on, is now a void filled with former high-end jewelery stores, but many now empty (because that's what happens when you put all your eggs into the "high-spend mainland tourist" basket, and then they go elsewhere).

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Choi Wan Road Quarry

So here we are for the final locations post on Royal Warriors. It's taken me a while but I have managed to track down the quarry where the film's finale takes place. These sort of things are always a bit up in the air due to the time that has passed and the speed with which stuff gets developed in Hong Kong, so it's nice to have a definitive location.

The location was used twice if you'll remember. The first time is the finale to the car chase as Yamamoto pursues Raging Bull into the quarry, but gets himself buried under a pile of earth. It was this sequence that contained some background information to help with the identification and I've included it below (top image). It's the pair of highrises in the background. They're block C and D of Tak Bo Garden near the Jordan Valley.

On old maps this place was just listed as "Quarry" at the end of Choi Wan Road. I have no idea what was quarried here but a fair chunk of land was hollowed out over the years. The cuttings in the hillside that are evident in the images below are still very much around and form part of the neighbourhood which has now been built up inside the old quarry area - namely the Choi Ying Estate and a couple of schools: St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Baptist Lui Ming Choi Primary. 

Tak Bo Garden in the background

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Flagstaff House, Hong Kong Park

In reality this was where the Hong Kong Garrison Commander lived, later to be turned into the Museum of Tea Ware. Well worth a visit if you are ever here. In the film it's the Japanese Consulate where Yamamoto has been put under house arrest with his families ashes/bones following the rather OTT shootout at the California bar.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Energy Plaza, East Tsim Sha Tsui

So, the centrepiece stunt of this film involves Michael sacrificing himself to save Michelle from the remaining baddy, Bandana (played by Pai Ying - a regular actor in many of my favourite King Hu films). Suspended from the top of Energy Plaza by a rope, the baddy attempts to lure Michelle up with the dangling victim. What follows is a slo-mo wire fall by a very awesome stuntman, but I feel it could have been made more realistic if he flailed about more slowly because his moves make the fall seem slower than intended (i.e.makes the wire use more obvious). Anyway, this was all done at the top of Energy Plaza in East Tsim Sha Tsui. Props to Michael Wong for what looks like being actually dangled  upside down from the top of the building.

We get some good high views of the surrounding area, including the plot of empty land where the Science Museum would be built. The phone box that features in the scene was located along this east section of Granville Road.

Looking down onto Granville Road, East Ocean Centre on the right

Looking from Granville Road back to Energy Plaza

The most emotion Michael Wong has ever shown on film

Fun fact: Eddie Maher (who played an arms dealer in this movie) owned a gym at the top of Energy Plaza (Energy Gym? please feel free to correct). It seems it was a bit like the Hong Kong version of Golds Gym. Instead of famous bodybuilders though, all the 80s action stars went there to workout including the likes of Sammo, Yeoh and Donnie Yen etc. It was the place to be and be seen. Maher passed away in March 2019.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Cape D'Aguilar

The remote dilapidated hut where Bandana (Pai Ying) tortures Michael as he hangs from the ceiling is supposedly located on the Cape D'Aguilar peninsula, on the southeasternmost tip of Hong Kong Island. At least that's where the establishing shot was done, I can't be so sure about the interior. The hut has gone and been replaced by the Swire Institute of  Marine Science (that whole bit of coastline is a protected marine sanctuary).

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Tsoi Tak Street, Happy Valley

After cheesing off Michelle once again with his annoying personality, Michael goes to the nearby florists to order her more flowers. This was a real business, "City Flowers", located in the building at 38B Blue Pool Road (although the entrance is on Tsoi Tak Street). The building is still there but the business is no more (Streeview shows it's now a laundry).

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - California, Lan Kwai Fong

Another of the signature venues that defined Lan Kwai Fong area in the 80s was "California". I believe it was Allan Zeman's main venture and the one that gave him the foothold there to transform the area into HK's premiere nightlife district. Sadly, the bar, and the California Tower it was based in, were demolished circa 2010. Before the bar was made famous by Chungking Express, it was featured in this film as the place where everybody gets shot to pieces by the bad guy. You may recall that the Jazz Club, located in the neighbouring California Entertainment Building, was also victim of the redevelopment here (both buildings were demolished and replaced by a single larger one called 'New California Tower").

The scene starts with Michelle and Michael arriving by car at the top of Lan Kwai Fong before turning the corner and getting out in front of California Tower.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Queen's Pier, Central

The finale of the car chase takes places in the same location as the film's proper finale, so I'll post about that at the end. In the meantime, determined to get revenge for his wife and daughter's deaths, Yamamoto secretly makes a deal with some local arms dealers, headed by HK movie stalwart, Eddie Maher. Yamamoto is picked up by the landing steps of Queen's Pier in Central and taken to a cargo ship moored in the harbour. Sadly, like the rest of the old Central waterfront, Queen's Pier is a distant memory (it was demolished in 2008), though not so long ago the idea of it being re-erected at the same site, as a monument, was being discussed. I have no idea whether this has/will happen.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Market Side Alley, Stanley

The film is a bit cheeky because after the scene at Ka Wing Street, the next shot shows that we are back on Stanley Village Road as the two sides take shots at each other from their cars. Raging Bull swerves his truck down the alley way next to the old Stanley Police Station and crashes it into some stalls and Yamamoto is flung from the back. The truck then continues on down the alley way as Yamamoto dives after it (a great stunt by Sanada, I assume).

The foot chase then begins around Stanley Market. The bottom image is looking along one of the alleyways with Yu Moon House at the end. Apologies, but the google marker is doing that thing again where it won't stay on the road where I've placed it and is jumping to nearby buildings.

Back to Stanley Village Road

This is the side alley next to the old Police Station - compare to the next image

This is the same view in June 2024 - note the old Chinese buildings have gone

Running towards Stanley New Street at the end of the alleyway

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Ka Wing Street, Yau Tong

Yamamoto ditches his car and jumps onto the truck along Ka Wing Street in Yau Tong. Over on Dandan's blog he acknowledged me for doing the spotting, but I have absolutely no recollection of doing this (it was 13 years ago). I'm getting old and my brain is starting to malfunction. However, if you are a City on Fire fan, then the jewellery heist was (or at least some of it was) filmed just around the corner. The Lei Yue Mun Estate now blocks the view to the mountain at the back.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Stanley Village Road, Stanley

In case the geographical leap from Clearwater Bay to Kowloon Tsai to Shatin to Fo Tan wasn't enough, the next section of the car chase takes us all the way over to Stanley on Hong Kong Island. In the top images, Raging Bull's truck is driving along Tung Tau Wan Road  and takes the sharp corner into Wong Ma Kok Road. Yamamoto's BMW comes from the other direction (Stanley Village Road) but makes the same turn on to Wong Ma Kok Road. The building in the background is St Anne's Church and on the opposite corner is the former grand gateway onto what was once a large property called Banoo Villa (since demolished and turned into low-rise apartments with the same name).

The lower images show the view in the opposite direction along Stanley Village Road. The building with the large apertures at ground level (to the left of the crowd) is the former Colonial-era Police Station. Coincidentally, I was in Stanley the other day and decided to try and recreate the angles (from memory, though not too bad a job). Once again the Google marker is refusing to stay where I'vepinned it and is jumping to the nearby post office rather than remaining at the junction of the 3 roads.

Same place June 2024

June 2024 -Police Station in scaffolding