Showing posts with label Des Voeux Road West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Des Voeux Road West. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Visa to Canton - Richard Basehart (1960) - Western Police Station, Sai Ying Pun
On his arrival back in Hong Kong, Jimmy is arrested by the local police on a made up charge, which Benton later finds out was to take him into protective custody. The Police Station he is being held out is supposedly Western Police Station on Des Voeux Road West at the bottom of Western Street. Of course, only the outside is seen on film. Other than a brief glimpse in Double Impact, I don't think this place has been seen in a foreign movie before.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing - William Holden (1955) - Hong Kong Island Waterfront, Opening titles
One of the standout sequences for me in this film is the opening scene where we are treated to a birds eye view of the northern shore of HK Island. Granted, the views are marred a bit by the titles but once they have finished we still see a few seconds of film that show what the place looked like before the obsession with skyscrapers ruined the view.
As the camera (attached to a low-flying plane I suspect) flies on we can see a road on the right hand side that runs parallel to the waterfront - (just under the name 'Doss' below). You can see it a bit clearer in the second picture below as the camera gets closer. I'm open to corrections, but this looks to me to be the western end of Queen's Road West where it joins onto to Kennedy Town Praya. The Praya is separated from the sea by slightly more reclamation now, at this area, but not significantly.
Moving a little further along again and now the camera is taking us past the waterfront Connaught Road West around the area of Whitty Street and further east. None of these waterfront buildings exist anymore and these days the waterfront has given way to some ugly reclamation that houses the Western Wholesale Food Market.
One of the interesting things about Hong Kong is that whilst development goes on all around on the various plots of land, the roads' general shape tends to stay the same. This isn't true all the time of course and indeed sometimes smaller roads completely disappear, but looking above you can see the bend that Des Voeux Road makes (in the bottom picture) as it turns north next to Queen Street and Ko Shing Street. For a modern reference, this corner is where the IBIS Hotel currently stands.
Finally, one last zoom over the bend in Des Voeux Road West and we can see the Macau bound ferries at the waterfront. The only building that was standing in the 1950's that is still around is Western Market, and if you look very closely you can see its roof just in front of the taller building with the arched openings (I think this was a hotel, but I can't find the name of it). These days, most of the building stock around here now dates back only as far as the early 70's.
I'm hoping a ferry fan will be able to discern which ships were at port. They look like two distinctive types one of which perhaps is the Fat Shan that will crop up in my next post, in name if not in physical form.
The sequence starts off the west side of HK Island with Green island immediately below the camera (next to the 'g' of the top image).
As the camera (attached to a low-flying plane I suspect) flies on we can see a road on the right hand side that runs parallel to the waterfront - (just under the name 'Doss' below). You can see it a bit clearer in the second picture below as the camera gets closer. I'm open to corrections, but this looks to me to be the western end of Queen's Road West where it joins onto to Kennedy Town Praya. The Praya is separated from the sea by slightly more reclamation now, at this area, but not significantly.
Moving a little further along again and now the camera is taking us past the waterfront Connaught Road West around the area of Whitty Street and further east. None of these waterfront buildings exist anymore and these days the waterfront has given way to some ugly reclamation that houses the Western Wholesale Food Market.
Now that the titles are out of the way the camera continues on and we get an open view of Connaught Road and Des Voeux Road West which runs parallel one block to the south. In other words the wide road we can see below.
One of the interesting things about Hong Kong is that whilst development goes on all around on the various plots of land, the roads' general shape tends to stay the same. This isn't true all the time of course and indeed sometimes smaller roads completely disappear, but looking above you can see the bend that Des Voeux Road makes (in the bottom picture) as it turns north next to Queen Street and Ko Shing Street. For a modern reference, this corner is where the IBIS Hotel currently stands.
Finally, one last zoom over the bend in Des Voeux Road West and we can see the Macau bound ferries at the waterfront. The only building that was standing in the 1950's that is still around is Western Market, and if you look very closely you can see its roof just in front of the taller building with the arched openings (I think this was a hotel, but I can't find the name of it). These days, most of the building stock around here now dates back only as far as the early 70's.
I'm hoping a ferry fan will be able to discern which ships were at port. They look like two distinctive types one of which perhaps is the Fat Shan that will crop up in my next post, in name if not in physical form.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Bloodsport - Jean Claude Van Damme (1987) - Des Voeux Road West, Hong Kong
Remember that our scene has us in an easterly-headed HK tram trundling along Johnston Road in Wanchai. Well, guess what, when the camera pans back to get a look at the bemused JCVD observing Gibb's rather inappropriate-but-ultimately-harmless behaviour towards his fellow passenger, we get to see a completely different piece of HK.
Anyway, the Emerald Hotel is no longer with us and in fact the whole site was redeveloped and opened as another hotel called the Island Pacific. Here is a recent Streetview. And here is a picture of how it used to look courtesy of the HK Memories website.
But guess what, the Emerald Hotel was a hotel that sat on the corner of Des Voeux Road West and Centre Street over in Sai Ying Pun. In other words, in the space of just a few seconds we have changed direction (now headed west), and have miraculously ended up 4 kilometres away from where we were just a second ago. The power of film!!
Anyway, the Emerald Hotel is no longer with us and in fact the whole site was redeveloped and opened as another hotel called the Island Pacific. Here is a recent Streetview. And here is a picture of how it used to look courtesy of the HK Memories website.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Western Street, Hong Kong Island
After the inauguration ceremony, JCVD's parents (with twins on board) head home in their nice car followed closely by Uncle Frank in his red convertible. One of the roads they drive down is De Voeux road West where it intersects with Western St. We know this because we can see Western Police Station in Sai Ying Pun on the corner.
Look closely on a couple of those snaps and you'll see the circular turrets that form part of the external walls to many police stations in HK. The steps in the second screen grab above are of course those of the Police Station entrance. Unfortunately for me the current Streetview image has the Police Station covered in scaffolding getting a facelift so you'll have to take my word that it's the same place.
Look closely on a couple of those snaps and you'll see the circular turrets that form part of the external walls to many police stations in HK. The steps in the second screen grab above are of course those of the Police Station entrance. Unfortunately for me the current Streetview image has the Police Station covered in scaffolding getting a facelift so you'll have to take my word that it's the same place.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Kennedy Town Praya, Hong Kong
Originally I though this was where Connaught Road turns inland into Des Voeux Road in Sheung Wan, however, given that at one point we can see what can only be the northern slope of Mount Davis in the background has led me to believe that this is the part of the tram line where Des Voeux Road West leads into Kennedy Town Praya around Shek Tong Tsui.
It's the location of Hank Lee's Godown. Here is what was a nice open view over to the Kowloon mountains in the background.
The upper shot shows the view to the immediate left of the lower one as the camera pans to the right. In Soldier of Fortune Hank Lee runs his business from the Pedder Industrial Co. Godown. Pedder is a name synonymous with Hong Kong because it was the name of the new colony's first harbour master and went on to be used for several sites around what is now Central. Pedder Street bears his name as does the nice old Pedder Building (built in 1924) along it which housed.
Perhaps this was a real building, or perhaps the filmmakers just thought it was an authentic sounding Hongkong-style name that would fit the film's setting. Who knows? Here's what the same strip of land looks like nowadays. At least this is the closest Streetview I can get without the view being blocked by a tram car.
Here is another shot from the film - looking west, which shows in the background the slope of Mount Davis. You can see how close to the water's edge the tram line used to run. No, the tram line hasn't moved at all since it was first built in 1904, but the water's edge now stands a further 100 metres to the north thanks to reclamation.
Here is another modern Streetview grab that shows the same approximate angle.
It's the location of Hank Lee's Godown. Here is what was a nice open view over to the Kowloon mountains in the background.
The upper shot shows the view to the immediate left of the lower one as the camera pans to the right. In Soldier of Fortune Hank Lee runs his business from the Pedder Industrial Co. Godown. Pedder is a name synonymous with Hong Kong because it was the name of the new colony's first harbour master and went on to be used for several sites around what is now Central. Pedder Street bears his name as does the nice old Pedder Building (built in 1924) along it which housed.
Perhaps this was a real building, or perhaps the filmmakers just thought it was an authentic sounding Hongkong-style name that would fit the film's setting. Who knows? Here's what the same strip of land looks like nowadays. At least this is the closest Streetview I can get without the view being blocked by a tram car.
Here is another shot from the film - looking west, which shows in the background the slope of Mount Davis. You can see how close to the water's edge the tram line used to run. No, the tram line hasn't moved at all since it was first built in 1904, but the water's edge now stands a further 100 metres to the north thanks to reclamation.
Here is another modern Streetview grab that shows the same approximate angle.
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