The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Tsim Sha Tsui Bus Terminus

I think this was just a transitional shot, but it's worth including because it shows the old KCR train terminus just a few short years before it was demolished (in 1978, despite much local opposition to the plan).

Many of the shots in this film are quick zooms in and out and unfortunaetly the picture quality being quite poor means that there are alot of shots in this film that are too blurry to include. This one isn't so bad despite the zoom.

The Confidence Man JP: The Movie - Masami Nagasawa (2019) - Kowloon Waterfront, Tsim Sha Tsui

Several scenes were shot along the waterfront in TST when Jessie and Ran Riu (the "Ice Princess") go out on a date and also later as Ran Riu makes her way to the airport. The bottom image is actually a mashup. She's supposed to be at the airport but this was obviously filmed in Tsim Sha Tsui (you can tell by the railings) with the control tower superimposed later.

The sad thing about the shots around the clocktower is that both of these actors independently committed suicide the very next year. RIP Haruma Miura and Yûko Takeuchi.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Star Ferry, Tsim Sha Tsui

Kitahara is riding the Star Ferry across the harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, so we get a shot of the Kowloon Star Ferry pier and the clocktower standing next to it (when it still had a station attached to it). Coincidentally, the bell was recently restored to the clocktower and was struck for the first time in 71 years just the other day.

Narazumono - Ken Takakura (1964) - Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Narazumono (English title: An Outlaw) is a Japanese gangster film shot in 1964 starring Ken Takakura as a hitman with a conscience (I believe John Woo cites this as one of his inspirations for The Killer). This one was a real hard one to get hold of and so I have to thank my good friend, Arnaud, for lending me the French version. Sadly, this means the plot is really not something I could follow so well, but it doesn't matter because for me it is always the locations that matter most. This is a good thing because Narazumono has a whole ton of them, split between Hong Kong and Macau. It's one of the most comprehensive films I have come across yet in terms of the variety of locations. There are so many, I am finding it quite hard to locate them all.

Incidentally, if you can read French, then Arnaud's book on HK cops and gangster films might be of interest to you.

The film kicks off with Takakura's character, Minami, waiting at the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui for something or another. It turns out he is waiting for a target an is about to carry out an assassination. We get some glimpses of the harbour, as well as the area in the bus terminus next to the old KCT terminus, as well as a view of the hillside that the Marine Police HQ used to stand on before Li Ka-shing decided to rip it all up and chuck in a bunch of high end jewellery stores.

For the hit, a car pulls up and Minami jumps in the back to carry out his contract. We catch a brief glimpse of the KCR terminus, followed by the Star ferry before the opening credits kick in with a nice long shot of the station as it used to look.

The next shot then shows the car driving out of the bus terminus. The top image (below) is the view looking towards the junction with Canton Road. The tree topped hillock is the grounds of the Marine Police HQ and in the following images you can see the stone retaining wall of the hill on the left hand side. The old white YMCA building is beyond it and behind that, the Peninsula Hotel. You can just see the old fire station with its red doors in that last photo. Of course, this was thankfully saved and is still around.

Stoner - George Lazenby (1974) - Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront, Kowloon

In one scene, Stoner goes to get on a boat and is stopped by the bad guys who have come to beat him up. The location is the old waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui right in front of the old KCR terminus. Look carefully at the background and you can see some of the recognisable brickwork of the clocktower (bottom picture). This also goes some way to show how much the waterfront has been extended since the station was demolished.

Bons Baisers de Hong Kong - Les Charlots (1975) - Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui

Despite authentic footage of the airport entrance being used for the last post, when the film's main stars are waiting for a taxi in front of the 'airport' it's quite obvious the action has moved to the other side of Kowloon and the filmmakers are trying to convince us that Ocean Terminal is in fact part of the airport by sticking a small sign that says so in the background (picture 2).

Never mind, because there are some nice sights to see including the clock tower (when it was still part of the train station) and an advert for a Maxim's restaurant on the side of Star House (top picture, left hand side).

That taxi in the bottom picture is in much better shape than some of the death traps I've ridden in over the past 10 years.

Codename: Wildgeese - Lewis Collins (1984) - The Peninsula Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui

We manage to catch a glimpse of Salisbury Road in front of the Peninsula Hotel. This is at a time after the old train station was demolished (bar the clock tower) but before the Cultural Centre was constructed.

Other things worthy of note are the old YMCA (behind the grey sign on the right, top picture) and the fact that the Peninsula Hotel had already undergone its forecourt revamp.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - KCR Train Terminus, Kowloon

A shot from the opening credits of Soldier of Fortune. The angle indicates this shot was taken from the roof of either the YMCA  or the Peninsula Hotel. It was a sad day when the Colonial Administration took the decision to knockdown the train terminus building in 1978.

It's not just the clock tower that can still be seen today, but also the small white tower that once supported the time ball in the grounds of the Marine Police HQ.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Here's a view we've seen before but this time 16 years later. To be honest this area didn't really change that much until the late 70's when the original KCR Terminus, in all its colonial glory, was demolished leaving just the clock tower. Look at the bottom right of the screen and you will see where the kerb curves into the Peninsula's driveway (you still drove into the hotel in a clockwise direction then). Actually, this same angle is used twice in the film, in the lower (later) image you can see slightly more of the old YMCA building.

Other things to note are Star House in the far distance with a blue sign hanging on it. This building remains the same today (but for how long I don't know?). The closer building with the rather ornate entrance cover is actually the previous incarnation of the YMCA - now known as "The Salisbury". The current version was built in the early 90's (and opened by HK's last Governor Chris Patton) and has nice elements to it such as the rounded corners but it's not a patch on the building it replaced.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Ocean Terminal carpark, Tsim Sha Tsui

In Sunset, Zhongkang has arranged to meet his mum up here. He waits in the car and we see her car drive up with the Hongkong Hotel in the background, as well as Star House and the clocktower of the old KCR terminus in the background.

We are then treated to a shot of both cars leaving the car park by its Canton Road exit. Any visitors to modern day HK will recognise this place along Canton Rd where it's virtually impossible to cross the entrance to this place without the assistance of some guard with his whistle. What can I say, it's a popular car park and no one likes to give an inch.