Daddy Cool - Mammootty (2009) - Lung Cheung Road, Wong Tai Sin

Okay, so we will finish on this film with a view along Lung Cheung Road in front of Wong Tai Sin Temple. This shot was taken right in front of the large ornate gate that fronts onto the main road. there's been a bit of change here in the intervening years but the fire hydrant he's sitting on is still around in case there are any Indian film fans wishing to recreate the image.

The Taxi Driver - David Chiang (1975) - Tai Po Road, Kowloon

Chen and his girlfriend head out on a date in his taxi. They drive along Lung Cheung Road and join Tai Po Road before using the interchange between Ching Cheung Road/Tai Po Road to head into the New Territories. Unlike the old Tai Wo Ping Interchange (see here) this one is still around and one I used to use quite frequently when I had my motorbike to get into Shatin via Tai Po Road.

Inter-Pol - Tang Ching (1967) - Lung Cheung Road, Wong Tai Sin

Another car chase ensues as the pair manage to escape being killed by the staff of the company they just visited. This shot below shows both cars driving east along Lung Cheung Road next to the Wong Tai Sin Resettlement Estate. The road marks the split between the upper "low cost housing" estate (on the left) and the lower "resettlement" estate (on the right). Here's the same view today: GoogleEarth.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Lung Cheung Road Pedestrian Bridge

Another random location that I recently found for this film was the rather distinctive railings that form the pedestrian bridge on Lung Cheung Road close to what is now Plaza Hollywood and Diamond Hill MTR station. The film was shot back when Tai Hom (this area) was still very much a squatter village and you can discern some of the huts at the back of the screen shots. In the background include some still-standing high rise blocks such as the Fung Wong Chuen Building and Fung Cheung Building over in Wong Tai Sin.

The bridge design is quite distinctive but in the 1970s the main road was about half the size it is now. Lung Cheung Road has since been widened to almost twice its original width and as a result the original footbridge had to be extended. They managed to replicate the same design for the newer (northern) half of the bridge. This film was made when only the original (southern) section was in place. If you want a rough comparison you can click on this GoogleEarth link. The marker at the bottom of the post keeps snapping to a location just north of the bridge.

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.

Love in Hong Kong - Pauline Teutscher (1983) - Lung Cheung Road Lookout, Kowloon

When exiting the Tiger Balm Gardens it appears our characters have a fair distance to walk to where they parked the car because the next shot shows them getting into their car in the carpark at Lung Cheung Road Lookout.

Le Monocle Rit Jaune - Paul Meurisse (1964) - View over Kowloon

Coupled with the previous images of Kai Tak, we get this nice view looking out over Kowloon including a pilots'-eye view of the runway. Unlike a previous image from Golgo that I posted a few weeks ago, this angle looks to have been taken higher up in the hills, so I suspect it was taken from the Lung Cheung Road lookout area. I live nearby and took some pictures a few years back which you can see here.

Autostitch did a much better job this time.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon - Sonny Chiba (1977) - Lung Cheung Road, Tai Wo Ping

This next one shows Lung Cheung Road next to the Shek Kip Mei Service Reservoir Playground in Tai Wo Ping. I live close by so I have been able to replicate the lower shot almost perfectly courtesy of a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Lung Cheung Road.

Look carefully and you can spot some circular objects at the far end of the playground (to the left of the brown hut). There were once some 1960's-style circular canopied seats (like the ones still found at the nearby Lung Cheung Road Lookout). These were removed when the road system was enhanced and there is now a flyover connecting Tai Po Road to Lung Cheung Road zooming overhead.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Lung Cheung Road, Kowloon

It's been several years since I covered the locations for this film and it was also done while I was still living in Taipo. Now I've been in Kowloon for the past four years it's a good time to go back and 1. update the screen grabs and 2. suss out some of the locations I couldn't get the first time round. You can see the newly updated (screen grabs from a DVD rather than the VCD version I initially used) posts here.

Here's a great example of a missed location. It's the section of Lung Cheung Road that runs past the north end of Kowloon Tong.

This part of Kowloon hasn't really changed at all and all the buildings you can see on screen are still there and fairly unchanged. The main building in the top picture, alongside the road, is Pearl Court. Built around 1966 it's one of the older buildings in this area but not by much as most of this estate was completed by around 1970. Compared to today's shoebox flats these older buildings had much higher ceilings and more space and tend to still go for a tidy sum.

Far right of picture two is the edge of Beverly Heights, a name that should be familiar with Bruce Lee fans because it's where he died about 2 years after this film was made. The yellow podium next to it belongs to Chermain Heights which sits on the opposite side of Beacon Hill Road.

The playground (called Lung Cheung Playground) is also still there but now the view is interrupted by sound barriers and tree growth.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Wong Tai Sin Estate, Kowloon

During the film, Page decides it would be a good idea to do a zip line stunt from the top of Lion Rock. In preparation for his stunt he has bought a locally made rope and takes it up into the Kowloon hills to work out the kinks in the rope (literally) with a practice. On the way, he drives past Wong Tai Sin Estate on his motorcycle.

Page is driving along Lung Cheung Road with the old (now demolished) buildings of Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate in the background and a rather empty looking background behind him. I've included a Streetview grab of roughly the same view today. According to Wiki, it seems most of the blocks were demolished in the late 90's. Not too long ago in the general scheme of things. Also note the original Pai Lau/Pai Fong (the ornate archway) that has since been replaced by a newer version, although the new one stands in roughly the same spot.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - View from Lung Cheung Road, Kowloon

Always one for a bit of adrenaline seeking, whilst on his trip to HK to interview various people around the film industry here Grant Page also decides to do some impromptu stunt work including zip lining down Lion Rock and its surrounding area.

I'll post these later but it looks as though while the film crew (or cameraman. at the very least) was in the vicinity they took a nice shot from what looks to be Lung Cheung Road - although slightly east of the famous Lung Cheung Road Lookout.

It's not so much what there is to see here but what there isn't. Simply put, all the greenery in the dip has all completely gone! What stands in its place now is the revamped Kowloon Tong Station (and upgraded double track) and the massive Festival Walk Mall. Here's a quick stitch to give a better panorama.

On the left are the old Govt quarters that have since been demolished and replaced by No.1 Beacon Hill and the buildings on the lower right are the ones (still standing) that line the lower section of Beacon Hill Road (which proves this view is not from the nearby Lookout). You can just make out the checkerboard way over centre left and the old single track rail line centre picture. The scarred hill to the right of the track is the hillside that was leveled to make way for the mall and surrounding buildings (including City University campus). Hong Kong Island, of course, is the ridge line in the far distance.

For a similar angle - but taken from the nearby Lookout, you can view this post from my other blog.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Lung Cheung Road, Kowloon

This scene is the end of the section when he goes to meet his mother and they drive through various parts of Kowloon before pulling in to stop at a sandy quarried hilltop. I can confirm that this sandy little area was just off Lung Cheung Road, about 100 metres west of the famous Lung Cheung Lookout. I live nearby here and have had a jolly good look around and can tell you that although some large boulders remain, the sandy area has long been excavated to make way for various CityU associated dorms and buildings down the hill. However, look at the shot below and you can see the shaved hillside in the background which IS still around and forms the edge of the road immediately north of the aforementioned lookout.

The car almost immediately turns off the road onto the sandy area and this is where the rendezvous between Chin Pei and his onscreen mother takes place. The thing I hadn't realised before is that the famous Checkerboard Hill in the background (you can see a checkerboard at the top of the picture immediately below) actually had two checkerboards. It had one facing south which can still be seen from various parts of Kowloon despite the weather's best attempts (the the Govt's lack of willingness to preserve it) and it also had a west facing one that can be seen in the shots below as well as in this photo over on Gwulo.com. These days it is almost completely covered in tree growth and thus is out of site (but perhaps better preserved as a result?)

Lion Rock at the back

We can also make out various aspects of Kowloon Tong in the background including the barracks.

The west Checkerboard in the background