The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Monte Fort, Macau

Purple Snake is back with his blowdart as he tries again to take out Lung. This leads to yet more karate around the fort's scenic grounds.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Monte Fort, Macau

We're not done with the sightseeing yet because the pair head back up to the centre of town and the Monte Fort.

Yakuza on Foot - Tomisaburô Wakayama (1969) - Monte Fort, Macau

Another of the establishing shots for the shift of the story to Macau is a couple of shots in and around Monte Fort. Again, you might be able to spot a couple of similar angles from, Narazumono, shot 5 years earlier.

Narazumono - Ken Takakura (1964) - Monte Fort, Macau

After arriving in Macau, Minami meets up with another assassin played by Tetsurô Tanba. Unfortunately the finer points of the plot are lost on me but some fisticuffs break out inside Monte Fort before the two realise they have been shafted by the same people and decide to band together to exact their revenge. Actually, this scene is one of my favourites because the rather brutal brawl was filmed to show off the surrounding area. The scene starts off with the usual establishing shots showing the fort's outer walls as well as a nice view to the south (top image) with Penha Church silhouetted on the distant hilltop.

In the top image below you can see the Hotel Central as the only significantly high(er) rise building in the 1964 cityscape. had the camera panned slightly to the right you would have seen at least the Grande Hotel Kuok Chai and Hotel East Asia as the only other two that rise above the rest in that area.

The building behind Tanba was originally an officer's mess before it was subsequently taken over by the Macau Observatory not long after this movie was shot. I had always assumed that the current museum was housed inside this same building (with the battlements on the roof) but it turns out the whole thing was basically demolished in the mid-90's and the museum facsimile erected in its place. What a shame. I feel the Macau Govt dropped the ball on this one given their great strides for preservation in other areas.

Anyway, let the fighting begin...

Challenge of the Tiger - Bruce Le (1982) - Baddies Hideout Part 3 - Monte Fort, Macau

So after the long distance zoom into the ridge of Sharp Island merging into a closer view of the Tate's cairn Police Post, and even closer zoom in is quickly edited to reveal none other than Monte Fort in Macau. That is one powerful zoom I'm telling you.

The Enter the Dragon - esque atmosphere is maintained with the sight of lots of karate dudes doing their training, including climbing up the side of the fort walls in their nice white karate uniforms. Who hasn't done that in a karate lesson?

There is also some action there later on as the agents infiltrate the base. You may remember the bridge in the lower photo as once connecting the main entrance of the fort building (now the museum) to the garden, I had a similar post not so long ago for China Rose.

China Rose - George C. Scott (1983) - Monte Fort, Macau

Speaking of Monte Fort, the US Embassy in Canton is portrayed by the rather fine Portuguese colonial building inside the Fort walls. The building is still around and now forms the museum, however, in one of the Macau Govt's less inspired moments of heritage preservation, this whole facade was remodeled. The windows were kept but the rather nice footbridge was removed and the detail from the window frames looks to have been removed. It's a big shame because the building looks too modern now.

China Rose - George C. Scott (1983) - Carminho dos Artilheiros, Macau

Almost a new month upon us so here is a new film to look at courtesy of my good friend AP. I had no idea this film, China Rose, existed until he mentioned it to me and was kind enough to send me his copy for the benefit of the blog. So a big thanks to AP once again.

It turns out that the year before Michael Biehn (pronounced like "bean" in case you ever wondered) was to be forever associated with Kyle Reese, he was hot-footing it around Hong Kong trying to avoid being found by a bunch of triads. His dad, played by George C. Scott, enlists the help of a guide (Ali MacGraw) to help him track down his long lost son and much intrigue ensues.

Actually, it's not a bad film if you can stand the sight of George and Ali having a smooch at the end (I got a little bit of sick in my mouth as I was recalling the scene just then). There are some great places to see in Hong Kong and Macau including some new angles on old places.

The film supposedly starts off in Guangzhou (Canton) but as with most films of a certain era, Macau had to stand in for the Mainland. One of the first places to spot is the walls of Monte Fort in Macau.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon - Sonny Chiba (1977) - St Paul's Church Facade, Macau

The ultimate target of Golgo's wrath is a slippery diplomat who takes refuge on an island fortress. The film wants us to believe that the island is somewhere near Macau so we are presented with some establishing shots of the famous church facade and some views from the nearby fort. I suspect it's stock footage but you never know.