7 Aum Arivu - Suriya (2011) - Cyberport 3, Pokfulam

I've covered exactly two Indian films on this blog and both have filmed around Cyberport. Aegan filmed outside, but this film included some shots within Tower 3 as part of the ongoing song. I don't recall seeing this as a location prior to these films. I've got more locations out of this one song in this film than I have for some complete movies. 

Rich and Famous - Chow Yun Fat (1987) - Sasson Road, Pokfulam

Ah Chai falls for Lau (Carina Lau), Uncle Fan's nurse, and they spend one scene walking down a side road on Sassoon Road where Lau sees an abandoned puppy. This was filmed outside the garage block of Stone Manor, the famous Fok residence that was used for some scenes in That Man Bolt.

Bloodfight - Yasuaki Kurata (1989) - Chinese Christian Cemetery, Pok Fu Lam

The cemetery where Ryu [SPOILER ALERT] is buried and where his boss and girlfriend meet up is the Chinese Christian Cemetery in Pok Fu Lam.

Flash Point - Donnie Yen (2007) - West Island School, Pok Fu Lam

The scene where Ma is practising with the Police band appears to have been shot in one of the halls at (the old block of) West Island School. I suspect a bit of refurbishment has gone on since then though. If you look at this image on wikimedia, you can see that this location was on the top floor of the old block. The glass pyramid-shaped skylight in the rear appears to have been removed in modern images.

Whicker's Orient - Alan Whicker (1972) - Tung Wah Coffin Home, Sandy Bay

For his final 'to camera' piece for The Freedom Swimmers, Whicker goes to the Tung Wah Coffin Home in Pokfulam to explain how the deceased must wait for permission from the Chinese Government before their remains can be taken back into the Mainland.

The Killer - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - Sha Wan Drive, Sandy Bay

Sergeant Tsang (Kenneth Tsang) is convalescing in, what appears to be, the Maclehouse Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Sandy Bay, because when Inspector Lee leaves the place, he is on Sha Wan Drive with said institution in the background. He then drives his motorbike south along the road as he goes to find Ah Jong. The last shot is at the far end of Sha Wan Drive as it switches back to the north and joins with Victoria Road.

Lust, Caution - Tang Wei (2007) - Hong Kong University, Pok Fu Lam

In the film, the main protagonist (played by Tang wei) attends Lingnan University where she is first introduced to her revolutionary compatriots through their acting troupe. The scenes were actually filmed at Hong Kong University and there are several familiar locations that we saw earlier in the year when looking at John Lone's Shadow of China.

The initial establishing shot is a computer generated view of what Hong Kong should have looked like in the late 1930's. I think the filmmakers did a fairly decent job and you can see the result in the first picture.

The main building has several courtyards and there are a couple of scenes filmed here on the upper floor and also on the ground around an ornamental pond that was also seen in the aforementioned Shadow of China.

We also get to see a few brief views of the main entrance to the university's main building as the audience files in to enjoy the show.

And, finally, the hall in which the show takes place is the Loke Yew Hall.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon - Sonny Chiba (1977) - Bethanie, Pok Fu Lam

The diplomat is hiding away in a rather nice looking Gothic building where he is protected by his sidekick, Gaston (played by long time Hong Konger Bill Lake). The building is in fact a former sanitarium called Bethanie and is still located down in Pok Fu Lam on the west coast of Hong Kong Island. These days it is part of the HK Academy for Performing Arts and often used for student recitals, but it is also possible to visit as a tourist. It's been cleaned up since this film was made and looks to have had some of the decoration removed from the top of some walls. For a nice modern day comparison, check out Andi's recent blog post here.

Shadow of China - John Lone (1989) - Hong Kong University, Pok Fu Lam

The address of HKU states it's in Pok Fu Lam but I'm a bit dubious. Any advances on Pok Fu Lam?

Anyway, the land auction scene was filmed at a couple of locations in and around the historical HKU. The first location is the auction room where the land bidding takes place. This was filmed inside Loke Yew Hall. The second location is seen as Henry (Lone) leaves the auction after getting his rival (played by Roy Chiao) to pay way over the odds for a piece of land in the hope of giving his company cash flow problems. It's one of the four courtyards that sit inside the main building of the University. If there are any people who know is these courtyards have a name then please feel free to clue me in, but until then we will just have to do by describing it as the one with the circular pool in the centre. This is the scene mentioned by Neil where Sam Neill was able to be convinced to play a small role as a journalist.

Loke Yew Hall

Cracker: White Ghost - Robbie Coltrane (1996) - Hong Kong University, Pok Fu Lam

The purpose of Fitz's trip to Hong Kong is to take part in a lecture at the University and so one of the initial scenes we see (after the usual HK-wide establishing shots) is a brief glimpse of HKU's main building and surrounding area.

Yuk Ming Towers and King Ming Mansion

Kingsfield Tower on the right - Pok Fu Lam Rd can be seen low centre
(the low rise buildings have only recently been demolished)

View down Bonham Road

The angle makes me think this was probably taken from a nearby rooftop and there are several residential buildings that could have been used. I tried to do a picture stitch but the software didn't like the residential buildings on the left and missed them out.

That Man Bolt - Fred Williamson (1973) - Stone Manor, Sassoon Road, Pok Fu Lam

Stone Manor is the next location we see and what a great place it is. When this film was being made the house had just been bought (in 1970) by the (in)famous Henry Fok. Fok was one of the many multi-millionaires (actually a billionaire by the time he died) who made a significant amount of his vast fortune through enterprising (but morally dubious means) during the Japanese Occupation.

He must have been a film fan because it appears that the crew had the run of the whole property, and possibly the interior as well - although there are no confirmed pictures of the interior that can help us identify it or not. But anyway, here are some shots from the exterior and garden taken during the party scene in the evening time.

Some terrible kung fu is on display and I think the expression on Fred's face below says it all as he looks down on the events from one of the house's balconies.

The initial part of the sequence though shows Bolt talking to the house owner - some crooked Japanese dude - and it is possible that these were filmed on location. I'm only guessing though. Comments welcome. It seems as though when the Govt initiated their long overdue Heritage study (encompassing over 1000 buildings and sites in the territory), the occupiers (I'm assuming still the bickering Fok siblings) wouldn't let anyone in to take photos, so we just have to assume and hope that perhaps this is a rather unique view inside a very private home.

 Inside the Fok residence...or not?

Moving on and we have some better scenes shots during the day when Bolt makes his final assault on the bad guy's house.

The wall in the top couple of grabs looks a bit fake to me, but I can confirm this was the actual wall and gateway of the place. It's still there but is now covered in ivy. In the third shot we can see a white building in the distance - I'm no expert on this area of HK (or any area of the Island for that matter), but I suspect this is part of Queen Mary Hospital. Comments welcome.

Also in the third picture we can see a decent portion of the house including the round pavilion on the side of the property. The fourth picture shows the main bad guy looking out from the same balcony/verandah that Fred was on when he was watching the bad kung fu. Finally the lower picture shows us the other side of the garden which, according to the blurb over at Gwulo, is part of the servant's quarters and garage. Look to the left and you can see a small terrace overlooking what was, at the time, a rather picturesque Telegraph Bay. These days Telegraph Bay has been filled in and instead we have the monstrous (by monstrous, I mean 'white elephant' size) joke that is Cyberport.

Anyway, here is a quick grab courtesy of Streetview that shows some of the same portion seen on film as well as the outer wall and the gate seen in the last picture.