Benson - Robert Guillaume (1984) - No.8 Police Station, Sai Ying Pun

We've seen this place before, here's the reminder. This is where the group go to report Clayton missing to the Police. It was still an operational station at the time but has since been turned into the David Trench Rehabilitation Centre. The trio chat for a while deciding on strategy outside the main gate posts before sending Kraus (Inga Swenson) back to the hotel to wait for any phone contact. We see her taxi head up High Street towards Bonham Road. The gateposts are still there, but there is now a glass entrance structure between them and the old police building.

Beyond Hypothermia - Jacklyn Wu Chien-lien (1996) - Centre Street, Sai Ying Pun

The next film is another one of those local films that actually qualify for my (very loose) definition of an "international" movie courtesy of it being a Hong Kong/South Korea co-production. It also appears to hold the esteemed title of being the very first Milkyway production.

The story revolves around a nameless female assassin played by Jacklyn Wu, who falls for a humble noodle stall owner, Long (Sean Lau). In between contracts she stops by his nearby stall and eats his noodles and he slowly starts to anticipate her random reappearances. Eventually though, her work catches up with her as she is spotted killing a Korean businessman, whose bodyguard takes it upon himself to seek revenge and he follows her back to Hong Kong.

Long's noodle stall is located at the very top of Centre Street in Sai Ying Pun. The area where the stall was is now unrecoginsable due to the (recent - circa 2015?) construction of some escalators. However, some elements remain including the view of the harbour and the assassin's apartment block (#47-49 High Street). The Google marker keeps snapping to 35 Bonham Road, but the actual location is the adjacent section of Centre Street.

The Dragon from Russia - Sam Hui (1990) - No.8 Police Station, Sai Ying Pun

You may or may not remember that the police station where May is taken after the assassination at HSBC has been featured previously on the blog, although it is no longer in police hands. This is the same location that Chuck Norris is taken to in Forced Vengeance. It was one of my "pandemic finds" - those locations I found when I had very little else to do in hotel quarantine and lockdown. Anyway, as mentioned on that linked post, it is now the "David Trench Rehabilitation Centre" and has undergone some renovations including a large glass front entrance.

Flash Point - Donnie Yen (2007) - Eastern Street, Sai Ying Pun

Despite making a rather long detour over to Glenealy, the foot chase returns to Sai Ying Pun as the pair run down Eastern Street - right next to the previously mentioned Dental Hospital. The top image shows the corner with High Street.

Flash Point - Donnie Yen (2007) - The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Sai Ying Pun

Even though the establishing shots for Wilson's hospital stay involved the St Teresa's Hospital in Kowloon, according to the film credits, the hospital scenes were in fact filmed at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital over on Hong Kong Island. The capture below appears to have been filmed in the basement carpark.

The Killer - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - High Street, Sai Ying Pun

The (former) location of Ah Jong's apartment is revealed in a couple of shots that feature, at least bits of, Kau Yan Church in Sai Ying Pun. On the south side of High Street, directly opposite the church, was a row of four old tenements occupying #80 thru #86 High Street. One of these (I don't know which) contained Ah Jong's apartment. Sadly - and this seems to be a common theme in John Woo films, so perhaps explains why he tends to destroy them with exploding squibs - all four of the buildings were demolished just shortly afterwards and Lai Yin Court was constructed in the same space.

In the first images below we are looking from behind the stone steps in front of the church up at where we assume Ah Jong's apartment is. I've included a couple of interior views which I have no doubt were filmed on site. And finally the view from Ah Jong's window shows the front of the church roof. 

View looking up from Kau Yan Church

Kau Yan Church again from the apartment

Hong Kong Confidential - Gene Barry (1958) - Centre Street, Sai Ying Pun

Next up for Hong Kong Confidential is a shot looking up Centre Street in Sai Ying Pun. It took a while to be sure but to the eagle-eyed there are several common features between this screencap and a 1920s/30s era image that can be found on Gwulo.com including the buildings at the very top of the road- which are quite blurry in the image from the film. I can't be sure when those buildings were redeveloped but pretty certain they had gone by the late 1950s when the film was made.

Forced Vengeance - Chuck Norris (1982) - No.8 Police Station, Sai Ying Pun

Continuing with Forced Vengeance, Josh is arrested by a corrupt cop (played by long time HK film stalwart, Jimmy Shaw) and taken to a police station. From here he is bailed out by a friend and as they leave the entrance a guy lines up a rifle to shoot. This was all filmed at what used to be a real police station on High Street in the Sheung Wan/Sai Ying Pun area. These days it is better known as the "David Trench Rehabilitation Centre". Sadly, some of the exterior features , including the bridge you can see below, has gone. Instead of the bridge there is now a large glass structure which serves as the new entrance/stairwell to the upper floor.

All About Ah Long - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - Water Street, Sai Ying Pun

Despite just heading east along Bonham Road, the next shot shows the pair turning down Water Street towards Queen's Road West.

All About Ah Long - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - Bonham Road, Sai Ying Pun

During the opening credits as Ah Long takes Porky to school there is a shot of the pair as they ride along Bonham Road. In the background you can see the main entrance of King's College at the top of Western Street.

Third Street, Sai Ying Pun - Now and Then

Here's another location that has remained unidentified until now. It is from a sequence at the very start of Soldier of Fortune and is part of the opening montage of establishing shots that kicks off the story in Hong Kong. It's literally the first scene in the movie.

The brief scene shows a bustling street that really could be anywhere on Hong Kong Island but the clue to this scene is the right hand side of the frame (top image) which shows part of a concrete structure. The structure is the old Sai Ying Pun market, identifiable by the horizontal grooves that have been added to the buiding's exterior.

Here's how the same bit of Third Street looks today. The version of the market partially seen in Soldier of Fortune was replaced by the current version at some unknown point (please comment if you know when it happened).

Irreversi - Mei Melançon (2010) - Sai Ying Pun Community Complex, High Street

The bin where Adam dumps his trash was located on High Street in front of the SYP Community Complex. You may remember this as the orphange where Van Damme was dropped off as a baby at the beginning of Double Impact.

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.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong - Jamie Chung (2015) - Ping Pong 129, Sai Ying Pun

So, after all that walking around, Ruby decides she doesn't want to meet her friends after all and offers to buy Josh a drink. He agrees and they go to a bar 'nearby'. It turns out that the bar they go to is a real one called Ping Pong 129 and, in reality, is in Sai Ying Pun - not Lan Kwai Fong as implied in the film.

Strangers - John Simm (2018) - Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, Sai Ying Pun

As just mentioned, although we are initially given a shot of Victoria park, the actual dialogue scene was filmed a couple of miles away at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun. This includes the meeting between Cohen and his wife as well as the subsequent meeting between Cohen and Jonah.

Les Anges Gardiens - Gerard Depardieu (1995) - Centre Street, Sai Ying Pun

Despite being chased along Dragon Road, Depardieu makes a turn and suddenly finds himself charging down Centre Street on his stolen vehicle, crashing into stuff and generally causing mayhem. The biggest change to this road recently is the addition of an escalator on the right hand side (when looking down from the top). I'm not sure if there is still a street market.

Vengeance - Johnny Hallyday (2009) - Western District Community Centre, Sai Ying Pun

After the hit, one of the assassins is put into a line up for Hallyday to identify, but he has other ideas and the man goes free. Hallyday intends to make him an offer and waits outside the police station for him to leave so he can follow. Although still supposedly in Macau, the "police station" is one we have seen before on the blog and, coincidentally, it was used as a police station then as well. Here's the reminder. The first screengrab is the view up Western Street. The second grab is at the end of the building along Third Street where Hallyday is waiting. Interestingly, it looks like the film makers tried to keep the illusion of it being in Macau by putting a fake Macau-style street sign on the wall. 

Kill a Dragon - Jack Palance (1967) - Queen's Road West, Sai Ying Pun

The sequence when Aldo Ray and Jack Palance are sitting in the back of the truck and chatting was filmed along Queen's Road West just at the part before it meets Centre Street. In fact, the whole sequence also involves the truck turning down Centre Street before we hit and edit point and see the truck go past from an external angle.

Look carefully and you may spot some similar shop frontages that were also seen in The Last Grenade (and identified by Thomas at the time).

 Queen's Road West

Turning into Centre Street

Centre Street

And the final picture showing us looking up Centre Street.