Whicker's Orient - Alan Whicker (1972) - Tolo Harbour, Tai Po

During the initial segment of the film, despite most of it going on in Aberdeen, there is a brief moment where the editors have inserted some footage from another location. This is as Whicker goes on to interview a boatman but the guy is a bit shy about revealing his face and keeps it covered with his hat. If you look in the background you can see that this takes place off the coast in Tai Po because Pat Sin Leng can be seen in one image (top) and in the second image you can see the north slope of Ma On Shan (bottom). It was most likely filmed near to the Tai Po Kau pier given the angle on the hills in the middle image.

The Killer - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - Tolo Harbour, Tai Po

The boat chase is so long it passes all the way down into Tolo Habour with Pat Sin Leng on full show in the background. This is quite an impressive chase because this would be a distance of around 50km - having to go all around the north coast of the Sai Kung Country Park and all the way down the Tolo Channel.

Pat Sin Leng in the distance

The Valiant Ones - Roy Chiao (1975) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

There is a quick horse riding scene as Roy Chiao and buddy ride along the beach on their way home. It turns out we have seen this very same beach quite recently - it's the same beach along the north coast of Whitehead Point where the fighters landed at the beginning of DOA: Dead or Alive. However, the shots below show it as it was thirty years before (i.e. with less air pollution).

DOA: Dead or Alive - Devon Aoki (2006) - Tolo Harbour, Tai Po

DOA: Dead or Alive is a video game adaptation directed by one of HK's most accomplished action directors, Corey Yuen. It centres around a - by invitation only - fight competition where various character square off for a mega dollar prize, but the real motivation for the competition is so that the bad guy (Eric Roberts) can harness every one's unique abilities to become the ultimate fighter. It's basically a big pile of pants albeit a reasonably entertaining one with lots of wasted talent on show (Kane Kosugi - granted he gets to showcase his stuff which is good, Collin Chou, and Robin Shou -  wasted in a small cameo as a comedy pirate etc) and is dragged down by some really bad acting (Holly Valance et al).

The action begins somewhere in the South China Sea where one of the main characters is relaxing on her yacht, only to be interrupted by pirates who want to steal the boat. Something looked familiar about this particular section of the "South China Sea" and lo-and-behold, it was filmed slap bang in the middle of Tolo Harbour - a short stone's throw from my old stomping ground in Tai Po.

The same location was used for both the beginning and end segments of the film so I have included images from both. The top image shows the pirate boat approaching from the west. The distant hills are the coastline of Three Fathom's Cove  and the small flat isle (approximately centre left on the sea line) is Tang Chau.

This second shot above shows the former island known as Pak Sha Tau. I say former because it now forms the southwestern point of the Plover Cove Reservoir and is joined to the mainland by the main dam wall (off screen on the left) and the smaller west facing dam off screen to the right. The shot below shows Robin Shou about to take a dive into the not-that-clean waters of Tolo Harbour with Pat Sin Leng's very distinct ridge line in the background.

Pat Sin Leng far left

The final two shots again show Pak Sha Tau in the background which puts the boat about halfway between the reservoir and Ma On Shan on the opposite coastline.

Bruce Lee & I - Betty Ting Pei (1976) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

A long time ago, before the current golf driving range and even before the area was turned into a Vietnamese refugee camp (one of many) there was a quarry at Whitehead Point which was used on many occasions for filming. Nearby is the site of what was the location for the finale of Drunken Master and I also previously posted about this being used in The Young Master.

Anyway, here we see Bruce accepting a challenge from some dude he met in bar and he proceeds to knock seven bells out of the guys and his axe-wielding buddies. As a result we get some really good shots of the Tolo Harbour and Channel areas, including the Plover Cove Reservoir Dam wall.

Above. Looking NW from Whitehead Point. The ridgeline in the background is Wong Leng, along the same ridge that eventually becomes Pat Sin Leng (off camera to the right).

Two views of the point of Ma On Shan in the previous pictures. Below we are looking north east and can see the dam wall. The most striking thing though is the clear air and green hills.

And a look further to the east.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - KCR Railway Track, Tai Po

A few shots here taken from earlier in the show when the spies are back in Tai Po, this time walking along the track between Tai Po Market and Tai Po Kau. How can I be so specific? Well, the background here is very familiar to me because I saw it virtually every day for six years.

The above shot has an obvious cameraman's shadow getting caught in frame - however, I am more intrigued by the small huts on the right because these look very similar to the buildings in the CARE Village off Tai Po Road opposite Wong Yi Au. Could they be the same? It's certainly possible because this village was established in the 1960's to rehouse local fisherman who had their livelihoods (and homes) destroyed by a typhoon that blew through the area.

Anyway, moving to the next shot below and we can see, on the left, the Yim Tin Tsai peninsular (just off screen to the left would be Sam Mun Tsai fishing village if that makes it any clearer), behind that bit of land is the island known in English as 'Horse Shit Island' (Ma Shi Tsau). On the right, in the distance, we can just see the lower part of what becomes Ma On Shan.

Finally in our last shot we can see (background right) the distinctive ridgeline of Pat Sin Leng, with its wispy cloud covering - believe it or not these clouds are a common sight, especially during the Spring time (which gives some support to Gweilo888's opinion that this pilot episode was shot during the spring of 1964.

On the left of Robert Culp is the familiar (to me, at least) sight of Yuen Chau Tsai - the small former island (now reclaimed and joined onto the mainland like the many other former 'islands') that houses Island House. If we momentarily put ourselves in Culp's shoes he was most likely staring down the former Tai Po Road (now called Kwong Fuk Road at this section) and the rather large stilted shanty town that was situated on either side of the road's sandy causeway. Note that all of the sea (Tolo Harbour in fact) between Culp and the jetty in the background has been completely reclaimed and now houses a highway.