Four Assassins - Will Yun Lee (2011) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

Here's a view that should be familiar to anyone who has spent anytime reading the older posts of this blog. This is the usual collection of red minibuses that (illegally, but strangely never ticketed) gather on Tung Choi Street in Mongkok and this view is, specifically, from the pedestrian walkways above Mongkok Road. The neon sign below (for a karaoke club) also used to be located on the first floor of the building right next to the walkway - which explains why the camera could get such a close-up - but has since been removed.

City on Fire - Chow Yun Fat (1987) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

Next up is another local movie, City on Fire, and one that launched the career of Quentin Tarantino, who borrowed liberally from the film for his breakout Reservoir Dogs. In the story, Chow (Chow Yun Fat) is an undercover cop who wants out but is pressured to remain undercover by his uncle boss (Sun Yueh). The film starts with another undercover cop being caught out and getting stabbed to death in amongst the market stalls of Tung Choi Street. I believe this is the section between Shantung Street and Nelson Street because one of the signs says 上海一品香菜館 (The Shanghai Yat Pang Heung Restaurant) which was a restaurant located at #48 Tung Choi Street, though now closed.

6 Underground - Ryan Reynolds (2019) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

How many times have we seen this angle of Tung Choi Street before? Quite a number including  Vengeance, Strangers (where it was used for the view out of Anthony Wong's apartment window) and of course, it featured as a brief shot for Transformers: Age of Extinction.

So it looks like my theory of unused (and used) footage from the Transformers shoot was basically correct as this view of Tung Choi Street from the Mongkok Road pedestrian walkway is used again for Bay's 6 Underground. The same location appears a couple of times in this movie both before and after the main set piece. I love these colours, the place was a bit drab when I was there and took a photo last year (2019).

Geostorm - Gerard Butler (2017) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

We first get to see Daniel Wu, looking quite nerdy, working at his desk and finding some anomaly on his computer display. He heads out to get some refreshment at a store. This scene was filmed all the way over on Tung Choi Street in Mongkok. The stairs at the back lead up to the Mongkok Road pedestrian walkway that has featured a few times in the last year or so.

Readers may know this street better as "Goldfish Street" because this is where all the aquarium and pet shops are located in Mongkok. I was walking around here one evening after the shops had closed and was astounded to see the public bins stuffed full off plastic bags containing the dead fish that weren't sold during the day.

There is a sudden heat spike and the ground explodes as some underground pipes melt and burst through the surface. Wu quickly drives away closely followed by the exploding pipes. There is another quick scene shot from the other end of Tung Choi Street (north of Bute Street) before a cut/edit to the next part of the escape sequence.

Vengeance - Johnny Hallyday (2009) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

Convalescing from their gun battle with the gang that killed Hallyday's family, the team hole up in a flat that appears to be somewhere along Tung Choi Street. Well, at least it is an image of that place used as an establishing shot when Hallyday takes a peek out of the apartment window. In reality it looks as though the shot was achieved by putting a camera on the walkway that runs above Mongkok Road.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - Nelson Street, Mongkok

I haven't quite sussed out where they filmed the industrial building that Sandra flees from (somewhere in Kwun Tong I think) - but she crashes out of a side alleyway (lots of those in Hong Kong) and into Nelson Street in Mongkok. We know exactly which alleyway because we can just make out the "Hon Wing Book Company" opposite. Then as she turns to her right we can see an overhead banner for Ladies Market - situated at the junction with Tung Choi Street in front.

The similar angle from Streetview is below. Note the "Clarks" sign and the red and blue sign in the background (obscured in the screencap).

Transformers: Age of Extinction - Mark Wahlberg (2014) - Tung Choi Street, Mongkok

Some more scene setting and this time in the Mongkok area - specifically near to the intersection of Tung Choi Street with Fife St. The camera was most likely up on the Mongkok Road walkway (the one connected to Mongkok East MTR Station) looking south.

The corner building on the left looks remarkably clean on film compared to the Streetview,but it's possible the crew came along and spruced it up (or did it digitally...more likely, I think). Anyway, the rather colourful sign in the distant centre is for the Silver Dragon Restaurant.

Contagion - Matt Damon (2011) - Tung Choi Street, Kowloon

One of the more easily identifiable street scenes as the kidnappers are driving Dr Orantes around in their black van. In this case we are travelling south along Tung Choi Street in Mongkok - perhaps more commonly known to visitors as "Ladies Market". If you look closely at the floor in the screencaps you can see the yellow line markings that demarcate each of the stall holder's selling spots.

The street looks so deserted because this scene was filmed before all the stalls had been erected. The large brown and yellow sign with the words: 沙嗲王 on it (see top left of the last screencap) is at the junction with Shantung Street and is a branch of the local food chain Satay King. When I first wrote this post I had yet to visit for food, but I did try once and discovered to my great disappointment that not a single bit of satay chicken skewer was available - its main fare seems to be spicy soup. You have been warned.