The Taxi Driver - David Chiang (1975) - Canton Road, Yau Ma Tei

In other events, Chen is eating noodles when he witnesses a robbery (Tino Wong doing his robber thing again). The building with the columns in the background is the Yaumatei Police Station, back then in its brown colour. The station has recently been decommissioned and I believe has recently held some sort of local film industry exhibition courtesy of the fact that it has been featured in so many movies over the years. To my shame I haven't been yet. The second image shows the view from Kansu Street.

Hong Kong 73 - Yueh Hua (1974) - Tai Lin, Nathan Road

Chan's (Yueh Hua) dad is the manager at the Tai Lin Radios store on Nathan Road. This was a real place and a real business that sadly went into administration following the 2008 financial crisis. Despite this the large Chinese sign outside the shop stayed in place for many years and was a sort of local landmark - knowing its location (at #310) has certainly helped me locate a few places on the blog in the past.

The 5 Billion Dollar Legacy - Margaret Hsing Hui (1970) - Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei

The establishing shot for the film's introduction to the third sister, Rongrong (Mona Kwok), is a view of some buildings along Nathan Road at the junction with Waterloo Road. Many of the buildings you can see are still around, including Lai Kee Mansion on the far right. Current view.

The 5 Billion Dollar Legacy - Margaret Hsing Hui (1970) - Kowloon Government Offices

The Kowloon Goverment Offices in Yaumatei also contain the Kowloon Central Post Office and this is the next location we see on film as the letters are sent to the sorting office. The establishing shot shows a couple of buildings, the one in the background has the name 平安大樓 (ping on dai lau) which, for those who don't know, is the Chinese name of the Alhambra Building on the corner of Nathan Road and Kansu Street. The building in front with the grey paint is the Govt office. Both buildings are still around.

The Lady Professional - Lily Ho Li-li (1971) - Yau Ma Tei Police Station

The end of the film sees Tian-li turn herself in at the local police station. In this case it's the oft-used Yau Ma Tei Police Station on the corner of Canton Road and Public Square Street.

Expired - Ryan Kwanten (2021) - Mido Cafe, Yaumatei

Jack goes for coffee with April at the Mido Cafe. Note that this was before the neon sign was removed by the Government. These places have so much more character with their neon signs, but apparently Hong Kong feels it is better to remove them all.

Expired - Ryan Kwanten (2021) - Kansu Street, Yaumatei

Creepy Jack stalks April and follows her back to her apartment block. This is Kansu Street right next to the Alhambra building. If you have been following this blog for a while you may remember that Ghost in the Machine also filmed here, taking advatnage of the neon light of the Mahjong club seen in the top image. Here's a reminder.

Inter-Pol - Tang Ching (1967) - Yau Ma Tei Police Station

Once arrested, 009 is taken to Yau Ma Tei Police Station where all is explained and he is set free and begins to liase with the local police. This place made the news recently for being a major attraction for Mainland Tourists. I suspect it because it has featured in so many films over the year. Good news for film tourism, and I hope the Govt sees the benefits.

The Merry Wife - Li Ching (1971) - Gascoigne Road, Yau Ma Tei

As the newlyweds drive off, one of the roads we see their car driving down is Gascoigne Road. The view below is from the east looking west towards Nathan Road. You can just make out the rooftop sign for the "Fortuna Court" Hotel which was located where Hotel Stage now stands on the corner of Gascoigne Road and Chi Wo Street.

Hong Kong Godfather - Leung Kar-yan (1985) - Pitt Street, Yau Ma Tei

The foot chase continues along Pitt Street as the badly injured Playboy Lung desperately tries to escape. He runs to the end of Pitt Street and jumps over the railings on Ferry Street onto a passing truck. Again, this area has changed a bit. The area around Ferry Street is now a large highway with a flyover sitting above it. The last image shows the truck driving off down Ferry Street with the Yaumatei Catholic Primary School in the background on the south side of the Fruit Market.

Hong Kong Godfather - Leung Kar-yan (1985) - Wholesale Fruit Market, Waterloo Road

The planned attack on the rival gang goes awry when a pre-emptive attack by them takes place as Han's gang are getting ready. I haven't been able to work out where the main attack occurs - it's obviously a warehouse in the NT somewhere but has been edited to imply it is adjacent/nearby - but the subsequent aftermath of Playboy Lung being chased takes us to the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market as he struggles to escape multiple machete wielding attackers. The fight continues through the narrow lanes of the fruit stalls before spilling over onto Waterloo Road as he tries to escape. Believe it or not but this kind of stuff still goes on in Hong Kong today.

Golden Needles - Joe Don Baker (1974) - Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei

In remembrance of Joe Don Baker who died just a week or so ago (7th May 2025) here is another one of those pandemic finds that I am gradually getting around to posting. 

The location of "Finzie's Bar" in the film was Arthur Street in Yau Ma Tei. Most of the buildings seen in the movie have since been replaced including the location of the bar entrance which was in one of the buildings directly opposite Hi Lung Lane. However, one recognisable building is still around and that is located at the north end of the street on the right hand side. It's #2 Man Ming Lane and you can see the side of the last image. It was built in 1952 which is very old for a Hong Kong residential building.

Hi Lung Lane looking towards Arthur Street

Both images above looking north towards Man Ming Lane

#2 Man Ming Lane, behind Si Ming's head, is still around

Hacker - Callan McAuliffe (2016) - Yau Ma Tei Police Station

Another popular filming location is this colonial-era police station on Canton Road in Yau Ma Tei. It's been included in a variety of posts on this blog over the years (see here), and in this film it is where Alex and Sye get put in a cell following their arrest after the fight at the nightclub. More recently the building has been decommissioned and I'm not sure what it is currently being used for.

Hitman - Jet Li (1998) - New Lucky House, Yau Ma Tei

Fu is shacked up with a bunch of other killers-for-hire in what appears to be New Lucky House in Yau Ma Tei. At least that is where the "Hitton Inn" is still located today. This building was recently in the news because of several hundred fire compliance orders that had been ignored by the building's owners and the Buildings Department - and the inevitable fire occurred in April this year (2024), killing 5 people and injuring around 40.

Yakuza on Foot - Tomisaburô Wakayama (1969) - Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei

The gangs strike back by targeting the drug dealers on the street and grab a couple of guys from the front of the Tin Hau temple in Yau Ma Tei. Regular readers may recognise the old front wall of the temple with its square window apertures that can also be seen in The World of Suzie Wong, but this wall has since been demolished (sometime in the early 70s). What is still around though is the white building in the background, which is the Kowloon Government Offices. Note also that this was when Temple Street still ran right in front of the temple (hence its name), before this section was removed and replaced by the extended public square area.

Yakuza on Foot - Tomisaburô Wakayama (1969) - Tung Kun Street, Yau Ma Tei

Whilst walking around, the trio stumble across a women they first met on the boat, and she says she knows where Shimamura's wife is and offers them a lift. The initial shot shows the men walking north along Ching Ping Street with the Ferry Point Estate in the background. As the camera changes angle though, we can see the car has just pulled out of Tung Kun Street. In the background is the Kei To Primary School building which is still around.

Yakuza on Foot - Tomisaburô Wakayama (1969) - Reclamation Street, Yau Ma Tei

One of the first clear images we have (once the opening credits have finished) is of the trio as they walk north along the middle section of Reclamation Street. The rickety old building behind them with the curved corner once occupied the plot where the Kansu Street Jade Hawker Bazaar stood until a few years ago. People with good memories might recall that there was a better capture of this place in Asia-Pol Secret Service. People with even better memories may also recall that the block is also the same one featured in the opening scenes of Enter the Dragon, although by the time of that last shot, the curved end of the building had already been demolished. Incidentally, this location was also used in Narazumono, although in that film we are looking in the opposite direction. In hindsight, I should have named all those other posts as 'Reclamation Street', because it's as clear as daylight in the following screencaps. However, this section of Reclamation Street no longer exists, the area is now just a turning circle for the top end of Battery Street. I created an entry for it on Gwulo and some additional information was added by David Bellis.

This last image shows the HKJC Polyclinic in the background.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Adam Baldwin (2000) - Yau Ma Tei Police Station

No longer a Police Station because it was decommissioned a couple of years ago. I did make a trip here last year with David Bellis from Gwulo and, after seeing a gathering in the rear carpark area, we popped in to have a look around only to be instantly told to get the hell away. Such is life in the new National Security-conscious Hong Kong.

In the movie this is the exterior used for the Police station in the film where one of the gangsters is set free after he refuses to talk. So Mr. Hyde follows him back to his opium den (yes, quite a few of these Hong Kong cliches pop up) to extract the information he needs.

One of the things I can gather from this sequence is that this was before the local police stations were all given a new grey/dark blue coat of paint. Back in 2000 it was still the white/light blue colour scheme (seeing little things like this please my nerdy brain).