Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Shaw Bros House, Clearwater Bay

Speaking of the Shaw Bros house (as I just was), the iconic building can be see a bit later in the film when Zhongkang turns up to give out some tickets to his brothers violin recital. The oval doorway you can see is actually the house's main entrance, but has been altered with the words Concert Hall stuck above the curved lintel.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Shaw Bros House, Clearwater Bay

I'm not doing these scenes in any kind of order so here is a shot from a little bit into the film when we find out where Zhongkang (Paul Chin's character) is working: at a car workshop.

The clue for this location can be seen in the background and perhaps is only obvious to people who have been to the location. It's changed a lot but the house in the background is unmistakable and can be seen when a taxi is called for one of the workshops clients who also happens to be Zhongkang's estranged mother.

Of course it's the Shaw Bros house with its odd window shades and smaller arched window openings underneath. The terrain has changed quite a bit because the new office block was built at about the same location where the workshop would have been built but the embankment seen behind the taxi cab is still there - albeit on the other side of a concrete wall.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Castle Peak Hotel, Tuen Mun

Going back to 1971 and we have the tragi-classic Sunset starring David Chiang's brother Paul. The film starts with some guys in a car on the hunt for some girls and they follow a car into what was the Castle Peak Hotel just off Castle Peak Road in Tuen Mun.

We also get to see part of the famous circular entrance gate as well as a few sneaky scenes filmed inside the hotel grounds. I'm sure there are people reading this who ate or even stayed at this now defunct hotel.

As the cars drive off we get to see the other side of the main entrance onto what was then a two lane Castle Peak Road. The road was later widened to its present size (a development project that was responsible for Dragon Villa losing its original front walls and doors).

In case you are wondering, I'm not sure when it was demolished but on the same site today is a development called "Castle Peak Villas". Click on the location info below to see where this is.

The World of Suzie Wong - William Holden (1960) - Former Kowloon Docks, TST

Most people who have visited HK will be familiar with Ocean Terminal and it's associated shopping mall, but did you know that before that place was built is was a working dock area that doubled as a cruise ship berth? Going back to 1960 and we can see what it looked like at. The beginning of the film involves a sequence where we see William Holden disembark his ship and walk all the way over to the Star Ferry where he first sees the beautiful Suzie. The working nature of the dock should be evident by the derricks and the rail tracks on the floor. This section of track actually ran all the way over to the KCR terminus so that goods could be loaded on/off the train. There is also a small turn circle on the floor (3rd picture) to allow a small goods rail truck to go to another part of the dock yard.

Notice the sign on the wall of the last picture that is advertising St Andrew's Church. I guess it was a slightly more religious era because, personally, after spending several weeks on a boat I would probably be more grateful of directions to a hotel and/or bar.

The Protector - Jackie Chan (1985) - Fei Ngo Shan, Kowloon

In the scene when JC calls up the kidnappers to arrange a deal he makes the call from a public telephone box atop one of Kowloon's most visible landmarks. You may not know its name - Fei Ngo Shan - but if you have been to HK you will undoubtedly have seen it from some point or other. There is actually a road that goes all the way to the top so you don't have to be a mountaineer or hiker to make it there but once at the top views all over the territory can be had.

In the next screen cap you can see what was Kai Tak airport behind JC. At the time of filming this was still a bustling part of the territory, now it's a wasteland waiting to be turned into a cruise ship terminal.

The Protector - Jackie Chan (1985) - Far East Finance Centre, Hong Kong Island

In the film it's used as the location of the baddy's (Roy Chiao) evil HQ, but in reality it's the Far East Financial Centre - a gold-coloured skyscraper that has been sitting on the HK waterfront since 1982. Seeing as the film was made in 1985 then I guess the film makers thought it represented the modern look of HK. To be honest its bright gold colour may remind the locals of a bar of gold but to me it just looks a bit tacky.

Project A - Jackie Chan (1983) - Muk Min Sea Cave, Sai Kung

There is a sequence in this film when JC disguised as a fellow criminal boards the pirates boat to be transported to their coastal hideaway. There is an area in Sai Kung where many (if not all) of these shots were filmed and it can be found right next to Pak Lap Wan. Here is a reminder:

There are several caves here, and the one at the bottom is actually known as Muk Min Cave. This shot was filmed looking through its south/western entrance with Pak Lap Tsai immediately behind it. The shot at the top was actually taken with the camera placed looking down from the bit of land above the various sea caves although actually it was the next cave over used for this purpose. Here is a google shot to give some context. The circle marks the spot where the camera was placed to look down as the boat passes underneath and the arrow shows where Muk Min Cave is located.

Fist of Fury - Bruce Lee (1972) - Rua Dom Belchior Caneiro, Macau

One of a couple of scenes filmed in outdoor locations in Macau. The first one I have already mentioned here. This one is part of the scene when Lee disguises himself as a rickshaw puller in order to kill Paul Wei's effeminate translator character. We see the rickshaw being pulled down a road before it goes past the camera. The location used is very close to the church ruins, in fact just behind it. The lower photo shows (almost) the same angle today.

Lots of changes to note as you would expect but the main one being the building of the Catholic Art Museum on the left hand side. I'm not sure when it was built, but sometime around 1995 when it opened to the public, before that building there was a lovely house with an external stariway that can be seen in the back of the following behind-the-scenes shot of Bruce and Paul Wei (photo supplied by Marcos Ocana).

And again a modern day comparison. It's unfortunate that the housing estate we can see behind Bruce in the picture above has only just recently been demolished, In fact as of January 2010 those buildings with the balconies were still there, only to be cleared sometime between then and when I took this photo in the Autumn of 2010.

There is a wall that can be seen on the right of the film grab at the top that still partially exists. It's been reconstructed further down the road but an original piece still exists just off camera-left on the above picture can be found. Here is a picture of Bruce leaning against the wall.

The shot above shows the new version of the wall. Seems as though somebody must like the design to want to recreate it again.

The Protector - Jackie Chan (1985) - Shum Wan, Lamma Island

JC fans will know that there are in fact two versions of The Protector. There's the US version released internationally (that even did a stint at my old local Odeon Cinema back in Coventry when I was a schoolboy - though sadly I was too young to get in thanks to its 18 certificate) and the rewritten HK version that JC did because he was so pissed off at James Glickenhaus, the director. Due to the rewrite a bunch of scenes got chopped from the HK version and the following scene is one of them. It's when JC and gang go to meet Moon Lee's uncle on his junk only to find he has been killed and the boat set on fire (in the HK version he is found at a dockyard and Bill Wallace turns up again for another rumble). Here is a grab from the scene in the US version when they go to the bay and find uncle's boat on fire.

Check out the rock formation on the left hand side. This is important because it was key to identifying the location. So here is the same location today complete with the rock formation - although my camera hasn't stretched it the way the film's camera has (plus I was slightly further around as you can see by the angle).

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

There is a scene at the end of the Soldier of Fortune when Hank (Clark Gable) is watching Hoyt (Haywood - or at least her double) board a PanAm bus on the Peninsula forecourt. The camera then pans left and we get a view of Salisbury Road in its former low rise glory. Behold!...an unspoilt view of the clock tower when it was still part of the train station.

Here's a shot of my own (for a change) showing a similar angle. Can you still see the clock tower?(Answer: No, you can't :-( ).