Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - So Kon Po Stadium, Happy Valley

The location of the two lovers first official rendezvous looks as though it may have been held at the previous incarnation of what is now known as HK Stadium i.e. the location where the Rugby 7's is held every year. Back in the early 70's it was still a concrete monstrosity.

In case you didn't realise that this is what the So Kon Po stadium used to look like there is a good clue in the second screencap which shows the external wall of the neighbouring South China Athletic Association sports ground along Caroline Hill Road. The small building behind Paul Chin Pei's head is the Indian Recreation Clubhouse. He's standing in the east side stands.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Waterloo Road nr Lion Rock, Kowloon

Here's another shot taken on Waterloo Road on the corner close to where the road enters the Lion Rock Tunnel - again it's during the scene when Zhongkang is followed to their rendezvous by his mother.

Compare it to the Streetview shot I have below, you can see that many of the buildings seen on film are still around - even further down the road are some buildings that are still standing (and I think they are part of the Baptist Hospital and University). Also note that the second picture, which is looking up Waterloo Road in the other direction, the petrol station is still there, albeit noi longer run by Texaco.

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

In the scenes when Ching Li is rushing in the rain to try and meet up with Paul Chin Pei she supposedly leaves a 'clients' house (nope, not what you are thinking - she was a clothes designer in the film) in the pouring rain and heads to the car driven by her colleague (who also fancies her and has been waylaying her deliberately so she misses her date).

The building she is leaving is actually next door to Movietown and was one of the dormitory buildings that all the contracted staff lived in. The pebble-dashed panels on the front are quite distinctive. I went to the old studio site a couple of years back and these old dorm blocks were still there at the time in 2009 - though I believe they may be scheduled for redevelopment at some point.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong

Just after Zhongkang departs Ocean Terminal with his mother following behind we are treated to various shots of roads around the territory as they drive towards their destination. Here is one that is easy to identify thanks to the brown building that can be seen in the background on the left.

There are various elements in this screen grab that remain intact even today, despite other radical changes. Let's start off by naming the brown building I just mentioned, it's the Mary Knoll Convent School that sits on the block of land where Waterloo Road intersects with Boundary Street. The school is one of the so-called HK 'elite' schools that sees local parents climbing over each other to send their kids to - many converting to Catholicism just to improve their chances! Anyway, here is a grab from Google's excellent Streetview.

As you can see the school's low wall on the left can also still be seen, as can the white building at the far end of the wall. What has changed is that Waterloo Rd now has a flyover as it crosses Boundary Street. I don't know when it was built but you can see the slight slope on the more recent shot as we go further into the background. In 1971 it seems that traffic for straight on still had to stop at whatever traffic lights were at the intersection.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

Here's a view we've seen before but this time 16 years later. To be honest this area didn't really change that much until the late 70's when the original KCR Terminus, in all its colonial glory, was demolished leaving just the clock tower. Look at the bottom right of the screen and you will see where the kerb curves into the Peninsula's driveway (you still drove into the hotel in a clockwise direction then). Actually, this same angle is used twice in the film, in the lower (later) image you can see slightly more of the old YMCA building.

Other things to note are Star House in the far distance with a blue sign hanging on it. This building remains the same today (but for how long I don't know?). The closer building with the rather ornate entrance cover is actually the previous incarnation of the YMCA - now known as "The Salisbury". The current version was built in the early 90's (and opened by HK's last Governor Chris Patton) and has nice elements to it such as the rounded corners but it's not a patch on the building it replaced.

Sunset - Paul Chin Pei (1971) - Ocean Terminal carpark, Tsim Sha Tsui

In Sunset, Zhongkang has arranged to meet his mum up here. He waits in the car and we see her car drive up with the Hongkong Hotel in the background, as well as Star House and the clocktower of the old KCR terminus in the background.

We are then treated to a shot of both cars leaving the car park by its Canton Road exit. Any visitors to modern day HK will recognise this place along Canton Rd where it's virtually impossible to cross the entrance to this place without the assistance of some guard with his whistle. What can I say, it's a popular car park and no one likes to give an inch.

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.