Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Wong Nai Chung Rd, Happy Valley

Back to Hong Kong again but staying with the tenuous link of Happy Valley and we have a quick snippet from the car scene at the beginning of the film as Frank follows his friend's car back to their house as he watches for anything untoward.

It's a brief glimpse but we see the cars driving down Wong Nai Chung Road on the west side of the Happy Valley Racecourse.

I must admit, I was a bit flummoxed by this place at first because the tram line made me spend a long time looking up and down the main tram route for a similar area - to no avail. It wasn't until I noticed that there is only one tram rail that I realised it must be a part of the line off the main route. My excuse is I haven't really explored this part of town other than visiting the nearby Muslim Cemetery

Anyway, the above Streetview grab shows the area today - hasn't changed a bit unsurprisingly other than the appearance of an extra high rise at the back. The wall on the right by the way marks the various cemeteries along this stretch of which the Muslim site is just one.

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Aberdeen can be seen a couple of times in this film - the first time is when Frank (played by Geoffrey Lewis) smuggles baby JCVD away from the bad guys via a sampan in the harbour. He boards the boat on the Ap Lei Chau side of Aberdeen Harbour and we know this because quite clear in the background is the Hung Shing Temple that occupies the waterfront on Ap Lei Chau. Here is a screen grab from the sampan complete with a Hoklo boat woman working the controls. She doesn't look too amused about being filmed does she...

For a more modern view of the temple there is a nice picture here on Panoramio. When this was filmed in 1991 the waterfront was a bit of a mess but the govt has done a fairly decent job at beautifying it and making a fairly nice location. That side of the harbour also gives you better views across the Aberdeen (IMO).

On these two shots you can see the line of buildings that sit along the Aberdeen Praya Road, some of these buildings were there when Bruce Lee filmed Enter The Dragon twenty years previously and the wooded hillside behind them is the same hill that still houses the old Police Station (now a youth centre known as the Warehouse).

Aberdeen is also seen later in the film when JCVD is being pursued with his brother's girlfriend by the bad guys. The scene ends with them jumping into the water to escape but before that we see some of the usual hopping around the flotilla of boats. Then Cory Everson jumps into a chopper and follows the boat back to their hideout.

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - North Street, Kennedy Town

Sometimes trying to locate certain streets in HK is a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack and when so many places look the same having a small (but useful) knowledge of written Chinese can save a world of pain. A prime example was my efforts in tracking down the location of Chad's riff raff bar.

In the end it was a small sign for a noodle shop that gave the game away, so many thanks to Wing Hing Noodle (永興麵家) for at least still being registered on the English Version of Open Rice despite it being closed (for how long I don't know).

Anyway, here is a few screen grabs to jog your memory.

See the building above with the stop sign next to it? That's still there. Just to the left of the stop sign is a white/red horizontal sign with 4 chinese characters on it. That sign is for the noddle shop I just mentioned. here's the same(ish) view today.

Next we can now find out where JCVD was standing when he was accosted by a very seriously ugly Bolo Yeung.

I haven't quite managed to get the correct angle, but the place he was leaning is now a pet store called "Twinkles" (oh dear...). The alleyway by the side of the shop still has a metal cabinet parked in front - it's similar to the one that we see in the JCVD shot above and although I don't think it is the same one I am quite confident that it probably belongs to a hawker/street seller and is used as a street stall. This being HK it is very feasible that the person who runs it was the same dude running it back in 1991 (note to self: next time I am in Kennedy Town I will take a few pictures down and ask whoever is there is they remember the filming).

Oh Bolo, you IS ugleeeeeee

Next we see Corey Everson looking the worst I have ever seen her (must be the haircut) jumping out of a car just before the big showdown in the bar. See the white building opposite? Well, check out the streetview shot below. The building is still there (or at least was when Google sent there car around a couple of years back) and look carefully you can just make out the red Chinese characters that form the company name (of whoever was renting the place I guess). Look between the arm of the crane.

Finally, after all that running about down alleyways and markets streets, JCVD manages to get away from his pursuers by running around in circles and ending up back on North Street, but this time further up next to the stop sign and noodle bar sign (mentioned earlier).

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Chi Ma Wan, Lantau

A small secluded bay on the south coast of Lantau Island served as the intrepid heroes base. The Chi Ma Wan peninsular is home to several bays, one is called Tai Long Wan, another houses the Sea Ranch development (some weird ghost town that was promoted as a seaside getaway) and another just around the headland is called Mong Tung Wan. It was this latter one that was used for JCVD's hidden lair.

 
Since I posted this particular location, my friend Andi from Germany (of the Hong Kong Movie Tours blog) has been along and taken a bunch of photos around the area. As usual he has done a great job at matching camera angles almost perfectly and he has also included many shots from the beach which are seen during the battle scene. Anyway, here is that post.

Sadly there is no public transport here, but you can potentially reach it via Lantau proper and hike as Andi did or get a ferry to nearby Cheung Chau and then pay someone with a kaito to take you there. There is a very sporadic ferry service to the nearby Sea Ranch development which sits in the next part of the bay (called Yi Long Wan).

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Sai Ying Pun Community Complex, Hong Kong

Back in 1991 the former "Old Mental Hospital" on High Street was about to undergo a bit of a transformation, turning it into the modern complex that can be seen today. The fact is that only the bottom two stories' facade has been preserved and the rest of the building has been completely remodeled.

The shot above looks to have been taken at through the main entrance on High St. Here's what it looks like today from the front.

And the following shot shows the A-Mah (old HK name for a female helper/maid) carrying one of the twins up Eastern St.

Streetview hasn't been up this road, so until I go and get some shots of my own we will have to make do with this shot looking up from the junction with Eastern and High St.

I'm fairly certain that this last shot below is a studio mock-up. It has an air of falseness about it and I don't think there has ever been an entrance at this place where it is sunk into the ground with steps going down to it. Of course I could be wrong because I have no idea what was done here before the renovations (after this film was made) and Streetview doesn't let me take a sneak peek up the other side of the building. I'll head over there when I have some time and report back :-)

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Nga Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City

Here is a shot that will automatically trigger some very nostalgic feelings within a whole generation of Hongkongers. Yes, a shot of a plane flying low over Kowloon City as it prepares to land at the old airport.

The site of this one is fairly easy to spot because Kowloon City has remained fairly untouched in the intervening years. This shot was taken at the intersection between Nga Tsi Wai Road and Hau Wong Road.

The church you can see in the lower pictures is still around although the Hang Seng Bank branch that was once on the ground floor has been replaced by what looks to be a tutorial centre. I'm sure that you may think that since the airport has moved that the Kowloon City residents have sighed in relief from the constant noise and worry of planes crashing into their homes, but the fact is that many of the businesses in the area have disappeared since they no longer get any foot traffic from the nearby airport. A typical days business during the week in Kowloon City is now only ever even matched at the weekend. However, the area seems to be reinventing itself as a Thai restaurant, Chiuchow restaurant and Chinese hot pot hub. Here is the same location via Streetview.

Lust, Caution - Tang Wei (2007) - The White House, Victoria Road

The Hong Kong compound where Mr Yee (Tony Leung) and his wife (Joan Chen) live in Hong Kong is a rather enigmatic place along Victoria Road that is usually referred to as The White House. The location is along Victoria Road at the base of Mount Davis between Kennedy Town and Pok Fu Lam.

Centamap has it marked as part of an old disused battery but in fact it was originally a mess building for the Royal Engineers. During the 1950's it was given over to Special Branch and used as a detention centre for suspected spies. This included it being used during the 1967 riots as a holding place for trouble makers - it was remote enough to hold people without any interference while the authorities waited for the troubles to cool down. More recently there are rumours that it was used as a staging point and debriefing centre for Tiananmen Square protesters who had managed to flee the military crackdown on the Mainland and were spirited away with the help of the HK authorities and other international jurisdictions including the USA (see Operation Yellowbird here).

These days it is currently being redeveloped into an international University campus for MBA teaching. The company responsible for its redevelopment has promised to protect as much of it as possible but I guess we will have to wait and see how it turns out.

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Opening sequence, Various locations

The opening title sequence gives us a different view point though and takes us from west to east. First off we get to see the backside of High West (Lung Fu Shan) as the camera sweeps across and reveals Mount Davis and Kennedy town. Look carefully and you may be able to see the twin chimney stacks of what I believe was the Kennedy Town Abattoir, as well as Green Island and just to the distant hazy left is Kau Yi Chau (aka Han's Island from the B&W composite photo in Enter the Dragon).

Next we move over a little more to the east to just behind HK University and can see various buildings that are still around - not surprising seeing as this film is only a little over 20 years old. For example in the shot below the three buildings at the front bottom are on Po Shan Road and are called Piccadilly Mansion, Hamilton Court and (one block of) Po Shan Mansions, respectively. The tall building top left is Hong Kong Plaza and the three identical blocks on the right are the three blocks of a development called Connaught Garden.

Next as we move along we now look over the harbour. I like this shot because I can actually see where I live (although it's a wee bit blurry) in the far distance. But you can make out the transceiver on top of Beacon Hill (that tiny white splodge on the hill in the back centre and if you know your HK geography you should be able to guess that the next major bump in the ridgeline (to the right) is actually that of Lion Rock.

The camera keeps speeding east (to the right) and this time on the far right we can just make out the Ferry Point Estate a.k.a Man Buildings - they've been around since the early sixties and are fairly recognisable, however, this is a view that can no longer be found because the West Kowloon reclamation has blocked it all off and instead these days you will just be able to see the skyscraper development which has the new ICC as its centrepiece.

I was expecting the skyline to be a bit clearer on this DVD - but it seems as though even back in 1991 (well, actually I think the filming took place in 1990) there was a fair amount of haze over Kowloon. Not as much as today but more than I expected...

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Western Street, Hong Kong Island

After the inauguration ceremony, JCVD's parents (with twins on board) head home in their nice car followed closely by Uncle Frank in his red convertible. One of the roads they drive down is De Voeux road West where it intersects with Western St. We know this because we can see Western Police Station in Sai Ying Pun on the corner.

Look closely on a couple of those snaps and you'll see the circular turrets that form part of the external walls to many police stations in HK. The steps in the second screen grab above are of course those of the Police Station entrance. Unfortunately for me the current Streetview image has the Police Station covered in scaffolding getting a facelift so you'll have to take my word that it's the same place.

Double Impact - Jean Claude Van Damme (1991) - Cha Kwo Ling Road Service Rd, Yau Tong

Classic JCVD this time with an opening that is supposed to show the inauguration ceremony for the cross harbour tunnel. The film crew did a fairly good job with a mock up of the entrance but the tunnel itself was fairly obviously a matte painting stuck behind it.

Anyway, some clues in the background tell us where the film set was created. The first being the distinctive shape of Mt Parker on HK island behind and the second is the nearby rockface that looks to have been blasted to create space for the road. Here are a few grabs.

Anyway, the road we can see is still around although understandably a little bit more built up than it was in 1991. The giveaway is in fact the rocky face behind the camera man - it's a bit dirtier than it was back then but the shame shape can still be made out.

Little known fact: Although Sheldon Lettich is credited as the director of this film, it was in fact action master Vic Armstrong who was in charge as he showed Sheldon the "ropes". Also, Vic's brother Andy - another leading light in today's stunt industry - who played JCVD's gunned down father.