Yellowthread Street (TV Series) - Bruce Payne (1990) - Sandy Bay, Pok Fu Lam

Sandy Bay is the location where Doreen Chan goes to visit HK movie-stalwart, Dennis Chan, to console him about his daughter. I'm not sure if this temple area is still around because the whole place has been redeveloped extensively and turned into the Stanley Ho Sports Centre amongst other things. It looks as though the film crew were on the beach though - and looking at the aerial view on GoogleEarth, there still seems to be remnants of a jetty that appears in another picture below.

The circular tower in the background of the first picture, as well as the smaller buildings at its base are part of Pine Court and Pine Grove, respectively, with the white Tam Towers next to them. The darker coloured buildings closer to the camera are Scenic Villas.

The next few pictures how what looks like a makeshift temple at the waterfront. Does anyone know if these stone lions are still around? I don't think they are something that could be easily moved. Anyway, the bottom picture shows good old Dennis looking out across the jetty to the open sea.

Finally, we get a quick glimpse up the beach towards the north. Looking at various Panoramio shots of that area, I don't think it has changed at all.

Yellowthread Street (TV Series) - Bruce Payne (1990) - Cheung Hang Estate, Tsing Yi

Moving on to Episode 11: Slicing the Dragon and we start off with some aerial night views of the under-construction Cheung hang Estate on Tsing Yi Island. The timing of the show was perhaps nearer to 1989 (I mean in terms of filming) because the estate was already completed and taking in tenants by 1990. Anyway, the story revolves around some Fung Shui skulduggery - something that seems to never go away in Hong Kong.

These two buildings above are Hang Yip and Hang Chi House, looking as though they are just being freed of their bamboo scaffolding. There are two rectangular sections of ground, one larger and one smaller that are in fact covered reservoirs - a common occurrence in Hong Kong - and the building site beyond it is the future location of the neighbouring Cheung Wang Estate.

As the camera moves to the south you can also see Hang Lai House centre picture and the corner of Hang Chui House to its left.

Emmanuelle 2 - Sylvia Kristel (1975) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

What 70's film (or 80's, or 90's for that matter) would be complete without at least one scene of Aberdeen Harbour. So we get to see a nice view of the, then, two floating restaurants: Tai Pak and Sea Palace. If you read this and my other blog then you'll know which one is still around.

Actually, the angle of the restaurants is very similar to the angle we see in Enter the Dragon (follow this link and scroll down to the bottom picture), and knowing that Chaplin Chang was involved in both films, it wouldn't surprise me if the camera was on the same building rooftop for both films.

Emmanuelle 2 - Sylvia Kristel (1975) - 15 Kennedy Road, Wanchai

This building is a bit of an enigma and now that it has been demolished and seems to be mistaken as being part of Tung Chi College. However, courtesy of the ever helpful 'C' we can set the record straight here with the information he provided over at Gwulo.com.

15 Kennedy Road was the residence of WOO Hay Tong (胡禧堂), the father of the late WOO Pak Chuen (胡百全, lawyer, ExCo and LegCo member). After the Woo family moved out, the house was the location of an art exhibition in 1987, and was the set of some films in the late 1980s. WOO Hay Tong was murdered by his nephew in 1932, and the content of his will is found in the Dec. 1, 1932 issue of the Hongkong Telegraph. It is interesting to note that he wanted his estate to be invested until 21 years after the death of his last surviving children and grandchildren who were born before his death.

Indeed, it looks as though the building was also featured in films during the 70's as our post here confirms. In Emmanuelle 2 it is the location of the ballet school where Emmanuelle visits the daughter of her husband's friend to invite her out. It's also where...*ahem*...well, best not to go into that here :-o

Sadly, the spot where this (and its neighbour, 15a) stood are simply empty spots with wooden hoardings hiding what was probably once part of their hillside foundations (what you can see on film is the upper floor of the building -  the rest of the building was underneath following the downward slope of the hillside). I believe they have been demolished as part of the never-ending site formation for the new Hopewell Centre. Big shame.

It could be wishful thinking on my part, but I believe the distant tree in the current Streetview grab (to the left and back of the large central one) might be the same one Sylvia is walking underneath in the first screencap. Getting closer reveals some common features.

Emmanuelle 2 - Sylvia Kristel (1975) - Flagstaff House, Central

Here's one that hasn't been used before, and the fact that it was in what was, at the time, still part of the Victoria Barracks in Central (since turned largely into Hong Kong Park). Flagstaff House is now the Museum of Tea Ware and well worth a visit, even if you aren't too interested in tea - but it's worthwhile remembering that Hong Kong was pretty much founded on the British quest for tea and the subsequent means of funding it...(by trading opium - in case you are historically challenged)

In the film it's the house where Emmanuelle lives with her husband and their entourage of servants and hangers-on. I can't vouch for the interior rooms but it's quite possible they were used for filming as well - either that or there was a very convincing studio set.

So, I did eventually make it back to Hong Kong Park over the summer (2016) and took a few comparative pictures. One thing I did notice is that in the second screen shot with the car, the building had extra columns extending beyond the front entrance. It was a small portico that has since been removed. Why? I have no idea because I don't think its position interfered with anything there currently. What a shame.

Emmanuelle 2 - Sylvia Kristel (1975) - Chung Shan Ferry

In the second installment (Emmanuelle 2 a.k.a Emmanuelle: L'antivierge) of Sylvia Kristel's outing as the titular character, we see her arrive at our fair shores on a boat called the 'Chung Shan' (松山 in Chinese).

It appears this was the real name of a boat that shuttled around the local waters. Originally built in 1950 and called the 'Tai Loy', it was renamed in 1968 to the 'Chung Shan' and later still to the romantic name of 'Hong Xing 801' on being sold to the Chinese Govt in 1978.

According to some blurb I found online, the HK Maritime Museum has a model of this vessel somewhere, so I may pop down one day and hunt it down. In the meantime, you can make do with some reasonable views of her from the film.

On deck

Chung Shan (read R>L)

Roaring Fire - Hiroyuki Sanada (1982) - Tiger Balm Mansion, Tai Hang

It's not been such a popular location for the films and shows I've covered on this blog (only I Spy has directly used it previously), but here is the Tiger Balm Mansion (a.k.a Haw Par Mansion) standing in as the evil guy's HK HQ.

Sadly no vast shots of it from a distance because in this film the building is supposedly in the middle of nowhere, so all we get are a couple of close angles as Joji runs through the garden.

Actually, even a close up shot like this wouldn't be enough to hide its surroundings these days because the grassy slope behind the mansion has been completely replaced by Cheung Kong's The Legend. Yes, another cheesy OTT name for a residential complex.

But luckily for us, the mansion was preserved when the redevelopment was done and the Govt are currently deciding what to use it for. Personally I think it would make a great location for a school, but that's just me.

And so ends our look at this film for now until I can get some of the more difficult places identified.

Roaring Fire - Hiroyuki Sanada (1982) - Kau Yi Chau, Outlying islands

A popular island that has been seen on quite a few films featured on this blog, most memorably as the island supposedly occupied by Mr Han in Enter the Dragon. In Roaring Fire it just serves as a background to Joji's speeding boat mission to get to the villains' lair. It's a brief glimpse but enough for us to recognise where it is.

Roaring Fire - Hiroyuki Sananda (1982) - Victoria Harbour

On his way to the gangster's hideout, Joji (Sanada) grabs a boat and goes speeding through the harbour. This was in the early 80's before much of the reclamation that is evident today and so we have a fairly unfettered view of Connaught Road, or at least the buildings that line its southern side.

These days there are several hundred metres worth of reclamation blocking the view.

This first screen capture above shows the white General Post Office in the background - at a time when its northern side still fronted the harbour. Behind it just peeking out is the circular windowed Jardine House (previously Connaught Centre). At the far right is a row of buildings ending in the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. Most of these buildings are still around including the art-deco C.G.C.C.

As the camera pulls out we get a wide angled view of the same area. The low-rise cream-coloured building behind the ship's mast is the old fire station. This was demolished and replaced the the Hang Seng HQ.

For those with a keen eye, you might also notice the Marine Office with its small tower. We got a closer view of this place at the beginning of the film - another great looking building that has fallen victim to redevelopment. Now the site of Infinity Plaza.

Yellowthread Street (TV Series) - Bruce Payne (1990) - Sai Kung to Victoria Harbour in the blink of an eye

Some geographical shenanigans are played out at the end of Chinese Boxes as we see the coppers on board a boat travelling into Sai Kung. We know it's Sai Kung because we can initially see the small islet of Kiu Tau in the background (Kiu Tau is the islet connected to Sharp Island by a tombolo). 

Kiu Tau in the background

The next sequence sees them all disembark from their boat onto a pier. This is also in Sai Kung because we can see the shape of Sharp Island (and the connected Kiu Tau) in the background. Now, I'm not sure that this is the current (older) public pier that is in Sai Kung. I suspect it is but it has been given a complete overhaul since this series was made. However, it's quite possible that the pier has been completely rebuilt in the intervening time, I'm not certain.

So anyway, there they all are in Sai Kung when all of a sudden the camera shot immediate following shows them all walking down the Victoria Harbour waterfront next to the (now demolished) New World Centre!! I mean come on, this is just a jump too far. One scene is the rural waters of Sai Kung, all of a sudden to be replaced by busy Victoria Harbour. I get the feeling that this scene would jar even with someone unfamiliar with HK geography, it just doesn't work well at all (much like the whole episode HA!).