Armour of God - Dolac Market, Zagreb

Dolac is the most visited and the best known farmer's market in Zagreb. In 1986, the market became a venue for a good ol'car chase. Jackie Chan and legendary car stunt coordinator Rémy Julienne send some motorbikes flying into the air and a jeep overturning down some stairs.

Shanghai Knights - Somerset House, London

Somerset House is a large neoclassical building in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. Sounds like the perfect location for the closing scene of a movie set in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, the building's courtyard was full of people and stuff ruining the nice 19th century feeling but the building itself looks just like in the movie.

The Living Daylights - Schloss Schönbrunn, Vienna

One year after the release of Jackie Chan's Armour of God, James Bond returned to the big screen using lots of Vienna locations with Schloss Schönbrunn being one of them. The whole scene seems like it's just about showing a bit of Austria's opera ball culture without any real connection to the plot. I think it's the most dispensable sequence in the movie but at the end of the day it's a James Bond location...

Armour of God - Samobor Castle

Armour of God's opening scene is probably one of the most memorable opening action sequences in Jackie Chan's extensive filmography. The filming location is a gothic castle ruin in Croatia (in 1986 it was part of former Yugoslavia). Since the mid 80s, there have been some restorations going on. If you look closely you will see that some of the walls and edges appear slightly different than in the movie. During the last 30+ years, there also has been some significant rank growth in and around the ruins. Because of that, some parts were inaccessible. Nevertheless, visiting Samobor Castle was an absolute highlight of my nerdy life.

Of course, the platform with the tin god sculpture holding the treasured sword is just a movie prop. Was it made in Hong Kong or in former Yugoslavia? And even more interesting: Where is it now?

Next up is the location of Jackie's infamous tree jump. First thing I've noticed: There's no tree anymore. Is it a naturally grown tree we get to see in the movie or did they place it there? Unfortunately, Jackie's jumping-off point is completely overgrown now.

By the way: the jumping-off point for this beautifully executed backflip is the same spot as the tree jump. My comparison photo gives you an impression of the distinctive rank growth at the castle.