Legend of a Fighter. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to trace it because you don't see the surrounding area in the film. I just needed more indications to identify its location, so I threw in the towel...
Yesterday, I decided to rewatch the enjoyable Moon Lee flick Killer Angels not suspecting anything, and suddenly, there it was again - the mysterious building. But this time, there are plenty of leads: distinctive mountains in the background, high-risers and even a blurry street sign. After a few minutes of intensive online investigation, I've found it. It's located in Fanling.
Regrettably, the building was demolished in 1992. The estate was a former orphanage with a large yard, a pond and a beautiful garden. I just could find a few usable pictures of it, but there is a nice website with detailed informations about its vibrant history. Click here if you want to read more.
LEGEND OF A FIGHTER (1982)
In the film, the estate's main building doubles as a Japanese Karate Institute. Interestingly, the Fanling Babies Home was invaded by Japanese troops in 1941. The film's final sequence features some nice shots of the main building's front side, its entrance and a bit of the pond.
KILLER ANGELS (1989)
7 years later, Leung Kar-Yan walks along the circular pond again, but this time he is the villain. The film offers some nice shots of the estate and its vicinity. Tearing down such places is nothing but a shame.
DIRTY TIGER, CRAZY FROG! (1978)
Third time is a charm...The opening sequence of Karl Maka's lively kung fu comedy also shows the Fanling Babies Home. I just rewatched the film and was delighted to spot the building again. The scene features Lau Kar-Wing, Chung Fat and Chin Yuet-Sang (amongst other regulars from that era).
SNAKE DEADLY ACT (1980)
Here we get another glimpse of the main building's entrance area. It looks like the Fanling Babies Home was used more often as a filming location than I thought. This scene features director/actor Wilson Tong, Phillip Ko Fei, Ng Kwan-Lung and Fung Hak-On.
ANGEL II (1988)
Angel II gives us a great frontal view of the building. Moon Lee is brought into the house by a couple of criminals, where of course there is an excess of violence. We also get to see a nice shot of the pond from above.
wow! nice find Andi. I have heard of this place courtesy of me previously looking into St Christophers Home in tai Po, but never seen pictures before now. Great building, so sad not many of these exist anymore.
ReplyDeletethanks phil. to replace such elaborate buildings by characterless concrete chunks is really sad...i wanted to post a picture of the new building, but it was too ugly haha
DeleteBeardy in Both Films ..great find ☺
ReplyDeleteI love this blog!!!...This house also can be seen at the begining of Iron Angel 2.
ReplyDeletethank u! nice to hear you appreciate my blog. and thanks for the tip about iron angel 2. i have the dvd but haven't watched it for at least 5 years...time to rewatch it!
DeleteGreat blog!
ReplyDelete滑稽時代 Laughing Times (1980) is another movie featuring the orphanage. Yes, I agree with you that tearing down this place is nothing but shame. On Lok Village was a place where rich and poor people live next to each other. In the 1980s we were told by the government that the village was being re-zoned into "industrial" and all of the residents had to move out. It did not make any sense at all.
This house was built by my great grandfather, the pond was actually a swimming pool.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi I posted this piece on the history of the house on the Gwulo website - https://gwulo.com/node/41991#17~22.49852~114.14485~Map_by_GovHK-Markers~100
ReplyDelete