James Bond at Tai Po Market, Fu Shin Street, New Territories?

Submitted by thomas004 on Thu, 08/31/2023 - 15:41

Hello Forum!

This is Thomas from Germany. Since more than 15 years I am part of the James Bond location hunter community "On the tracks of 007". We visit the locations from the James Bond films worldwide and also research for new and still unknown locations.

There are some scenes from the 1974 James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun", where the filming location is still unknown. The plot takes place in Macau and we see Bond passing the famous Floating Casino. But after that we see a market scene, please see picture. There are rumours this is Tai Po Market, Fu Shin Street, New Territories. I searched a lot for pictures or information, but could not find anything which helps.

James Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun
James Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun, by thomas004

Can you identify the scene? Is it Tai Po Market?

What do the signs with the Chinese characters say? And what is the facing of the scene, North or South?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Kind regards, Thomas

I've heard the Tai Po rumour as well but as far as I am concerned it's complete nonsense.

The film crew were in Macau on location and shot the initial scene right in front of the floating casino - it looks like they are on Rua do Guimarães initially and turn into Rua da Caldeira but then there is an edit where the camera angle changes to the street in question. I would hazard a guess that if this wasn't Rua da Caldeira, then it was a nearby street of similar width - there are many around this part of Macau. Perhaps someone with better Macau knowledge can offer some suggestions.

It just makes absolutely no sense to travel all the way to Tai Po to film this brief sequence when it can easily be done, authentically, on location in Macau.

Thanks for your response!

The Tai Po theory sounds logical to me insofar as many other scenes for the film were shot in Hong Kong. Maybe they really only filmed this one characteristic scene in front of the Floating Casino in Macau, the rest then back in Hong Kong.

There is a very nice shot of Tai Po here on the page and it looks very similar to the screenshot from the film.

Tai Po Market, Fu Shin Street
Tai Po Market, Fu Shin Street, by Andrew Suddaby

 

Was there a market like the one in the film near the casino in Macau back then? The film team certainly used an existing market for the short scene and did not set up a market as a backdrop just for the film.

Bond is driving on the tricycle from the Floating Casino into R. do Guimarães, then turn right into R. da Caldeira. Was there a market in the past?

Best regards, Thomas

This is a very typical view of a street in Macau - you may want to call it a "market" but most people here would just say it is a normal street with shop fronts on the ground floor. This is very much the local vernacular in Macau (and HK) - certainly very much more common in the 1970s.

"Maybe they really only filmed this one characteristic scene in front of the Floating Casino in Macau"

They also filmed inside the casino for the scene with Maud Adams doing the exchange with the casino pulley system. I don't know how long the production was in Macau but it must have been for at least a day or two.

to Thomas's original question re the signs with Chinese characters ... the characters are in traditional Chinese going from right to left (consistent with signs in the 1970s)

the left one with 4 words in red on white: Jane's (first two words) Garments (last two words)
the middle one: Choi Cheung (first two words) Gold Shop (last two words) - I'm guessing it is a jewelry store that sold gold and jade
the right one: Ying Chek's (first 3 words) Clock & Watch (next two words) Repair (the two smaller words written vertically)

Thanks for your response!

So there is nothing on the signs that refers to Tai Po. I had a little hope there.

One more question: If this scene was filmed at Tai Po Market, what direction are we looking in the film?

In the background I see illuminated windows on sloping houses, in front of them some street lamps. If I look at the course of the street in Tai Po, the direction of view should be north, since there is a similarly sloping street at the northern end of the market.

Would you confirm that?

Kind regards, Thomas

Hi There,

May have to get a copy of either the DVD or a re-issue BR disc using a big enough screen for more details.  Based on the screen capture, it is simply too dark to see.

We cannot rule out it was filmed on a sound stage, (like the other Bottom-Up scenes) where things could be replicated by master carpenters.

T

Thanks for your answer!

I'll try to get a high resolution screenshot of the scene so you can see more.

What do you mean by the "sound stage" of the bottom-up scenes? Wasn't the filming location a normal street (Hanoi Road)?

Thomas

Hi There,

I vaguely remember reading an article somewhere\sometime ago saying the Bottoms Up scene was not actually shot inside the premises.

T

I was able to get an HD blu-ray screenshot of  the scene.

James Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun (HD blu-ray)
James Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun (HD Blu-ray), by thomas004

 

Is it possible to see some more datails? Maybe in the background regarding the viewing direction I was asking for?

Kind regards, Thomas