Way of the Dragon, 1972 : Locations for this film have completely changed beyond recognition. As for the fight scene with Chuck Norris in The Coliseum of Roma in Italy, most of it was shot at Golden Harvest studios. There were a few chase scenes actually filmed in the coliseum.
The Big Boss, 1971 : Most of the on-location shots took place in Thailand.
With only four films, Bruce Lee became a kung fu icon and an action superstar all around the world as well as a symbol of the 1970s Hong Kong. Unfortunately, throughout the last four decades the city changed a lot under waves of real estate redevelopments. Little filming locations of the Little Dragon’s era still exist. As far as we know, locations for films Bruce Lee made as a child actor are no more. Some locations for the films Bruce Lee made as an adult still exist, some being still intact. The details on these locations were kindly provided by Philip Edward Kenny from http://orientalsweetlips.wordpress.com. Below, we have only included locations in Hong Kong and Macau and which are open to the public. More details can be found at http://orientalsweetlips.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/bruce-lees-hong-kong . (Map of the area)
Enter The Dragon / 龙争虎斗 (1973 / Dir: Robert Clouse)
Ching Chung Koon
Brief opening shot of the temple.
Courtesy of Warner Bros
This shot was made in Ching Chung Koon, in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Tuen Mun is a market town in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located near the mouth of the Tuen Mun River and the Castle Peak Bay.
(source: http://www.gohk.gov.hk/text/eng/welcome/tm_intro.html )
Here are two shots of Ching Chung Koon, present time, provided by Philip Edward Kenny.
Photo by Philip Edward Kenny
Photo by Philip Edward Kenny
Ching Shan Monastery / Tsing Shan Monastery, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Scene: discussion with the Shaolin Abbot and "Lao’s Time."
Chat with the Shaolin Abbott ( courtesy of Warner Bros)
Tea scene with Braithewaite, ( courtesy of Warner Bros)
Lao’s Time, ( courtesy of Warner Bros)
Tsing Shan Monastery is one of the oldest and most revered monasteries in Hong Kong, established over 1500 years ago. It sits about halfway up Castle Peak (Western edge of the New Territories).
In Enter the Dragon , this is the location for "Lao’s Time" (a.k.a the "Kick me" scene), as was the previously deleted scene of Lee’s (Bruce Lee) chat with the Shaolin Abbott (Roy Chiao). And of course this was the location for the tea scene with Braithewaite (Geoffrey Weeks). Surprisingly, the location, situated up the hill behind the main monastery complex has changed very little.
The deleted scene of dialog with Roy Chiao was included on a later release of the film and re-looped in English by John Little (as Bruce). Roy Chiao looped his own lines of dialog from Hong Kong (to the US) via satellite phone. The original Cantonese dialog for this philosophical scene turned up on a bootleg cassette tape sometime in the 1980s but apparently the quality was too poor for it to be re-used.
Photo of the actual temple archway by Philip Edward Kenny
Still from the film: Lao’s time (Courtesy of Warner Bros)
Still from the film: Lee discusses with the Shaolin Abbot (courtesy of Warner Bros)
Photo by Philip Edward Kenny
Photo by Philip Edward Kenny
The terrace itself has changed little, but most of the trees and bushes that made the area quite green on film have been cut down giving you a clear view down into Tuen Mun valley. (Philip Edward Kenny)
Photo by Philip Edward Kenny
The original stone railings are still there, as are the small concrete table and chairs.
(Philip Edward Kenny)
Several locations appear on this clip. First there is the eight-second shot of Ching Chun Koon archway and temple, panning left into the Sammo Hung’s fight at Ho Sheung Heung. The scenes taken at Tsing Shan Monastery include the talk with the Shaolin Abbot (starts at 2:29), the tea drinking scene with Braithewaite (starts at 5:28) and Lao’s time (which starts at 6:25).
Muslim Cemetery
Scene: visit of the family grave
Courtesy of Warner Bros
The Muslim Cemetery in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, was used for the scene when Bruce Lee goes to visit the grave of his parents before embarking on his mission. Several tombstones and trees seen in the film are still recognisable. The cemetery is located behind the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
This is the place where the fighters board the junk to travel to Han’s Island. Flashbacks explain the background of each of the characters. There is also a long shot of the junk leaving the harbour (see above). In the background the South Horizons power station can be seen.
Scene: where the fighters alight to Han's island (which is in fact still Hong Kong Island).
The stone jetty in the film (courtesy of Warner Bros)
Bolo Yeung is standing on the jetty as the boat approaches the island then the luggage is unloaded and the fighters get off. This is followed by a long shot taken from the old tennis courts that pans right from the beach up to the main court/arena.
The stone jetty on the beach is accessible to the public, and in fact this is the only thing that remains at the location from the film. The American Club and Pacific View locations are private properties.
Disclaimer: Although we were careful in mapping these locations, errors are always possible.
We like to be corrected: Please send your corrections and/or comments to hkfilminglocation@hkcinemagic.com or using the ‘error report’ link on the bottom of the page.
Tags on the map only intend to show an area where the photo was taken and cannot be taken strictly as the exact coordinate for the location. HKCinemagic could not be held responsible for any mistakes or misdirection and reserves the right to edit maps at any time.