GOD OF GAMBLERS, DIR. WONG JING (1989)
Lucky Plaza, Shatin District, Hong Kong
Figure 1 Little Knife (Andy Lau) and Ko Chun (Chow Yun Fat) running from the killers in the Lucky Plaza. Scenes from’ God of Gamblers’ 1989, directed by Wong Jing.
God of gamblers is a Hong Kong action comedy released in 1989. The film was directed by Wong Jing and led by Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau Tak Wah. The god of gamblers —— Ko Chun (Chow Yun Fat)’s story in Hong Kong begin with a fight on the old KCR train. Chun escapes from the fight with the help of his bodyguard, Dragon (Charles Heung Wah Keung), a former Vietnam special force member. However, Chun accidentally falls into Little Knife (Andy Lau)’s trap set for his neighbor and badly hurts his head. Knife takes Chun to his home (fig. 2) and found that Chun suffers from age regression.
Figure 2 Little Knife’s house. Scenes from’ God of Gamblers’ 1989
Figure 3 Tai Po Kau Lo Wai, Knife’s house was located here
The story reaches its climax with a 10 minutes gun fight, shot in the lucky plaza. Chun is being hunted by the killers in the plaza. He finally managed to recover from his age regression and fight back in the car park on the basement floor.
3 main places in the Lucky plaza was shown in the film, they are the outdoor platform, first floor of the mall and the car park on the basement. The outdoor platform presented in the film is clean and the white paint on the wall is new. There were also some shops and a snooker club (see fig. 13 in appendix)on the platform back in the 90s. In reality, after over 30 years, the overall layout and design of the platform is kept the same. The differences are the disappearance of shops, dirty wall, air duct at the ceiling and shape of the columns (fig. 12 & 13 in appendix) changed from rectangular prism to a cylinder.
Figure 4 Gun fight on the outdoor platform. Scenes from’ God of Gamblers’ 1989
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Figure 5 Outdoor platform of Lucky Plaza
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Figure 6 Comparison of the platform. With scenes from’ God of Gamblers’ 1989
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For the interior of the Lucky plaza, the changes are also minor. The shops, escalators and the glass fences are in the same place. It is noticed that the drop ceiling compressed the space a bit and the mall looks dimmer than it was in the film.
Figure 7. The interior of Lucky Plaza. With scenes from ‘God of Gamblers’ 1989
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In the famous car park scene of God of Gamblers, Chow Yun Fat picks 2 guns and shoot the killers as he did in another film ‘The killer’ 1989. The car park is on the B2 floor of the plaza. The car park was quite clean and tidy, but there are more pipes and cables at the ceiling now. It is also no surprise that the paint is chipped and dirty. It is worth mentioning that the ceiling height of the car park is very, very low that some 7-seat MPVs almost touch the pipes above. However it seems not a problem in the film with the low angle shots.
Figure 8 The car park scene, ‘God of Gamblers’ 1989
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Figure 9 Car park of Lucky Plaza
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Although the characters did not explain the significance of this place for the epic gun fight scene, I believe the director picked Lucky plaza because he wants the fight happen in a crowded local shopping mall. The controlled and compacted area did intensified the fight because there could be enemies come from every corner and hiding place. A great example would be Knife and Chun hiding behind the columns and cars in the car park; and how Knife fight back by attacking from the bottom of a car. All in all, I enjoy the visit to the Lucky plaza that kept the 90s’ feeling in stark contrast to the New Town Plaza, which change every season, next to it.
— Shan Law 3035566352
Appendix
Figure 10 Ko Chun hiding from killers. With scenes from ‘God of Gamblers’ 1989
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Figure 11 The staircase where Chun was hiding at.
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Figure 12 Another angle of the outdoor platform.
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Figure 13 Another angle of the outdoor platform.With scenes from ‘God of Gamblers’ 1989.
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Figure 14 The 4 escalator setup remains the same.
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Figure 15 4 escalators in Lucky Plaza. With scenes from ‘God of Gamblers’ 1989.
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Figure 16 Car park with low ceiling height.
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In conducting the field work, you have been conscientious in the details, in matching the shots and capturing the camera angles and perspectives – stairs, outdoor passage, escalator and carpark – of Lucky Plaza. A good attempt to locate Knife’s house. Is this your original photograph (Figure 3) from across the lake? Consider the ideas/theories/concepts from the coursework that can be applied in your analysis of the actual sites. How are the seemingly ordinary, everyday spaces of Lucky Plaza presented in the film and how do they differ from the real locations that you have visited? What remains constant is that the film does not change the meanings or purposes of Lucky Plaza, which is a commercial space of consumption. Rather, it simply uses these spaces for heightened dramatic sequences – for plot build-up or chases etc. With regard to your closing statement, further comparison of Lucky Plaza & new town plaza will be useful to clarify your point on how the former “kept its 90s feel” while the latter does not (?). Clear writing.