You might have heard about the recent release of a movie called “Ghost in the Shell” that is currently in cinemas, starring actress Scarlett Johansson in the live-action remake of the iconic anime.
Prior to its release, “Ghost in the Shell” attracted a fair deal of controversy over Johansson being cast as a Japanese character, and since its premiere, the film’s also received criticism for trying to dumb down the source material’s complicated philosophical and existential themes for Hollywood audiences, whilst pleasing fans of the original cult classic.
Sadly, it failed on both fronts, but whitewashing shitstorm and cinematic miscarriage aside, Ghost in the Shell is a striking spectacle to behold. It always gets us excited to see Hong Kong on the big screen, as it is easily one of the most visually dramatic cities in the world, and we’ve been waiting to see how this would come out since Johansson was in town to shoot it last year.
Although it’s hard to recognise Hong Kong underneath all the layers of CGI, we’ve mapped out all the Hong Kong locations for you here. You’re welcome.
1. Des Voeux Road, Central
2. Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
3. North Point Waterfront
4. Lippo Centre, Admiralty
5. Tsuen Wan Cemetery:
6. Montane Mansion, Quarry Bay
7. Yau Ma Tei Market
8. Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay
Check out the full interactive map below:
A number of other key Hong Kong locations are also overlaid with CGI in the film, such as the much-Instagrammed Lai Tak Tsuen, but since we don’t want to spoil the flick, we’ll let you watch it and find out the rest for yourself. Here’s a fantastic video comparing the original anime film with Hong Kong locations, by filmmaker Edwin Lee:
https://vimeo.com/33655609
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