Noble House: Macau

In the third episode of Noble House, starring Pierce Brosnan, Ian Dunross and Miss Casey make a trip to Macau when Dunross needs to speak with Lando Mata, a Portuguese born in Macau who controls the gambling concession. Lando sends his Rolls Royce to pick up Dunross and Casey. They pass a few famous landmarks in the city of Macau on the way to Lando's home.

Briefly seen is the ruin of St. Paul's, a 17th century Portuguese cathedral located in one of the oldest parts of Macau. The ruin was once part of a 16th century complex including of what was originally St. Paul's college and the cathedral. Finished in 1602 St. Paul's was one of the biggest catholic churches in Asia. The cathedral was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835 and the facade was the only thing that survived.

The Rolls Royce is also driving past Casino Lisboa in the center of Macau. Casey thinks she's in Las Vegas and Dunross points out that the gentlemen in Las Vegas probably could learn a thing or two from Macau. The Casino Lisboa is one of the most famous hotel casinos in Macau and the round hotel tower seen in Noble House was built in the 1970's by Stanley Ho. In competition with Wynn Macau, a big extension was added to Casino Lisboa in 2006, the Grand Lisboa.

Lando Mata's house was not located in Macau, these scenes were filmed on the south side of Hong Kong Island. But an interesting Bond reference in Noble House is the fact that Dunross and Casey visit the floating Macau Palace casino. The same casino Bond visits in The Man with the Golden Gun. 

The Grand Lisboa and the original Casino Lisboa from Noble House to the right.

Macau was the last remaining European colony in Asia when Portugal handed it over to the Peoples Republic of China in 1999. Dunross tells Casey that the Portuguese had tried to give Macau back already in 1974 but that the Peoples Republic had refused to accept it then.

Portuguese Macau



"-But what the hell is Lazar? 
         -Not what, who; a Portuguese, lives in Macau." 
                         Bond to Calthorpe

In The man with the golden gun, Bond goes to Macau to find the weapons and munitions manufacturer Lazar who allegedly has manufactured the golden bullets for Scaramanga. Bond is driven to Lazar's gun shop in a cycle rickshaw, but just before he arrives he passes in front of a casino called Casino de Macau. This scene was shot on location just in front of the floating casino called 'Casino Macau Palace', or 'Casino de Macau' which evidently was the name in 1974. Today, the pedal driven taxi is a tourist attraction in Macau and if you want to try one, you will probably pay about five times more than a regular taxi.

So far this location has been one of the hardest to identify, partly because of the insufficient information about the casino but also because of the very few exterior shots. However, a few old photographs proved to be most helpful and made it possible to determine the location.

Original picture website

In the picture to the left the name on the sign says 'Casino Macau Palace' and if this was the name before or after The man with the golden gun is unknown. But the sign and entrance are the only things from the exterior of the casino that can be recognized from the film, even though the name has been changed. The picture below makes it possible to determine the exact spot where the casino was located, namely along Rua das Lorchas, between Ponte No 12 and 14.

Original picture website

The original casino was moored along the quay in the inner harbor, just opposite the buildings that can be found at 220 Rua das Lorchas today. Bond questions Lazar about by whom the golden bullets will be collected, in order to track down Scaramanga. Lazar claims that he delivers them in the casino, without specifying which casino. It is implied that it is the floating Macau Palace that Lazar is referring to since the sign has already been pictured.



"-Who collects them? 
-I swear I do not know! My instructions are to go to the casino and deliver them, get paid and then vanish."
                -Bond questions Lazar-




Only a few scenes from the interior of the casino is seen in the film. In his book: 'My word is my Bond', Sir Roger writes about the casino where you place your bet through an opening in the roof, which indicate that these scenes were filmed on location in Macau. But since the real casino is gone it is impossible to determine where.

Up until some years ago, Macau still had a floating casino with the same name as the original; Casino Macau Palace. Although the building was new (or at least renovated), as seen in the picture below, the casino was located in the same place as the original. But it also had another location, namely in an area called Fisherman's Wharf, very close to the ferry terminal, where it probably was located up until its retirement. I have not been able to determine for how long the casino was located there, but today the floating 'Macau Palace' is anchored in the inner harbor, in the north western part of the Macau peninsula and it looks like it has been out of business for quite some time.

  "I hate to interrupt your dinner but does señor Lazar live here? Lazaaar..?!"
                           -Bond to a Chinese family-

Avenida Amizade opposite Jai Alai Casino

This is the old location of 'Macau Palace Casino' where it was located up until a few years ago, before it was towed away to its present "resting place" in the inner harbor. If the casino currently is being renovated and awaits a reopening is not clear, but the activity during my visit last year was very low. One can only hope that it will be reopened and moved to its original location. 








One of the many references to the past Bond films that can be found in Skyfall is the fact that Bond again ends up at a floating casino in Macau. The "Floating dragon" casino seen in Skyfall is a fictitious casino that was created in studio for the film, but I think it is obvious that the inspiration for the building comes from the original 'Macau Palace Casino'.

Casino 'Floating dragon' in Skyfall

Macau

In Skyfall, Bond follows the lead from Patrice (our Swedish pride Ola Rapace) to China. After killing him off in Shanghai, Bond finds a casino chip in Patrice's case, from the Floating Dragon Casino in Macau. This is the payment for the murder he has committed in Shanghai just before Bond throws him out the window. The case has supposedly been handed to Patrice by Severine at the Shanghai airport, but this scene was cut from the finished film. Bond goes to the casino in Macau to cash the chip, hoping to come across Severine's employer.

In the establishing shot over Macau and in the following scenes the filmmakers make it look like something from the time of the opium war. This portrayal as an old Chinese city is highly inaccurate since Macau in reality is Asia's response to Las Vegas with grand casinos and neon lights. Like Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region of China, but until 1999 it was a Portuguese colony and gambling was  made legal under Portuguese rule. For decades Macau has been heavily dependent on the casino business and the revenue is higher than the revenue from entire Las Vegas.

The skyline used in the film is not real and it is very hard to identify anything from the top picture. Since none of the scenes in the film were shot on location in Macau, the establishing shot is most likely something that was made via computer. What idea production designer Gassner had when he created Macau is not known to me. Most likely they felt that Macau would be more exotic portrayed like something from the colonial era. It is a shame, because Macau is an amazing city with almost 500 years of Portuguese influence in architecture and some of the real parts would certainly have been exotic enough for the film. Although it would have been harder to get away with the interior design in Bond's hotel suite and in the casino if the modern "Vegas-style" Macau had been portrayed for real.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bond on the big screen, Skyfall is filled with references from Bond's past, and the location of Macau is undoubtedly a reference to The man with the golden gun, in which Bond visits the then Portuguese colony for the first time. In both films Bond is following the lead of an assassin to Macau, the first of course being Scaramanga and now Patrice in Skyfall. On both occasions Bond is also visiting a floating casino.

The real skyline of Macau and one of the three bridges that connects the Macau peninsula with Taipa

The Portuguese settled in Macau in the mid 16th century and rented it from the Chinese empire as a trading port. At first it was administered by the Portuguese under Chinese authority but in 1887 they established it as a colony under the Portuguese empire. Macau was handed back to China in 1999, and was the last remaining European colony in China. Under the policy 'one country - two systems', Macau still maintains a high degree of autonomy with their own currency, police force, legal system and immigration policy, even though China is responsible for the territory's defence and foreign affairs.

Apart from that, Portuguese is still an official language (besides Chinese) and remains from Portugal can still be found all over the city.

A city in China or in southern Portugal?

I have been to Macau on four different occasions and each time is a renewed pleasure. The city has a lot of nice streets, several beautiful squares and many remains from the colonial era. With Portuguese street names and buildings that look like something straight from Portugal you sometimes get the feeling of southern Europe when strolling around town. Alongside Hong Kong, Macau is definitely one of the coolest cities in Asia, and a must visit. If you explore the city properly you will agree that this is an experience beyond the ordinary. A trip to Portugal's last colony in Asia will be worth your wile. With the jet hydrofoil it takes you an hour to get to Hong Kong, the same trip that Bond made in The man with the golden gun 1974.

Bond's hotel in Macau in the film 

The fictitious casino Floating Dragon 

Sadly, neither Bond's hotel or he casino from the film are real and Macau does not look at all like in the film.

Arriving in Hong Kong - The Macau Ferry pier

In The man with the golden gun, Bond travels back to the British territory of Hong Kong after a quick visit in Portuguese Macau. So basically Bond is traveling within Europe. He arrives at the 'Hong Kong - Macau ferry pier' in the Sheung Wan district on Hong Kong Island.

The only building that is still recognizable and that makes it possible to identify the place is ''The Western Market'' along Connaught Road Central. This building is one of the oldest surviving structures in Sheung Wan and the oldest market building in the city. Originally consisting of two blocks, the South Block, built in 1858, was demolished in 1980 and replaced by the Sheung Wan Complex. But the North Block is of more interest for us, since this is the building seen in the film. It was built in 1906 in an Edwardian style that was popular in England in the early 1900's.

It was a food market until 1988 and it was declared a national monument in 1990. Today the Western Market houses various souvenir shops, cafés, fabric merchants and a big restaurant on the top floor. The building is located at 323 Des Voeux Road Central, facing Connaught Road and occupies a whole city block.

This is what has happened to Hong Kong during the past 30+ years

It is an understatement to say that Hong Kong has changed since 1974... Apart from not being a British colony anymore, the entire city has been filled with skyscrapers and bigger roads. The Connaught Road Central is today an elevated highway that runs through the Sheung Wan district. But you can still find some gems from the past, for instance The Peninsula Hotel, that still keeps the British end up!

The red taxi Bond is getting into is a Datsun 200C. Today they have been replaced by the Toyota Crown Comfort taxis but they are still red in central Hong Kong and Kowloon. The central bus terminal that is seen behind Mary Goodnight (just opposite the terminal entrance in the film), has been moved to the left of the ferry terminal just by the water. The man powered rickshaws, seen in the background (and outside the bottoms up) exists nowadays only as a tourist attraction and are extremely expensive.

The sight of a British flagged hydrofoil is gone forever. 

Bond follows Miss Anders from Macau on the Jet Hydrofoil. The boat carries of course the red ensign of the British Empire and passes one of the outlying islands between Macau and Hong Kong. Which island, is yet to be confirmed. The route Hong Kong - Macau is still served several times a day by the boat companies TurboJET and First Ferry. I strongly recommend the 'super class' tickets when traveling to or from Macau. For an extra HK$100 you get a light meal, free beverages, coffe/tea and you get to sit on the upper deck of the hydrofoil.

When traveling from Macau you can either arrive at the the Macau ferry pier in central on Hong Kong Island or to the terminal in Kowloon. The terminal on Hong Kong Island is still located in the same place as it was in the film but the exterior has changed for obvious reasons. Today the ferry terminal is housed in a big shopping mall and the entrance is not as modest as it was in 1974. If you are in a hurry and have an extra 2000 HK$ to spare you can use the helicopter service available between Hong Kong and Macau. The flight takes about 15 minutes.

The company name ''Hong Kong Macau Hydrofoil Co. Ltd.'' seen on the sign above the entrance is a subsidiary of 'Shun Tak - China travel shipping investments Ltd.' and operates under the name TurboJET so the same ferry company used by Bond is still around today, though under a different name. The name Shun Tak can now be seen on the ferry terminal entrance, a nod to the old sign seen in the film.



Again, Director Guy Hamilton fails to show the beautiful parts of Hong Kong and the only establishing shot we get is the sign of the ferry company. Even the few minutes in Die Another Day is more appealing than the entire section of The man with the golden gun.

                    "Ahead you can now see Kowloon. And on your right, Hong Kong Island."
                                                 -Hydrofoil steward-

The tallest building in Hong Kong, ICC, is located on the Kowloon side and the skyscrapers to the right are located on Hong Kong Island. 


Welcome to Hong Kong Mr Nymberg...