Locations

In the Special Features section of the DVD, one of the producers states that the movie's exteriors were shot in the largest set he had ever seen. Entire streets were recreated (with false fronts, of course) and some shots were enhanced with computer-generated backgrounds, such as a crane shot of military trucks driving over a metal bridge, with 1940s Shanghai on the other side of the river.

Only the Hong Kong scenes used "real" locations: the university scenes like the auditorium where they rehearsed/performed their play were shot in the actual Hong Kong university (still exists, name changed); while the red light district & other street scenes were shot in a Malaysia where some of the streets, etc. still have that British Colonial look.

The outdoor Shanghai scenes are mainly shot with sets (historic recreation of 1930s-40s Nanjing Road) because so many changes have taken place-- but if you actually go to Nanjing Road in Shanghai today, you should still be able to "connect" the movie with the spanking clean shopping street you see.


"I don't go to movies to escape reality: I go to experience life in a raw, intense way"-- S. Copley