It changed the way Hollywood looked at cops at a time when policemen were being called pigs. "He always said that this movie was a western in which he would strap on a car like a gun belt.". The classic car chase scene in the 1968 film Bullitt really needs no introduction. In exchange, Solar hired extras from poverty areas at full union scale. ", By clicking Sign Up, you agree to the Terms of Use. In regard to Bullitt badging, there’s a gun-sight graphic mounted in the center of the GT500 leather-wrapped steering wheel with the word “Bullitt” prominently featured. In reality, three drivers--McQueen, Ekins, and Lofton--drove the Mustang in the chase scene and Loren Janes, McQueen's longtime stunt double, was underneath those airliner wheels on the runway. The bad guys drive a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum. Warner Bros. didn't appreciate the effort and ordered Solar back home during the first month of production, suggesting that the rest of the movie, including the car chase, could be duplicated on a Burbank back lot. Bullitt is first seen at work when meeting Chalmers on a Friday morning - wearing a traditionally conservative navy suit under his trench coat, with a white shirt, dark tie and dress shoes. Even after 30 years, it's the car chase most remembered, admired, and copied. When we can see into the Charger, either the actor is leaning against the door or we see the dummy sitting about a third of … Heavy-duty front coils were installed, along with a thicker anti-roll bar and Koni shocks. The Charger went behind the gas pumps but the special effects team ignited the charges anyway. The watch is different on Ekins' right arm from McQueen's. He suggested Bullitt's turtleneck-and-open-jacket look. Speeds well over 100 mph required a special camera car built by Pat Hustis. The 11-minute car chase in Bullitt, which had no dialogue and just the sound of two howling V8s, was added as an afterthought by the film’s director, the late Peter Yates. "They told him to do it," proclaims Ekins. The car chase scene from Bullitt looks about as real as it gets. McQueen was overly sensitive about stunt doubles, especially when it involved motorcycles and cars. When city officials were first approached about shooting in the streets of San Francisco, they balked at the proposed high speeds and the idea of filming part of the chase on the Golden Gate Bridge. One evening, he went motorcycle riding with Don Gordon, who played his partner Delgedi. Mike Magda writers. We see Bullitt’s dark green 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback at minute forty-seven of a nearly two-hour film, but the car chase doesn’t start till an hour and five minutes in when Bullitt exits Robert Duvall’s cab, gets into his own Mustang and spots a tail, a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 R/T and other times just a Dodge Charger if you’re looking hard enough. In the first draft of "Bullitt", adapted from Robert L. Pike's novel "Mute Witness", Det. They were denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge. Thiago Delbert. 4:25. Automotive journalist Nina Padgett, who conducted many interviews with Lofton, says McQueen knew he was having problems after watching the rushes (raw footage of the previous day's filming) each morning. Pat Hustis, the builder and driver of the high-speed camera car, said McQueen told him, "I want the audience to know what it's like to do this.". During the chase scene, when Bullitt first begins to ram the Charger, the passenger with the shotgun has just climbed part way into the back seat of the car to fire at Bullitt. "Peter was not comfortable with strong women," counters Trustman. It took numerous attempts to get the right action at some locations as the crew worked with McQueen. And, of course, that feisty VW kept showing up as film editor Frank Keller took full advantage of the great action and eight camera angles from the one take of the downhill scene. Dangerous Pursuit: The real truth behind the "Bullitt" chase scene Steve McQueen and his green Mustang defined on-screen car chases for a generation. This was in 1968 but it still is just as thrilling and exciting to watch as it was back when it came out! He lost control of a four-wheel drift around a hard right corner and crashed into a '56 Ford, knocking out a remote camera mounted in front. "We may have told Bill to hit the car," recalls Yates, "but we didn't tell him to take out the camera." While the motorcycle scene was nearly flawless, other parts of the chase did have continuity problems in the final screen version. Sharp eyes can notice the GT rear valance with its exhaust cutouts on one of the Mustangs in some scenes. QUMOX 64GB MICRO SD MEMORY CARD CLASS 10 UHS-I 64 GB SPEICHERKARTE HighSpeed Write Speed 20MB/S. ", "The first script was quite terrible," remembers Yates. "When he came back, he said this would be a great spot to see cars flying off the hill. The editing of the famous chase scene was not without difficulties; Ralph Rosenblum wrote in 1979 that "those who care about such things may know that during the filming of the climactic chase scene in Bullitt, an out-of-control car filled with dummies tripped a wire which prematurely sent a costly set up in flames, and that editor Frank Keller salvaged the near-catastrophe with a clever and unusual … © 2021 MotorTrend | MOTOR TREND GROUP, LLC. Classic Movie Hub. We were all part of a film that set the standards much higher. "We decided at that point there would be no camera tricks," says Fraker. Even today, Yates maintains that the car chase was never in any Trustman script, but Flaxman confirms that the chase was in the first draft he read. Those cars were actually driving at speeds of and up to 110mph - … Frank Bullitt’s car is a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback. When the Charger does a U-turn on what is Precita Avenue to follow the Mustang, a storage tank on Potrero Hill, in the southeast part of SF, is visible in the distance. Also, the rearview mirror is turned away when Ekins drives, otherwise it reflects McQueen's face. Eventually, it was McQueen's inability to pull off the stunts that forced Lofton to replace him with Bud Ekins, McQueen's longtime friend who performed the famous motorcycle jump in "The Great Escape.". All the cars were reshod with Firestone tires, and the Mustang received American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels. McQueen and Yates have different versions of the chase's inception. The chase sequence takes place over a number of non-contiguous streets in and south of San Francisco. In numerous interviews at the time, including talks with Motor Trend, McQueen stressed that the chase was his idea and he instructed the writer to include it in the script. He suggested a Dodge Charger. Some critics complain that the Mustang upshifts so many times it sounds as if it has a six-speed transmission, but most of the sounds fit the scenes perfectly, including the tires barking during gear changes and the rpm shifts during speed changes. The chase continued on the outskirts of the city toward the airport. ", Flaxman sold the rights to independent producer Phil D'Antoni, who in turn pitched the screenplay to Solar Productions, a company formed by McQueen and Robert Releya. Dangerous Pursuit: The real truth behind the "Bullitt" chase scene. For the final crash and explosion, a dummy gas station was constructed. Bullitt’s reverse burnout during the chase scene actually wasn’t in the script – Steve McQueen had mistakenly missed the turn. It was a cutting-edge film that premiered in a turbulent year that shaped a socially conscious generation's values, music, and lifestyles. August 7, 2017 In the 1968 American thriller Bullitt, a Dodge Charger of the same year became the center of attention in the infamous car chase scene. Below are some photos of places featured in the film as they appeared in 1968, and more recently in July and September of 2002. Stunt driver Hustis got close enough at speed for Cinematographer William Fraker to record some dramatic shots, including the shotgun blast that was just inches away from the camera lens. Other movies have had more flips, crashes, explosions, and all-around destruction, but "Bullitt" was a milestone, serving notice to Hollywood that reality was a quality audiences would enjoy. The cat-and-mouse game between the cars after leaving the car wash was the first priority and help set up the rivalry. McQueen and his company convinced San Francisco's mayor to open up the city, allowing them use of the police station, hospital, airport, and, of course, the streets. Lofton finished up with a few spins through the dirt, including a perfect spindle-breaking stop in a ditch just inches away from Fraker's camera. https://didyouknowfacts.com/10-of-the-greatest-car-chases-in-movie-history With its innovative use of small remote cameras mounted inside the cars during the chase, "Bullitt" was the forerunner of the concept of virtual reality. "Without the Golden Gate Bridge, it made us take advantage of the hills," says Fraker. The Hollywood publicity machine and McQueen stressed that he did all of his own stunt work in the chase and during the dangerous airport runway scene. Most of the time, such as when the hitmen lose Bullitt, just before the chase begins, we see the hitman with his right shoulder leaning on the passenger door. Ironically, mistakes, such as McQueen locking the tires and backing up in tire-hopping anger (one of the only "speeded-up" scenes), play an important part in the reality of the chase. The sequence apparently starts under Highway 101 in the Mission District. As with Bullitt, The French Connection (also produced by Bullitt's producer, Philip D'Antoni) is famed for its car-chase sequence. He also fashioned a strong female companion who was so tangled in the plot that she was killed in the final scene. Bullitt's reverse burnout during the chase scene actually wasn't in the script -. “Bullitt” lettering is also found on the car’s metal sill plates. The entire chase is said to have been done in real time, not edited or sped up via film technique. The BULLITT chase scenes were shot around Easter of 1968. The car itself is a stunning ’69 Black Charger with a 500ci engine and nice wheels, but besides the black paint there is no reason to tie this car with the one from Bullitt. Ask any automotive enthusiast what his or her favorite chase scene to appear in a movie is, and the majority will respond with "Bullitt." Twenty-one seconds later, Coit Tower appears in the Mustang's front window to the east (as can be ascertained by the buildings' shadows). ", "Steve was very clear," adds his former production partner, Robert Releya. After seeing major automotive sites publish a story referring to a multiple-celebrity owned 1969 Dodge Charger as “Bullitt-Spec”. Flaxman asked Alan Trustman, who wrote "The Thomas Crown Affair," to develop a screenplay from the book with Steve McQueen in mind as the lead. While these minor flaws generated criticism, they didn't keep Keller from winning an Academy Award for editing the film. They were denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge. The Mustang's 390-cubic-inch/325-horse engine received milled heads and ignition and carburetor upgrades, but could never really keep pace with the stock 440-cubic-inch/375-horsepower Dodge. From the in-car shots of McQueen spinning brodies in the dirt to Hickman's smirk reaction as he sees the dust clouds in his mirror, the scene flows effortlessly. Other than that, the car’s interior is … Frank Bullitt was a Boston policeman who ate a lot of ice cream and never solved a case. Finally, McQueen blew a turn once too often, and, according to Ekins, Lofton yelled, "Get him out of the car. That’s… They drive downhill or north, towards the Bay, and turn west in. "It was part of spirit of the chase. Hickman and McQueen tested their cars at Cotati Raceway north of San Francisco a few days before shooting the chase scenes began. This teamwork was never more apparent than when McQueen had an idea for Ekins. None of the crew members recalls the moment so dramatically, but Bud Ekins was eventually called on to handle the trick assignments. With so much attention drawn from the boys in blue, it was only a matter of time when the crew would run out of honesty. I didn't want a crash derby.". All the suspension parts were Magnafluxed to check for weakness, and Balchowski reinforced all the lower control arms. McQueen handled much of the Mustang's high-speed driving, but Ekins worked the bumping scenes with the Charger. For the Charger, he twisted the front torsion bars up for a little extra ground clearance, added Koni shocks, and swapped in NASCAR-stiff rear springs. Kean was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the film. "it will take off at the intersections and fly through the air." "He drove in scenes that required closeups - but not in the ones that could kill him." McQueen had a horrid reputation for challenging directors, but he worked extremely well with Yates and the crew. The "Bullitt" saga started with movie agent John Flaxman who had the rights to a Robert Pike novel called "Mute Witness." "Looking back 30 years, 'Bullitt' is a very important piece of film," says Assistant Director Walter Hill, who later directed action hits "Hard Times," "The Warriors," and "48 Hours." The director called for speeds of about 75-80 mph, but the cars (including the ones containing the cameras) reached speeds of over 110 mph. All Rights Reserved. Many better movies have been made since—BUT NONE—will ever compare to that chase scene. Watching Steve McQueen speed through the streets of 1960’s San Francisco in his 380-powered 1968 Mustang GT Fastback is about as cool as you can get! Watching Steve McQueen in a classic Ford Mustang chase after a Dodge Charger through the streets of … Regardless of who conceived the idea, there's little question that a car chase plan was put into action well before the crew went to San Francisco in February 1968. Here’s a tidbit you probably never knew: Frank Bullitt was supposed to actually star in SIX different films. The wonderful shot of the Mustang appearing in the Charger's rearview mirror was Fraker's idea and it took a number of attempts to get timing and focus down. Eventually, it was agreed to keep the chase within only a few city blocks. "I admired the skills needed for driving. 5:23. - In front of the hotel on Embarcadero at night, little can be seen of the car. Frank Bullitt's car is a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback. They then come to a stop for a Cable Car on Hyde Street and Filbert. The French Connectionfeatures all the hallmarks of a great Hollywood car chase: "He kept asking for rewrites to weaken the female character.". Lofton also designed the zany/legendary car chase in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Pressure to finish the shooting schedule with a dramatic car chase was intense. Say what you will, but the facts remain, "I called a friend who had a motorcycle shop and asked him to send over a BSA 750 and a set of leathers.". Reception Box office. It has made the top 5 in every list covering the best automotive chase scenes in history. Before leaving, however, Trustman learned that Solar was going to film the movie entirely on location in San Francisco. After Keller and Yates finished editing the chase, John Kean went to work recording and mixing in the sound of the revving engines and squealing tires. Get the behind the scenes view of arguably the most iconic automotive movie car and scene in history.
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