The twin towers of Sts. Motorcycle Classics magazine reported the sale, observing the McQueen effect still obtains, meaning it went for 2 or 3 times the money it would have if he had not owned it once. They needed to be faster than street cars but also be able to take an enormous beating. He brought in Bill Hickman to play a part and drive the other car. Loftin recalls: I asked (the studio) what kind of guy were they looking for? At San Francisco International Airport, Delgetti and Bullitt watch the Rome gate. Two Mustangs and two Dodge Chargers were used for the famous chase scene. Like, the door handles came off, both the shocks in the front broke, the steering armature on the right front side broke and my slack was about a foot and a half. In 2001, the Ford Motor Company released the Bullitt edition Ford Mustang GT. Bennett confronts Bullitt and Delgetti in the presence of SFPD Captain Baker, who wants Chalmers' support for the department. From the interior shots looking forward inside the Mustang its easy to see which one is driving. McQueen gave the group a visual cameo appearance in the movie, "Bullitt," which was being filmed in San Francisco in April." It starts off in slow cat-and-mouse style, accompanied by a nerve-tingling Lalo Schifrin score, as Bullitt is tailed by two hit men. We stopped and brought in more stunt people and more cars and I think the theory was if anybody had a problem, theyd make a barricade out of the vehicles. Bullitt is a 1968 American dramatic thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip DAntoni. [32] In one scene, the Charger crashes into the camera; the damaged front fender is noticeable in later scenes. DePalma has done quite well by only stealing from the best. Bullitt - Car Chase - Complete. We did it several times. 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. I changed the distributor and all, but basically never had the engine apart on the Ford. Ron Riner remembers the stock Mustang had undercarriage modifications, not only for the movie, but for Steve McQueen. Well, I said, hes sitting right here. Well that was a great turn of events. We werent even using a big super Panavision or anything. Also set in San Francisco: Whats up, Doc. [19] Joe Levine, whose Embassy Pictures had distributed Robbery, did not much like the film, but Alan Trustman, who saw the picture the very week he was writing the Bullitt chase scenes, insisted that McQueen, Relyea, and D'Antoni (none of whom had ever heard of Yates) see Robbery and consider Yates as director for Bullitt. Loren Janes tells up, Carey Loftin was easily the best car man in the business. The Mustang was really just starting to fall apart., There was an incident which alerted the crew to take extra precautions while doing the car chase. Im with Hartmann on this one. Mr. Riner posed an interesting premise: did you realize that there wouldnt be an 01 car (the General Lee in Dukes of Hazzard) if we hadnt done BULLITT and Dodge hadnt sold so many Chargers?. Both the Mustang and Charger in Bullitt were heavily worked on. Frank Bullitts car is a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback. Bullitt was also the first film done with live sound, and the sounds of the road gradually overtake Lalo Schifrin's score. We trimmed the tires down (on the Charger), we practically made them down to bicycle tires to try and handicap Hickman, and Bill just run them. Carey Loftin also recalls, we test ran the car at Griffith Park near the Observatory, up a long hill. Of all the musclecars offered in the late sixties, why were these two cars chosen, and how were they modified to survive the torturous driving? In the emergency room operation scene, real doctors and nurses were used as the supporting cast. I thought wed mix up the cars. The two 1968, four-speed Mustang GT fastbacks were purchased primarily because, promotionally, they were the best deal at the time. One of the best wrenchmen in the movie business, Max Balchowsky, recalls the Mustang in particular needed considerable modifications so it could hold up during the relentless beatings it would take during the filming. To realize the famous scene of the pursuit. On Oct. 17, 1968, Steve McQueen roared into theaters with Bullitt, a car-chase-filled actioner that nabbed two Oscar nominations at the 41st Academy Awards. And Im doing some personal goal-post setting and trying to avoid the recent generation of films in the computer-graphics era (e.g., Fast and Furious, Gone in 60 seconds etc.). Although Steve McQueen was credited with the driving during the chase sequence it was actually shared by McQueen and Bud Ekins, one of Hollywoods best stunt drivers. Im with Hartmann on this one. Brit director Peter Yates set the industry standard for car chases in this San Francisco based police actioner.. Hed run into a parked car or hit a tree just to miss me. But, Bullitt is a dividing line car chase scenes after were and still are measured against the Bullitt chase scene. That was what shocked me and I didnt expect it, because we were using a 185 frame which is a very small frame. Finally, we spoke with Ron Riner, who acted as transportation coordinator for Warner Brothers on the BULLITT set. [41] This release also includes re-recordings of the 1968 soundtrack album arrangements for some tracks. There were car chase scenes in the movies long before Bullitt (lots of 'em), and there have been even more car chase scenes in the movies since Bullitt. Car chase scene in Bullitt - Credit: Solar and Warner Bros. Pictures 893 Filbert St Address 893 Filbert St San Francisco, CA 94133, USA Popular with locals and tourists alike for many years, the city's steep streets gained international fame thanks to Bullitt. Chalmers holds Bullitt responsible for the injuries to Ross. Relates Carey Loftin:The first thing Steve said was, he was going to do his own driving. I have not been able to find the entire movie. Shooting from multiple angles simultaneously and creating a montage from the footage to give the illusion of different streets also resulted in the speeding cars passing the same vehicles at several different times, including, as widely noted, a green Volkswagen Beetle. Its in the film, said Bud Elkins. They then come to a stop for a Cable Car on Hyde Street and Filbert. The Charger is just barely faster than the Mustang, with a 13.6-second quarter-mile to a 13.8-second. After the filming was complete, '559 was sold to Robert Ross,[70] who in turn sold the car in 1970 to Frank Marranca. 2018 Mustangs On The Move South Australia, Ford Introduces the Seventh Generation Mustang. | About Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact Us. The driver of the Charger is Bill Hickman, maybe the most famous stunt driver of all time, he also played important roles in the chase scenes in The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, among many others. Yeah, that was a good one! We did lose a lot of hubcaps on the Charger. The first was for the Europe-only 1997 Ford Puma, which featured a special-effects montage of McQueen (who died in 1980) driving a new Puma around San Francisco before parking it in a studio apartment garage beside the film Mustang and the motorcycle from The Great Escape. The Charger is just barely faster than the Mustang, with a 13.6-second quarter-mile to a 13.8-second. Or that the bus ofInto The Wild has been moved to discourage fans from spending the night there? Bud Ekins did that., In the Motor Trend interview, McQueen recalled there were some close calls and incidents that looked good on film but werent exactly planned to happen, some of which occurerd in the memorable downhill sequences. The website's critical consensus reads: "Steve McQueen is cool as ice in this thrilling police procedural that also happens to contain the arguably greatest car chase ever. The film was made by McQueen's Solar Productions company, with his partner Robert Relyea as executive producer. Want to know more about this location and its connection to Bullitt? Le stockage ou laccs technique est ncessaire pour crer des profils dutilisateurs afin denvoyer des publicits, ou pour suivre lutilisateur sur un site web ou sur plusieurs sites web des fins de marketing similaires. So when McQueen reported for duty to find stuntman Bud Ekins sitting in his car, dressed as McQueen, he was furious. The Untouchables does. According to Peter Yates, Steve McQueen made a point to keep his head near the open car window during the famous chase scene so that audiences would be reassured that it was he, not a stunt man, who was driving. Multiple takes were spliced into a single end product resulting in discontinuity: heavy damage on the passenger side of Bullitt's car can be seen much earlier than the incident producing it, and the Charger appears to lose five wheel covers, with different ones missing in different shots. Susan Encinas - Muscle Car Review, March 1987, View more fantastic advertising images in the Tunnel Ram Mustang gallery. [55] Bullitt producer Philip D'Antoni went on to film two more car chases, for The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, both set and shot in New York City. My dad bought a 65 off the showroom which was the family car until 73. According to Deadline, the new film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Bradley Cooper, is not a remake. V8 Ford Mustang GT Fastbacks (325hp) with four-speed manual transmissions were purchased by Warner Bros. for the film. What we found out was that there is none; it was pretty much a hit and miss thing and, as Ron Riner put it, other people have tried to put the same combination together to get the same results and havent really done it. Its someone you dont like who drinks as much as you do!. Longer, faster and more action packed than anything before it, the 10-minute car chase scenefeaturing McQueen as Lt. Frank Bullitt chasing a black Dodge Charger while behind the wheel of this 1968 Ford Mustang GTwas the first to use cameras in a way that put the audience right inside the cars and alongside the actors. At the time of the films release, the car chase scene generated a great amount of excitement. Directed by Peter Yates, the film stars detective Frank Bullitt played by Steve McQueen who did most of his own stunt driving in the iconic car chase featuring a Ford Mustang 390 GT and Dodge. [34] Ekins, who doubled for McQueen in The Great Escape sequence where McQueen's character jumps over a barbed-wire fence on a motorcycle, performs a lowsider crash stunt in front of a skidding truck during the Bullitt chase. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner was based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness, by Robert L. Fish, writing under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike. They were real good., Because some of the stunts were so well orchestrated, they did not look like stunts at all. Over the years, fans have asked questions about the two cars used in the movie, a 1968 Dodge Charger and a 1968 Mustang GT. [citation needed] Prior to filming, the cars were modified by Max Balchowsky. There may have been chase scenes before, but nothing before or since has equaled the intensity and impact of BULLITT. I was sitting 3 or 4 rows in front of him (McQueen) and when it was over, he came down, stuck out his hand, and said, Mr. McQueen hadnt planned on having a stunt driver. "British Director to Film U.S. Dilemma" Lesner, Sam. Foreign Correspondent is a great movie and Hitchcock was a great director. [31] The sale made it the most expensive Ford in the world. The operator of the first camera said, Steves not getting his foot into it, hes a better driver than that. I went to Steve and said, you know Pat Houstis is a terrific driver. Steve said yeah, yeah he is. I said, he knows responsibility too. An accident would have ruined the cars, and we were slated for Monday morning, 6:00 a.m. to start shooting. An extended chase ensues, through the streets of San Francisco and on to Brisbane, where the Dodge crashes off the road, killing its occupants in a fiery explosion. Peter Yates directed the Steve McQueen classic, Bullitt, in 1968, and fans obsess over every frame of the movie. Im with Hartmann on this one. Among all of Hollywoods road movies, BULLITT unquestionably made film history with its original car chase sequences. There were THREE cars racing wildly through the streets of San Francisco, making car chase history, although only two are seen in the movie. Produced by a team of pop-culture specialists and enhanced by numerous anecdotes, Cult! Ford Mexicali. 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. "[48], In 2004, The New York Times placed the film on its list of the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. When Ekins is driving it is up, so his face is hidden. Percival(View Comment): The bad guys drive a 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum. Super Reviewer. Ross used Renick, a used car salesman from Chicago, to elude both the mob and Chalmers. The Untouchables does. The tracks on the soundtrack album are alternate versions of those heard in the film, re-recorded by Schifrin with leading jazz musicians, including Bud Shank (flute), Carol Kaye (electric bass), Ray Brown (bass), Howard Roberts (guitar), and Larry Bunker (drums).[40]. He said the cops were watching the action and werent watching the traffic and this motorcycle guy slipped through, and got into the scene and ended up in the picture. I said, you really think thats what happened? The extra said, I know, I saw it, I was there. And I said thats the way its supposed to look, because it wasnt supposed to look like a stunt. Ron Riner comments on the scene, I didnt know about the stunt and I was supposed to get the information!, There were THREE cars racing wildly through the streets of San Francisco, making car chase history, although only two are seen in the movie. Before Michael Bay brought nerve gas to Alcatraz, he had a Hummer wreak havoc on the streets of San Francisco. Bullitt is famous for its car chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, which is regarded as one of the most influential in film history. (Look up Odessa steps baby carriage if youve never heard of it). We use cookies to optimize our website and service. Chad McQueen and niece Molly McQueen (son and granddaughter of Steve), will be executive producers. In 2008, Motor Trend Magazine did an article promoting the 40th Anniversary Edition Bullitt Mustang. Fine, Loftin replied. The black Dodge Charger was driven by veteran stunt driver Bill Hickman, who played one of the hitmen and helped with the chase scene choreography. There may have been chase scenes before, but nothing before or since has equalled the intensity and impact of BULLITT. Robert Duvall has a small part as a cab driver who provides information to McQueen. The film will be an original story, not a remake of the original film. Popular with locals and tourists alike for many years, the citys steep streets gained international fame thanks to Bullitt. In addition, the two-CD set features the official soundtrack album, newly mixed from the 1" master tape. At the hotel, Bullitt finds a woman garrotted in her room. At the exit, Ross kills a deputy sheriff and is shot dead by Bullitt. To extend the length of the chase the cars are shown driving East then West and back and forth with each cut while supposedly heading only one way before the Charger crashes at the Parkways Eastern exit in Brisbane. You couldnt really remember the complete story, if somebody asked you, unless you read the script, because the script was much better and made more sense., As filming of the chase progressed, Loftin wanted to see the daily work (rushes). [56] Another version of the Ford Mustang Bullitt, which is closer to resembling the original film Mustang, was released in 2008, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the film. Remember that banging going down? Throughout the chase sequences, some of them were accidents but, they looked fantastic- Hickman was terrific.. They then are headed north and turn from Larkin St. onto Francisco St. headed west. Steve wanted to test the car. The Hollywood Reporter's original . In the scenes in the Charger with Hickman, he was scared to death. In 2016, though, Hugo Sanchez purchased a pair of Mustang coups from the backyard of a house near Los Cabos, Mexico. Bullitt is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni.The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. Also a San Francisco chase. Le stockage ou laccs technique qui est utilis exclusivement des fins statistiques. After losing control of his car and smashing into a parked vehicle, Steve McQueens then-wife Neile begged Peter Yates to use stuntmen. [45][46][47] At the time, Renata Adler made the film a New York Times Critics' Pick, calling it a "terrific movie, just right for Steve McQueen-fast, well acted, written the way people talk." [31][59][71] The Kiernans used it as a family vehicle before placing it in storage in 1980. He was still a kid., Balchowsky remembers I hardly had to anything to the Dodges engine, but what I was worried about was the strength of the front end. To shore up the front, Balchowsky revised the torsion bars, beefed up the control arms and added heavy duty shocks. I told Steve I knew a lot about camera angles and speeds to make it look fast. If we are going for purity, this one stunt at the end of the chase scene from the James Bond movie,The Man with the Golden Gun has my vote. When the police specify a package, they have more spring here, a little bigger brake there, a little bit more happening in the shocks, and it makes a good car. We also interviewed Max Balchowsky, the man responsible for maintaining the Mustang GT and the Charger throughout the filming. In 2020, one of the fastbacks was sold at Mecum Auctions for a record price of $3.7 million. (The bottom of the stores name can be seen as the Dodge veers onto Marina.) [12][13][14][15], In 2007, Bullitt was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[16][17]. All rights reserved. Bullitt movie clips: http://j.mp/2jsMrf9BUY THE MOVIE: http://bit.ly/2jxFNUNDon't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6prCLIP DESCRIPTION:Bullit. But the director of BULLITT wanted a brand new car instead of an ex-police car, so I got the springs from a friend at Chrysler. and if you can run a car real hard up and down that hill its working pretty good., The day before the chase scenes were to be filmed, we went up to Santa Rosa and rented the track,said Balchowsky. In a magazine article many years later, one of the drivers involved in the chase sequence remarked that the Charger - with a larger engine (big-block 440 cu. He flowed well with the car. Also on hand was the late Bill Hickman, the fantastic stunt driver who would handle the menacing Dodge Charger in BULLITT. Billy Fraker, the cinematographer for the film, attributed the success of the chase sequence primarily to the work of the editor, Frank P. Keller. For Both of you, the famous Baby Carriage scene from Battleship Potemkin 1925 (Eisenstein): And all these are sort of like the Wilhelm scream an in joke for movie buffs, I think. There seemed to be a general atmosphere of professionalism and mutual admiration on the set. But the movie's other star was its 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback. What if we also took you behind the scenes of the making of the Hobbits village of Lord of the Rings ? In 2009, the never-before-released original recording of the score heard in the movie, recorded by Schifrin on the Warner Bros. scoring stage with engineer Dan Wallin, was made available by Film Score Monthly. 33. The other hitman was played by Paul Genge, who played a character who had ridden a Dodge off the road to his death in an episode of Perry Mason ("The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise") two years earlier. I let him go ahead and tell it. Two hitmen burst in shooting Stanton in the leg and Ross in the shoulder. As director Peter Yates prepared to begin filming the chase scenes, there were four drivers, McQueen, Bud Ekins, Bill Hickman, and in a few scenes, Carey Loftin. Since the dawn of cinema, films have invaded the world and highlighted sometimes unexpected places. Unfortunately for him, ambitious senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn), the head of the aforementioned subcommittee, wants to shut his investigation down, hindering Bullitt's plan to not only bring the killers to justice but discover who leaked the location of the hideout.CREDITS:TM \u0026 Warner Bros. (1968)Cast: Steve McQueen, John Aprea, Bill HickmanDirector: Peter YatesProducers: Philip D'Antoni, Robert E. RelyeaScreenwriters: Alan Trustman, Harry Kleiner, Robert L. FishWHO ARE WE?The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. We're going to, ahem, bite the bullet, by naming it the best movie car chase of all time. He then sent the cars to Ralph Garcia to start work on turning one into a clone of the Eleanor Mustang from the movie, Gone in 60 Seconds. Well, I wasnt going to argue, so I said, okay, fine. McQueens stint as a stunt driver didnt last long, however. Id rather have his girlfriend with or without the car. 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. Wed put the hubcaps back on, but I suppose it probably would have been better if we had left them off., Ill tell you this, said Max Balchowsky, I was really impressed with the Mustang after I got done with it. With the next cut they turn in front of the Safeway again. Bullitt movie clips: http://j.mp/2jsMrf9BUY THE MOVIE: http://bit.ly/2jxFNUNDon't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6prCLIP DESCRIPTION:Bullitt (Steve McQueen) refuses to back down when the Charger trying to follow him takes it up a notch, leading to a chase through the streets of San Francisco.FILM DESCRIPTION:In one of his most famous roles, Steve McQueen stars as tough-guy police detective Frank Bullitt. There's nothing to suggest that the as yet un-named, new Frank Bullitt movie will include a chase sequence. "[15], The chase scene starts at 1:05:00 into the film. He was excellent.. Bill came in with the Charger, Riner said. The next morning they were spraying my hair down and cutting it. No one has duplicated the electricity or the savage ferocity that manifested itself in BULLITT chase scenes, and its doubtful anyone ever will. They drive downhill or north, towards the Bay, and turn west in front of the same Caddy, several blocks north of Van Ness. It's the longest car chase scene in film history, surpassing the other famous and exciting car chase, in William Friedkin's 1971 Oscar winning, The French Connection. [52] Frank P. Keller won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Film Editing, and it was also nominated for Best Sound. This car chase brought all the attention to this movie. Together, car and driver were the epitome of old . It worked out really good, Loftin said with a smile. Recalls Carey Loftin: Several years after BULLITT, an extra (on another set) was talking about BULLITT, and he was saying how it was amazing how accidents get into films and he said that the best one he ever saw was the scene where Bud Elkins did the spill off the motorcycle. One of his former machines just sold at auction. Graysmith, Robert. A true feat that is still cited today as an example by filmmakers around the world. in. When McQueen is driving the rear view mirror is down reflecting his face. Ronin (1998) has several good chases. Here we collect the 33 best car chases ever put in movies, and rank them all. Remarkably cut out, the chase is on the other hand freed from any geographical reality. Bullitt is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film[4] directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. After two or three time we almost had to bodily put tranquilizers in him, and put him in the car. It appears in the Movie Stars category, along with other famous cars such as the Ford Torino from Starsky & Hutch and the Ford Mustang Mach 1 from Diamonds Are Forever. Said Ron Riner, "Pat Houstis was excellent and he was in his prime at the time." Unfortunately, the Charger missed the station, but the charges were set off and the explosion, thanks to some deft film editing, had the desired effect and was added to the movie. Sanchez and Garcia are now in the process of giving the car a full restoration. A chase that is funny (and full of illogic) is from a movie Short Time (1990). Or is there an official count somewhere? [3], Bullitt was well received by critics, and is considered by some to be one of the best films of 1968. We had to weld reinforcements under the arms and stuff on the Dodge. The Bullitt chase is archetypal, easily the best Ive ever seen. "[13] Emanuel Levy wrote in 2003 that "Bullitt contains one of the most exciting car chases in film history, a sequence that revolutionized Hollywood's standards. Because as we watched the rushes, you could hear a pin drop. You sent us to guard the wrong man, Bullitt tells Chalmers. So I was a little hesitant. [citation needed]. Due to the length of this part of the movie and the endless action in it, these . [64], Steve McQueen's likeness as Frank Bullitt was used in two Ford commercials. "The Rock" (1996) Nicolas Cage in "The Rock." Buena Vista Pictures. This was his personal car and he wasnt a rich guy, he didnt have a real nice car. Of all the musclecars offered in the late sixties, why [24] The film was shot entirely on location in San Francisco. The total time of the scene is 10 minutes and 53 seconds. But when a pair of hitmen ambush their secret location, fatally wounding Ross, things don't add up for Bullitt, so he decides to investigate the case on his own. To prepare himself, his crew and the cars for the movie sequence, McQueen and company went to the Cotati race course near San Francisco. Equally deserving of attention is the Dodge Charger R/T that was chasing the Mustang. With reviews like that, and sharing double billing with the hit BONNIE AND CLYDE, BULLITT devastated audiences with incredible scenes of leaping, screaming automobiles that seemed to fly off the screen. 562K views 2 years ago #SteveMcQueen #CarChase #60s A visual and verbal breakdown of the famous car chase to the 1968 American crime thriller starring Steve McQueen Bullitt. For example, additional sound was needed because on occasion a tire squeal was not picked up by the microphones. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner was based on the 1963 novel, Mute Witness, by Robert L. Fish, writing under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike. On the Mustang, Mr. Balchowsky recalls, everybody suggested I put a Holley on the Mustang, it was better than the Ford carburetor. In 2000, the original arrangements as heard in the movie were recreated by Schifrin in a recording session with the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, and released on the Aleph label. I cant really argue with Bullitt. Stunt coordinator Carey Loftin got Bud Ekins to drive the Mustang for the bulk of the stunts. I always felt a motor racing sequence in the street, a chase in the street, could be very exciting because you have the reality objects to work with, like bouncing off a parked car. Lt. Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) and his trusty 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback were definitely the stars of that scene. Hickman and Steve were buzzing around the tracks, and it was pretty even. The Dodge, which was practically stock, just left the Mustang like you wouldnt believe. Ron Riner has similar recollections. It never gets old watching that 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 and 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 race pell-mell through the streets of San Francisco. Im a sucker for espionage flicks set in Europe. [57][58] A third version was released in 2018 for the 2019 and 2020 model years. I didnt know if they wanted to go over 50 foot cliffs. Missing in action for nearly 40 years, the lost stunt car narrowly escaped the crusher. The problem never came up again, or I never saw a problem. Incredible, considering there were only two policemen on the scene as compared to the 40 policemen utilized for the chase in MAD MAD WORLD.