Loren Janes tells us, I loved to see a lot of the little things in Steves films. They really described Bill Hickman., Steve McQueen chats to young fans on location, The screenplay of the movie was written by Alan Trustman, based on the novel, Mute Witness by Robert L. Pike. Finally, we spoke with Ron Riner, who acted as transportation coordinator for Warner Brothers on the BULLITT set. We hopped it up because Steve wanted the car hopped up. A child, Riner told us, maybe five years old, came out of a building and stepped out on to the street. 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. [43] It grossed $210,000 in its first week, including a hall-record Saturday of $49,073. Though boasting many merits, Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen at top form, is best known for the famous car chase, which lasts 10 minutes and 53 seconds. I dont really know; but, if I had to pick one Id pick the chase scene from the 1968 movie Bullitt. Yes, they use tricks to make cars do things that are not physically possible, it is mostly quick cuts that I find annoying, and there are continuity problems (damage seen at one moment is not there in a subsequent scene), but the innovations the filmmakers developed to allow a camera to film the star in the car during the chase made the sequence very exciting. Feel free to put your two cents in on either your favorite car chase scene(s) or what you consider the best car chase scene from the movies. [31][59][71] The Kiernans used it as a family vehicle before placing it in storage in 1980. Ford Mexicali. And they described Bill Hickman, who was working on the LOVE BUG at the same time. Apparently the premise of the movie is that a police officer received a medical diagnosis that he has only a few months to live. The thirteen minute car chase is the famous centerpiece of the movie. Ive always had good luck with Fords, and didnt want to spend money if i didnt have to putting a Holley on. [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. My dad bought a 65 off the showroom which was the family car until 73. [citation needed]. In the ensuing decades, the car was assumed to be lost. To realize the famous scene of the pursuit, two Ford Mustang Fastback V8 GT 390 were lent by by the American brand to the production. McQueen, at the time a world-class race-car driver, drove in the close-up scenes, while stunt coordinator Carey Loftin, stuntman and motorcycle racer Bud Ekins, and McQueen's usual stunt driver, Loren Janes, drove for the high-speed parts of the chase and performed other dangerous stunts. The car chase can be seen playing on the screen in the drive-in theater scene in the 2014 film, Need for Speed. With the next cut they turn in front of the Safeway again. Im not going to cite a particular favorite, but this topic provides an opportunity to rant on how terrible most car chases have gotten since the advent of computer graphics. It is not cars but I always like this chase scene from Terminator 2. Cathy, who has followed him, is left horrified by the scene. Said Ron Riner, Pat Houstis was excellent and he was in his prime at the time. Carey Loftin has nothing but praise for Mr. Houstis and an amusing recollection. Also a San Francisco chase. The next morning they were spraying my hair down and cutting it. 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. 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. 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. A really good action movie IMO. Now think what hed do for the star? They turn hard left next onto a four-lane street with a concrete median, what might be Columbus. It was a Corvette chassis, and he had stripped all the stuff off and built a good suspension, good engine and everything. movies! The other less banged-up Mustang was purchased by a WB employee after all production and post-production was completed. It is located not far from the Saints Peter and Paul Church, a Roman style religious building, whose foundations date from 1884. Bullitt's chase was neitherit was shot in real time on city streets. "The Rock" (1996) Nicolas Cage in "The Rock." Buena Vista Pictures. 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? Of all the musclecars offered in the late sixties, why 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. No one has duplicated the electricity or the savage ferocity that manifested itself in BULLITT chase scenes, and its doubtful anyone ever will. Ross used Renick, a used car salesman from Chicago, to elude both the mob and Chalmers. There may have been chase scenes before, but nothing before or since has equaled the intensity and impact of BULLITT. Toschi later became famous, along with Inspector Bill Armstrong, as the lead San Francisco investigators of the Zodiac Killer murders that began shortly after the release of Bullitt. When Ekins is driving it is up, so his face is hidden. Originally printed in Muscle Car Review in 1987 - author: Susan Encinas, Where were you in 1968? Bullitt is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film[4] directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The chase sequence combined several locations, located miles apart and edited together. They scared the hell out of him. Toschi is played by Mark Ruffalo in the film Zodiac, in which Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) mentions that "McQueen got the idea for the holster from Toschi. The car ended up in New Jersey a few years later, where Steve McQueen attempted to buy it. He did a real good job on it. Le stockage ou laccs technique est strictement ncessaire dans la finalit dintrt lgitime de permettre lutilisation dun service spcifique explicitement demand par labonn ou lutilisateur, ou dans le seul but deffectuer la transmission dune communication sur un rseau de communications lectroniques. 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. He had a motorcycle collection. They turn north, then west, then south uphill. Brit director Peter Yates set the industry standard for car chases in this San Francisco based police actioner.. If there was an alley or any place that wasnt covered, theyd come and tell me. Also set in San Francisco: Whats up, Doc. Graysmith, Robert. 2 Choice", "Bullitt Doesn't Look So Slick On Google Maps", "Bullitt Chase Sequence Mapped, Proves a Tough Route", "Bullitt (1968): Famous Chase SceneEverything You Always Wanted to Know", "$3.7 million: Ford Mustang driven in the movie 'Bullitt' sells for record price", "Best Film Editing Sequences of All Time, From the Silents to the Present: Part 5", "The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made Reviews Movies New York Times", Meridian West Folk Jazz Ensemble with Allan Pimentel, "Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1968", "The 15 Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time", "The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners", "Watch The Bullitt Chase Remake From The Alcatraz Finale", "The Auto Channel Ford Mustang Bullitt (2001)", "Ford Mustang Bullitt Test Drive (with Burnout Video): L.A. Auto Show Preview", "The return of a Hollywood legend: Steve McQueen's Mustang", McQueen's '68 "Bullitt" Mustang Tribute Build, "Celebrity Rides: Hollywood's Speeding Bullitt", "The films that influenced Driver: San Francisco", "A Word from Our Sponsors Steve McQueen Drives a Puma", AutoBlog Ford Mustang Steve McQueen Ad Revealed, Bonhams Lot 100 From The Chad McQueen Collection: The Bullitt Jacket, "Steven Spielberg Developing New Movie Based On Classic Steve McQueen Character Frank Bullitt", "Bradley Cooper To Play Frank Bullitt In Steven Spielberg's New Original Movie Based On The Classic Steve McQueen Character", "Steve McQueen's Bullitt-Movie Mustang Suddenly Reappeared: This Is How It Happened", "1968 Ford Mustang Fastback (Bullitt '559)", "Ford Mustang found in Mexican junkyard is from 'Bullitt,' expert confirms", "Second 'Bullitt' Mustang movie car currently undergoing restoration", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bullitt&oldid=1137232854, This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 14:42. Pat Houstis, a terrific driver, had just built the camera car, and he showed it to me. You beat me to it. The BULLITT chase scenes were shot around Easter of 1968. So when McQueen reported for duty to find stuntman Bud Ekins sitting in his car, dressed as McQueen, he was furious. The authentication revealed this to be the lost Bullitt car. [citation needed] Prior to filming, the cars were modified by Max Balchowsky. An iconic film of the 1960s that helped nurture the aura of star Steve McQueen, Bullitt really came into its own with its impressive car chase through the steep streets of San Francisco. Director Yates' use of the new lightweight Arriflex cameras allowed for greater flexibility in location shooting. At the hotel, Bullitt finds a woman garrotted in her room. Frank Bullitts car is a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback. Often times 1968 cool does not resonate 50 years later . Chalmers suggests to Bullitt that the situation can be exploited to benefit both of them. 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. 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. It was done using a computer to calculate the ramps and launch speed required in a pre computer graphics era, and it was completed in a single shot. One of his former machines just sold at auction. 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. We did it several times. Bullitt gets a ride from his girlfriend, Cathy. Yates and Steve were particular. Bullitts reverse burnout during the chase scene actually wasnt in the script Steve McQueen had mistakenly missed the turn. Steve liked the sound of the car and he wanted mags. Find the whole story and 99 others in the book Cult! Popular with locals and tourists alike for many years, the citys steep streets gained international fame thanks to Bullitt. He was excellent.. The plane is ordered to return to the terminal. And he flipped it around and he slid in backwards. Rdacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dpareilles. 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. 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. Every film location has its secrets. Some score passages and cues are virtually identical to the official soundtrack album, while many softer, moodier cues from the film were not chosen or had been rewritten for the soundtrack release. Lalo Schifrin wrote the original jazz-inspired score, arranged for brass and percussion. Or sign in if you're already a member. Sure, Bullitt wins for a straight car chase but for a comic car chase,Blues Brothersrules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz81ZO0qfvI. Eventually, it was agreed to keep the chase within only a few city blocks. Missing in action for nearly 40 years, the lost stunt car narrowly escaped the crusher. [72] Kiernan's son, Sean, began to restore the car in 2014, and had it authenticated in 2016, with documentation that included McQueen's letter offering to purchase it. But, Bullitt is a dividing line car chase scenes after were and still are measured against the Bullitt chase scene. At the exit, Ross kills a deputy sheriff and is shot dead by Bullitt. Lost your password? On January 10, 2020, the car was sold by Mecum Auctions for $3.7 million to an unidentified buyer. According to Ron Riner, Mr. Genge, who played a very realistic tough guy, seemed like he had hardly ever seen a gun before. Bullitt, Captain Bennett, Chalmers and Captain Baker gather in the office with the telecopier as Albert Renick's application arrives. Become a member to join the conversation. But thats in a train station. The section where the steps are located is also famous for its wild parrots. The scenes, which were novelty then but classic now, were brilliantly executed. I vote Bullitt as best car chase if for no other reason than Steve McQueen defined cool. However, Ross (now using Renick's passport) has switched to an earlier London flight. It ran good, needed just a few little adjustments. There may have been chase scenes before, but nothing before or since has equalled the intensity and impact of BULLITT. Delving into the. The car chase scene in the 1968 American action-thriller film Bullitt is considered one of the best and most exciting in cinematic history. [68] In November 2022, Bradley Cooper was cast as Frank Bullitt. This was his personal car and he wasnt a rich guy, he didnt have a real nice car. "[14] In his obituary for Peter Yates, Bruce Weber wrote, "Mr. Yates' reputation probably rests most securely on Bullitt (1968), his first American film and indeed, on one particular scene, an extended car chase that instantly became a classic. He was told that Mr. McQueen wouldnt like that. [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." [53] Five nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards for 1969 included Best Director for Peter Yates, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Vaughn, Best Cinematography for William A. Fraker, Best Film Editing for Frank P. Keller, and Best Sound Track. To prepare himself, his crew and the cars for the movie sequence, McQueen and company went to the Cotati race course near San Francisco. Or visit the Dodge Charger gallery, SUBSCRIBE 2023 Tunnel Ram Pty Ltd Disclaimer Privacy Policy Press Release Powered by bencu. In 1977, McQueen attempted to buy it back, but was refused. Bennett confronts Bullitt and Delgetti in the presence of SFPD Captain Baker, who wants Chalmers' support for the department. When the time came to start shooting, the production managed to obtain the approval of the San Francisco City Council. Le stockage ou laccs technique est ncessaire dans la finalit dintrt lgitime de stocker des prfrences qui ne sont pas demandes par labonn ou lutilisateur. I should note that when I started to put this post together it took a while to find the complete scene (at least in a form that could be pasted here on Ricochet), which was a little surprising. My biased opinion is that the Bullitt chase is the best. 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. But the story, according to Ron Riner was not the key element to the success of the movie. Well, I said, hes sitting right here. Chalmers holds Bullitt responsible for the injuries to Ross. Loftin, when you need me for a closeup you WILL let me know, wont you?, As for the cars, Max Balchowsky tells us, I suggested they get a 390 GT. Bullitt was also the first film done with live sound, and the sounds of the road gradually overtake Lalo Schifrin's score. In the next cut, they are coming downhill, north towards the Bay. In 2000, the Society of Camera Operators awarded Bullitt its "Historical Shot" award to David M. Walsh. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. 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]. Local authorities did not allow the car chase to be filmed on the Golden Gate Bridge, but did permit it in Midtown locations including Bernal Heights and the Mission District, and on the outskirts of neighboring Brisbane.[33]. [10][11] Lalo Schifrin wrote the original jazz-inspired score. St. Martin's Press. Fine, Loftin replied. Bullitt reveals that Ross died. Dressed to double McQueen, Loftin laterally towed the Charger at 90 mph with its two dummy passengers and at the right moment released the Charger into the nitro-loaded gas station. The Hollywood Reporter's original . Naturally, it won that year's Academy Award for Best Editing". At the time, Keller was credited with cutting the piece in such a superb manner that he made the city of San Francisco a "character" in the film. 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. Exactly! The car chase in The French Connection is my candidate. Remarkably cut out, the chase is on the other hand freed from any geographical reality. My favorite is the chase through Paris being led by a BMW 5 series. From the interior shots looking forward inside the Mustang its easy to see which one is driving. Do you know the definition of an alcoholic? 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. 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. Twenty-one seconds later, Coit Tower appears in the Mustangs front window to the east (as can be ascertained by the buildings shadows). I had suggested using a Mustang, and a Dodge Charger, or else there would be too may Fords in the picture. My favorite car from the movie is the Porsche 356 owned by his girlfriend. 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. "[38] This chase scene has also been cited by critics as groundbreaking in its realism and originality. [39], The original score was composed by Lalo Schifrin to track the various moods and the action of the film, with Schifrin's signature contemporary American jazz style. I didnt think itd make that much difference beefing it up. April 20, 2011 / CitySleuth. I was looking to post the scene from the end of High Sierra, but I couldnt find it, so this scene from Alfred Hitchcocks 1940 movie Foreign Correspondent will have to do (its about four minutes long). Throughout the chase sequences, some of them were accidents but, they looked fantastic- Hickman was terrific.. Bullitt was co-produced by McQueen's Solar Productions and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, the film pitched to Jack L. Warner as "doing authority differently". [31], The director called for maximum speeds of about 7580 miles per hour (121129km/h), but the cars (including the chase cars filming) at times reached speeds over 110 miles per hour (180km/h). Finally, the frantic race ends outside the city on the Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, on the Brisbane side, after 10 minutes and 53 seconds. But the movie's other star was its 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback. The next morning SFPD detective Lieutenant Frank Bullitt and his team, Delgetti and Stanton, are tasked by US Senator Walter Chalmers with guarding Ross over the weekend, until he can be presented as a witness to a Senate subcommittee hearing on organized crime on Monday morning. They turn left or south, going uphill. Filming of the chase scene took three weeks, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of footage. But, Bullitt is a dividing. Published Dec 25, 2021. 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. Heres a good read on it: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/01/14/mustang-bullitt-found-real-mcqueen. [59] In 2009, Bud Brutsman of Overhaulin' built an authentic-looking replica of the Bullitt Mustang, fully loaded with modern components, for the five-episode 2009 TV series, Celebrity Rides: Hollywood's Speeding Bullitt, hosted by Chad McQueen, son of Steve McQueen. [26][27][28][29], Two 1968 390 cu. (KTLA) The chase ended in the 1000 block of Hacienda Boulevard . 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). It's no wonder that Steve McQueen has the nickname "King of Cool." Watching him drive one of the most iconics car in the world; a 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback, in the hit '60s movie Bullitt . As with the Mustang, all parts were fluxed. After losing control of his car and smashing into a parked vehicle, Steve McQueens then-wife Neile begged Peter Yates to use stuntmen. An informant says that the scuttlebutt is that Ross is alive and in town trying to flee the country because he stole a fortune from the mob. 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. It begins under Highway 101 in the city's Mission District, as Bullitt spots the hitmen's car. I find car chases in movies from the 1970s and 1980s much more satisfying than most of the more modern fare because the older ones were more realistic in that the cars had to actually perform the stunts, and they tend to have longer shots, rather than the more modern rapid cut and splice techniques that make it hard to follow exactly whats going on. 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. The engines in both Dodge Charger models were left largely unmodified, but the suspensions were mildly upgraded to cope with the demands of the stunt work. Initially the car chase was supposed to be scored, but Lalo Schifrin suggested that no music be added to that sequence, pointing out that the soundtrack was powerful enough as it was.