Bullitt- still one of the great movie car chases

[UncleS2]

I stumbled across Bullitt on TV this afternoon, just a few minutes before the classic Mustang & Charger chase scene. It holds up amazingly well, especially considering it's over 40 yrs old. And as always, even faster than the Charger & Mustang, is that green VW Bug!

 

[RazorsEdge]

It's one of those car chases you can watch over and over.

 

[andyd]

Gene Hackman racing the subway train in The French Connection is pretty good too I think it was Pontiac

 

[Benzadmiral]

I saw it when it was new, in the theatre. Of course I'd gone to see my man Robert Vaughn, and was disappointed that he was neither the hero nor the villain, but kind of a speed bump for Steve McQueen's Bullitt. (And to this day I'm still puzzled by the plot -- I have to watch it again.) But I came away dazzled by the chase sequence, which I hadn't known was coming.

The cool thing about it is that it builds -- it's not just instant screaming tires and roaring engines. Bullitt plays cat and mouse with the two killers in the Charger at first, and the film really uses the San Francisco hills as setting; then the movie slams ahead into the chase. Dynamite stuff.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My fave movie car is the 1971 Lincoln Mark III:

 

[spackard]

I've never seen it on the big screen, but I've heard it's a lot better, esp. when seen with other car guys.

 

[jimbrewer]

McQueeen's Mustang was a product placement. Its kind of interesting how a forest green car would be considered ultra-cool. Our color palette has changed, for no apparent reason.

The chargers were simply bought off a lot There was quite a lot of downtime while filming while they fixed the suspension on the 'Stang. The Chargers had about 25% more horsepower than McQueen's car.

The plot? That's easy. McQueen is trying to protect a key witness from "The Organization" before he testifies before Congress. It was the Cold War and they didn't have "The Russian Mafia" as the stock bad guys back then. Robert Vaughn was the big shot from Washington who is supposedly protecting the witness. Witness getskilled anyway. McQueen has to take charge. Something about Jacqueline Bisset. You never quite knew if Vaughn was secretly a bad guy, or the stock character of the Washington big shot who throws his weight around but is hopelessly incompetent. It was ambiguous, but I don't think it was deliberately so.

 

[GreeCguy]

One of the all time greats

http://youtu.be/CE2i08S3YeY

 

[mrvrsick]

I just saw it for the first time this year, but I didn't think anything of it. Was it cool 40 years ago? I bet, but it just didn't do it for me much, especially the horrible inclusion of the charger understeer crash slip.

Nostalgia, this chase has it in spades.

 

[GreeCguy]

Of course, none would be complete without this one

http://youtu.be/LMagP52BWG8

A little side note trivia - every time there's a car crash scene in this movie, someone says, "They broke my watch."

 

[KevGuy]

My favorite is from the Blues Brothers. The final chase scene in a 1974 Dodge Monaco that used to be a cop car.

Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it.

 

[redhat]

Another great movie is the original Gone in 60 Seconds from the 70's. Great cars and a great chase scene with Eleanor. The Nicholas Cage one... I won't watch it.

 

[97tbird]

The wallowing in corners is nausea-inducing

 

[ChiTDI]

The engine in McQueen's Mustang had milled heads I was told, while the Charger was stock.
Great chase scene.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Ronin has great racing in its movie too. Dont forget Slyvester Stallone in Driven.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: GreeCguy
Of course, none would be complete without this one

http://youtu.be/LMagP52BWG8

A little side note trivia - every time there's a car crash scene in this movie, someone says, "They broke my watch."


Love that scene... and while they're driving under the L, you can hear that old Mopar shifting from 2nd into 3rd...at 120mph(!)...and they really do that.

 

[Kira]

FYI: In one turn to the left during the chase in Bullitt you see parked in order a red, a white and a blue Corvair.
Also, in the town I grew up in one fellow owns "the Charger" and another fellow owns "the Mustang".
I suppose I must confess I do not know which engines are in the cars but the exteriors are "movie accurate", I've seen them.

Ronin's driving stunts are great!

Speaking of "The Blues Brother's", "...get the cigarette lighter fixed". Kira

 

[spackard]

McQueen confirmed that the sweet racket of the car's engine and transmission were overdubbed recordings of a Ford GT40 driven at full tilt.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/mustang-bullitt.htm

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Kira
FYI: In one turn to the left during the chase in Bullitt you see parked in order a red, a white and a blue Corvair.
Also, in the town I grew up in one fellow owns "the Charger" and another fellow owns "the Mustang".
I suppose I must confess I do not know which engines are in the cars but the exteriors are "movie accurate", I've seen them.

Ronin's driving stunts are great!

Speaking of "The Blues Brother's", "...get the cigarette lighter fixed". Kira


The Bullitt Mustang was a 390/4-speed...the Chargers were R/T's with 440's and automatic transmissions.

It was all staged, of course...a 440 Charger would easily dust a 390 Mustang.

 

[Vikas]

I consider Ronin to be still the best one ones! I watch Ronin just for the chase scenes.