Both cars could have been equipped with power steering but almost certainly weren’t. The two (maybe even three) Chargers were virtually stock except for slightly worse tyres to slow them down and help them to slide. The two Mustang GT390s were uprated with stronger wheels, better tyres and completely rebuilt racing suspension, everything was nitrided. The Chargers were still faster and better handling. Filming was done across a month of Sundays - back when most people were then at church. On the jumps stuntman Bill Hickman would keep on the power so the nose heavy Charger hit harder, McQueen lifted off and landed on four wheels. They still managed to smash out the centre of a Mustang’s flywheel on one landing. If you see McQueen in the seat or the rear view mirror then he’s driving, otherwise it’s a stuntman.
Iconic car chase. Steve McQueen himself did most of the driving but not all of it. He shared the driving with Bud Ekins, one of Hollywood's best stunt drivers after smashing the Mustang up.
I think he was using a left turn hand signal, not pointing at BULLITT. McQueen made sure that when he was driving that he could be seen in the rear view mirror. Other than that it was the stuntman.
I think Ford used clips from Bullit to advertise the best and Original Puma, way back in the late 80s/ early 90s. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone will correct me x And I'd also love to see your take on the Blues Brothers car chase please xx
Ben, have you ever heel and toed or double declutched on a chase? Did the police ever teach those techniques? Both cars had live rear axles, cross-ply tyres, leaf spring suspension and drum brakes (I think - it's possible that the GT350 was given a front disc upgrade) - if you don't know what that means, basically this is God level powers of control.
Steve McQueen in Bullet as a detective and The Towering Inferno as a firefighter..just amazing. Oh and Le Mans, that is an amazing film. He really gives you an idea in his films about the pressures of the job.
It was McQueen's regular stunt man Bud Eakins - after both cars crashed into the parked cars on the hard right turn, the producers/insurance company had a shit fit and kicked McQueen out of the driver's seat. (It was partially hidden by a jump cut but you can still hear the impact and crunch of metal - and if you still can't think where it is, McQueen immediately slammed the Mustang into reverse, dumped the clutch and lit up the rear tyres, causing clouds of tyre smoke and wheel chattering)
On a semi related note, the same thing happened on the wire jump scene in The Great Escape - Bud Eakins got to jump the modified Triumph 6T over the wire... although McQueen was one of the German soldiers running up the hill
@@smokerjim that crash you see in the film was deliberate, the jump cut was because the Charger hit the car with the camera on it so hard it briefly switched off the camera. The spin out and reverse was real though.
At first, this American, couldn’t understand a word you said- I got better as the video progressed. Love the accent- don’t ever change! Steven is one of my favorite actors as a kid- he was the king of cool! The less he said in a movie the better- his face and eyes can do all the acting needed. Which made him seem so smart. In real life: I don’t think we’d be friends. …but he was great in movies! I use to joke that in this chase scene, each car loses about half a dozen hubcaps- but that’s a joke! I keep track of the hubcaps every time I watch- and it’s never more than four for each🤣
I'm assuming there would be a sh@t ton of paperwork and an inquiry and probably loose your job maybe face charges if you did a car chase like that, especially when they crash into a petrol station and people get killed. But yea it makes a great movie car chase. Pure Hollywood for sure.
I’m a huge movie fan. I love Art House, Foreign, Horror, Western, Silent, Action, whatever you got, unless it’s bad... but if it’s really bad, well, now you have my attention... Please check out the trailer for Mr. No Legs (1978). 15% of this movie is one long police intercept. The titular character has no legs. He’s a killer working for the mob. He gets into swimming pool fights. His wheelchair doubles as a machine gun. Mr. No Legs is trouble, but hey, don’t worry - I had an odd sense that you were worried - don’t worry because the police are on the case! Mr. No Legs, he won’t get far on foot... Thanks for making videos eh.
The exhaust sounds were actually recorded of cars on a race track and dubbed to the movie . Same sounds were used for French Connection car chase . Also Bud Ekin did some of the driving . Steve didn't do all the driving
I don't know for me which was fun to watch in this chase scene. The outside camera view of the chase or the view inside of these 2 gentlemen in action driving the cars. I have to watch it twice. 😎👌❤
I must agree with Pesmold some of the driving was by stunt drivers, it's in the original film credits. Another good muscle car chase is the original Vanishing Point,
The insurance companies wouldnt underwrite some of the scenes in the chase so McQueen drove most of it, but a stuntman was used for the most dangerous bits
@@davehopkin9502 Easiest way to tell is looking at the rear view mirror in the car and if it's angled to where you can't see the drivers face then it isn't McQueen driving
Best car chase ever i did not know that steve pulled his own stunts nice bit of info there, shame he went so young one of my most favorite actors ever. thanks ben, love to all.
McQueen's 68 Mustang sold for $3.4 million US in 2022. Although, there had to be more than one Mustang, and Charger, used during filming. So how they decided which one of them was "The car" is beyond me. Aside from it being one of the Mustangs that wasn't completely destroyed.
Two of each car, green Mustangs, blue Charger (repainted - look at the missing door handle when the shotgun fires,) black Charger and possibly a third yellow one repainted.
This scene most likely paved the way for all of those cult classic car chase movies from the ‘70’s like Vanishing Point, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Fun fact, Steve McQueen’s Mustang needed some performance upgrades to boost the power for those shots out on the open highway. Because the Charger was the faster and more powerful of the two cars. And somewhat heavier too so it could gain more momentum once it got to speed.
This is actually a great movie beyond this iconic car chase! It was one of the first movies to include very realistic violence, and even swearing jn a movie. It was quite accurate for 1968! Intresting fact, someone did count how many hubcaps everybody lost, and I think I read something like 58 hubcaps.
When I read, I'm paraphrasing, "the best car chase ever" I thought for sure this was going to be about OJ 😂. But watching Steve McQueen's car chase from Bullitt, in the 68 Mustang, will do nicely.
the easiest way to tell if he's driving or NOT aside from the close-ups is look in the rearview mirror, if you can see him in it, then he's driving it,but if you don't see him in it then it's the stunt driver doing it
It's definitely a great car chase but what I usually pickup on which was the same with that chase no blues and twos used at all, which would have made other drivers aware, and that is same with quite a few movies in USA and here. Apart from that the cars and engines they have beautiful to hear
Steve McQueen had the mustang totally rebuilt, as it handled like crap. He wanted the Charger as he thought it was the better car. Next film review Blues brothers mall chase please.
Wasn’t crap it’s just the Chargers were better and faster. The Mustangs got massive upgrades though, strengthening and far better race suspension. Chargers were stock aside from worse tyres.
@@CycolacFan the mustang got a totally new suspension, steering box all built by for racing. As the original steering was vague, but that was with all American fords of the era.
