The fact that they never said a word, cut the music when the real chase began, and let all the action speak for itself seems... Almost alien to me. No words, almost no music, just engines, tires, slams, and crash landings. Not even a "He's onto us" or an occasional "Shit!". It's beautiful.
I still believe that scene saved more lives than any public service bulletin, us kids would always give each other a mean look when we buckled up, this was serious business and if you were driving a 60's car it was !
@@radioguy1620 Hi Radioguy, good point, I did not think about that but you are right, I am a Baby Boomer and when we wanted to "psychologically" impress someone, we would "buckle-up" just for the look of this movie. Peace be with you, Good comment, Ciao, L
@@jimlechuga3193 I would imagine other crewmembers had children too. Nice to meet you. Do you also have a SAG membership number? Enrollment date? Practically all crewmembers enrolled their families. Do you even know what sag strands for. My guess is no. FYI (Screen Actors Guild). We made a lot of money for our parents as "Extras" on the sets over the years. I am in many old movies, albeit briefly, not to mention tv commercials. As one troll to another, you can believe it or not, my father often took me to work with him. He introduced me to Steve the very day they shot those clips. I was there in person to witness what you only see 2nd hand. To prove that the director let me use the clapper board. Tell me what that is and I'll know for sure you grew up in and around the film industry. Peace.
Which parts of the chase were filmed from a helicopter? I will defer to anyone claiming expertise, but, most of the shots seem to be taken from ground level.
Steve McQueen could drive. He wasn't just a Hollywood legend. He was also a race car driver. He had driven in Le Mans, Sebring, and I do believe Daytona. Fifty-five years later, this is still the greatest chase scene in Hollywood.
Yep. He drove in the Porsche 917 in the racing movie Lemans...Steve was that rare breed of actors like Paul Newman, James Garner, the guy from Greys Anatomy, and Paul Walker that actually raced. And let’s not forget James Dean. Wonder how good he would have been...
Boomer here. I don’t know about you guys, but for years, THIS was THE CAR CHASE. Later on there were good ones, but this established a pretty good precedent.
I think it's still THE CAR CHASE even today, speaking as a millennial. There have been some pretty awesome car chases since then, with some of them being almost equal to Bullitt, but Bullitt is still my favourite. A few more recent car chases (in some cases, entire movies) that deserve to be remembered as classics: Drive (2011) Jack Reacher (2012) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), and Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023) Baby Driver (2017) The Batman (2022) I'll add more if I think of them :)
Blues Brothers, Terminator, Magnum Force, Gone in 60 seconds (The original 1974 to be specific), and even Spielberg's first movie Duel also had legendary vehicle chase scenes too. But still, no matter how well executed or legendary other chase scenes can be, nothing tops the Bullitt chase.
But neither does the other driver, which is what makes the chase scene a bit comical , in a great and classic way😁 everyone has this serious grim gameface on, while driving two cool hotrods and making history 😁
It's funny that you mentioned this as the best car scene ever. I can tell you a true fact about this. My dad was a great sound editor and created the 1st Foley stage. When my dad and his work partner on Bullitt, the sound for the engine didn't sound right to Mr. Mc. Queen. So he picked up my dad and his co-worker Frank Makelvie to record the sound from the same 67 fastback mustang in the movie. Any Steve McQueen said he wanted to drive the same route in San Francisco as in the movie. Well my dad and Frank didn't think about it much until the got there. Mr. McQueen said to put the reel to reel sound recorder in between them in the back seat with a mic out both sides. My dad didn't realize until Steve said to put the seat belts on tight. Right then my dad said, "Oh Shitt"! Steve took off like a bat out of Hell driving as fast as it was in the movie. Thru traffic and everything. When they finished, my dad and Frank came crawling out of the car shaking. Mr. McQueen just laughed and says, "here John! This should make you gentlemen feel better !" Then he handed my dad and Frank each a case of aged scotch from Steve's private stock and $2000 bucks each. Mr. McQueen liked the sound so much he told the director to use the sound my dad made and that's what is in the movie to this day. Funny story right. You can look up my dad, God rest his soul. John Howard Post or John Howard. If you wish to hear more cool stories that my dad told me, I would be happy to share tidbits of the movies my dad and I worked on. God bless everyone
DAMN!!! I just love the sound of a V-8 engine and four barrel carbs! I miss the 1960s and '70s. No artificial intelligence can top this stuff!! I was 19 years-old when this played in theaters and it still gives me 'goose bumps' today watching it on RU-vid. Nothing like seeing this on big screen theaters at the time.
Little known fact. The movie studio originally planned to give the bad guys a black Impala SS coupe. The studio approached Chevrolet about donating a couple of those cars but, was turned down. GM didn't want their car associated with the bad guys. The studio then went to Chrysler and they were totally on board. For them, this was top quality advertising and they sold a lot of Chargers because of Bullitt.
@@BlackPill-pu4vi I've always been a Chevy guy, but I had a 1970 Plymouth Duster as my first brand new car when I was 21 years-old. Nothing wrong with Mopar back in the day! It's too bad Chevrolet 'dropped the ball'. A black Impala SS would have been a great match vs. the Ford Mustang.
@@felixmadison5736 Absolutely. No doubt the studio execs thought it would be a natural Ford vs Chevy match in addition to the good guys vs bad guys. But GM dropped the ball on that and Mopar swooped in and got the fame instead.
Man, talk about a classic. No talking, no music, no quirky one liners, no CGI, no outrageous stunts that look like they belong in a space movie, nothing like that. This almost ten-and-a-half-minute video is nothing but 2 muscle cars chasing one another through the streets of San Francisco. I love this whole scene from start to finish. I give my late father a lot of props for showing me this movie when I was a kid. By far THE most famous car chase in cinematic history.
What a lame ass chase, should have added the Chevelle & GTO to it, that they passed. Try to push big fat charger off road w little mustang, who made this sheet up,?
@@TooTallDean I count 4. However, that seems to be the same street with different camera angles. Back in those days, they didn't close certain parts of area off for filming like they do today. I'm betting many people were surprised to see they got at least one second of fame in something like this.
A lesser known third (and spiritual successor to The French Connection) is The Seven-Ups where Hickman is chased by Roy Scheider for nine solid minutes before Scheider's car has its top sheared off by a semi-truck trailer.
@@wesleycook7687 Loftin was the truck Driver in Duel, when they did chsde scenes, he would have his friend Dale Vansickle drive the car both of them were the top stunt drivers to go to
The editing in the Bullitt car chase is so outstanding that it took me about 30 or so viewings of this movie before I noticed the omnipresent Green VW Beetle.
@@robbiespence6504 The editor masterfully worked with the cuts he was given. The director and cinematographer certainly didn't intend for all those green VW bug shots to be used. They left it up to the editor to work his magic. We are so focused on the two cars in the chase we don't think about the recurring bug. The editor deservedly won the Oscar for his efforts.
8 дней назад
@@BW4EIRE I noticed it from my very first viewing. It was obvious how bad this chase was edited.
lol. Really. The picture won the Oscar for Best Film Editing. The picture won the Eddie (which I'm confident you've never heard of) for Best Edited Feature Film. But I don't need that information to know how outstanding the editing in this film is.
8 дней назад
@@BW4EIRE and it was a huge mistake. Tell me editing the same scenes from different angles deserves an award. You see the vw and hubcaps fly off over and over. Doesn't matter if it won, it shouldn't have.
1 is said to be here in Ohio (The one that Steve wanted to buy) 1 was totaled and the 3rd was just found a couple years ago in a junkyard in Mexico. It had been painted yellow and most of the parts were gone.
Rumour has it that Steve McQueen's soul still drives around San Francisco's roads at night in a Mustang looking for Chargers to chase and drivers to kill
My Dad's fave movie. He worked at Ford, loved cars. I watched this clip on the first anniversary of the night he passed. RIP, Dad, you were right, it's still the best car chase ever.
@@mikestyles499 Horseshit, the point is that Hollywood sound professionals had total control over all the engine noise and tire screeching, and it has Nothing to do with technology. McQueen was pretending to shift a 4 speed when the car actually had an automatic. You children always get fooled by the pros. That's why they make the big money.
dehoe disc - Two identical Mustangs and two matching Chargers were used in the Bullitt chase sequence. So that the four-speed Mustang could run more easily with the brawnier four-speed 440 Magnum Charger, Hollywood engineer Max Balchowsky installed a racing cam on both Fords, milled the heads, and modified the ignition and carburetion systems. Additionally, Balchowsky bulked up the suspensions of all four cars for improved strength, handling, and control. One Mustang and one Charger were fitted with a full roll cage.
You cant beat the sound of a well executed double declutch on an old school unsynchronised gearbox, CLASS ,, Iv'e still got ya picture on my wall Stevie 💛 :)
This is the movie that changed car chases in movies forever. I remember when this movie came out and I fell in love with the fast back Mustang. The legendary Steve McQueen.
Everybody lining up to purchase the Mustang, I want that Charger. It's the only charger in the world that regenerates hub caps. It lost 3 hub caps during the chase and still managed to crash with 3.
Fun fact: Director Peter Yates estimated that the top speeds during certain portions of filming the scene would need to be 75-80 mph to achieve the realism he desired. The stunt drivers later confessed that had the cars up to 110 mph at times. And, because the Charger had 50+ h.p. on the Mustang meant its stunt driver was constantly having to lay off the accelerator to get the shots Yates wanted.
The Charger also handled all the jumps with stock suspension, whereas the Mustang had to be modified to handle them. They built cars fucking tough back in those days.
Heard that 20+ years ago, the charger was too fast and had to stay slow for the mustang - you can hear it in RPM's, the charger is literally cruising and the stang is at 6000 rpm wide open. For the record 390 mustangs weren't fast, 440 Charger R/T's were - look it up
@@FrankBullitt390 the sound of the Mustang isn’t authentic though, it’s actually the sound of a GT40’s engine dubbed in, which is why you’ll hear it upshift about 12 times during the chase. Furthermore, I remember reading the top speed statistics on both, the Charger was only 2-3 mph faster, the difference was in traction, the charger’s immense weight kept the tires glued to the road while the Mustang, being lighter, did burnouts in reverse gear, as you saw in that one shot. It just depended on what road they were on really, tight, narrow, San Francisco streets full of traffic were perfect for the Mustang, being able to corner much better and not fish-tail as much. The countryside with the long, clear straights were where the Charger could absolutely fly.
The vehicle those hit men were in just looks menacing. The fact they're both older middle aged men indicates they are experienced, calm and patient. No two characters look as grim and mechanical at their job then these two characters chosen to play the role of consummate killers for the syndicate. Nothing personal, just business. They communicate by glances without saying a word. Insane acting.
As FrankensteinsMonster-1313 said, 1968 Dodge Charger. The 1968 and 1969 models were my favorite Chargers ever made. You can tell the one in the movie is a 1968 at a quick glance (besides of course the movie itself being 1968!) from the single grill that goes all the way across, which would become split in 1969, and the two circular taillights on either side, which became rather cool rectangular ones in 1969. I like the grill of the 1968 better, but the taillights of the 1969. Either way, killer freaking body style - a timeless, menacing-looking car for 60s movie hitmen!
@@glipk LOL I wasn't suggesting that there was CGI in the 60s, just that old films like this one without CGI are great. In my view, the obsession with CGI these days spoils a lot of films.
I went to San Francisco last year. Have wanted to go there all of my life having been brought up on Bullit and Dirty Harry. I walked down the streets where this car chase was filmed. Went to Taylor street where bullitt,s house is. It was an amazing feeling to be there where it all happened. They just don’t make films like this anymore. No CGI. No stupid dialogue. Just pure class.
i went to see Mrs. Doubtfire's house in SF on 2640 Steiner Street and around that time, there was a lot of R.i.p Robin William written all over the sidewalk
I worked for IBM in the early '80's repairing IBM Selectric typewriters (remember those things?!) and I had the Fisherman's Wharf / Ghirardelli Square driving territory. i became very good at making a U-turn in a flash whenever I spotted someone pulling out of a space. It NEVER worked to go around the block ... it would be gone by the time I made it around that block.
One of the very best street chaces of all time. Awesome footage. The ones producing this Steve wanted to do all the the scenes doing them his self. He (Steve) had a great time doing them. WOOHOO EH, LOLOL.
During the filming of this chase sequence McQueen kept losing control of the Mustang which threatened the crew's safety. The problem of making McQueen look heroic on film and also protect the film crew was for McQueen to be seen visibly driving the car is limited to safe shots where he can't injure the crew. All of the real stunt driving is performed by the glasses wearing Dodge driver Bill Hickman. He was the premier stunt driver in Hollywood in that era. Great chase scene. Still the gold standard. Both cars were sold off after the movie and disappeared for decades. McQueen later tried to buy the Mustang but the owner refused and drove it around town on errands. The story of both cars is online.
@@jimlechuga3193 Thank you for the correction. I read about Hickman. Loftin is not listed online in only a brief search. You may have interesting additions about unlisted stunt drivers of interest to movie fans. Can you add more info?
I’m not a car guy. But I am absolutely obsessed with this scene. The way they prowl around the downtown streets like lions growling in the bush. And when they finally roar and takeoff… The whole thing is absolutely thrilling. it’s emotional. Masterful filmmaking. And don’t get me started on Steve McQueen.
@@mikkoranta8767 As I understand it, the green bug was one of several "safety cars" accompanying the stunt. The streets were blocked off, but they had to be prepared (insurance wise) to deal with any civilian car wandering into the scene.
I love how quiet the charger is until the seat belt goes on and the charger dude revs up and dumps the clutch. Then you hear the real sound of that big block come to life.
The Mustang had to be highly modified including nitrous because it could not reach speeds the Director wanted. The Charger was NOT modified for power. It came with all the power needed. Fact.
This 10-minute clip is absolute cinematograph history at its best! No music, no over-dramatized effects, just the pure natural V8 engine sounds open throttle all he way through, accompagnied by occasional traffic collisions and startled motorisis caught off guard eyewitnessing what they think is an illegal street race taking way. Absolute classy, compated to today's vehicle chases.
The good old stuff goes beyond holding up. Holding up suggests it's as good as contemporary offerings. It can be better in many ways. Something only possible in it's time. It gets better with age.
I don't wanna be 'that guy ' but in the city how many times did they pass the same cars in different scenes? The white Firebird the green Beetle ? But that aside. Fuking Epic
Right! The sound from inside the Charger is epic. Other than it being in the script, never understood why he didn't boot it to get away after McQueen 'hedged it' after the biker came off.
Those shots of the cars coming down the hill is the same scene as when they showed it from the top of the hill. They just replayed it from a different angle.
I was born nearly 40 years after this came out, and some of my earliest memories are of playing with my hotwheels on the tv cabinet pretending it was the cars in this chase while I was watching it. Still the best chase
You don't know what you're talking about. The engine sounds are just a generic American V8, dubbed over on a 30 second Loop with a couple gear shifts thrown in. They don't match up with the video at all. It's a poorly done sequence.
@@EATSLEEPDRIVE2002 Bullitt has inconsistencies and continuity issues, as has been pointed out for the last 56 years. (that pesky VW springs to mind). But, upon its release in 1968, it set the movie world on its ear. Gritty realism, innovative camera techniques, and antihero protagonists were all fresh innovations and combining them in a superb action film headed by Steve McQueen has made Bullitt an iconic film. Serious gearheads knew cars from the factory would never survive the abuse of that race. Furthermore, the glaring faux paus of portraying a 390 Mustang managing to keep pace with a 440 Charger was utter fantasy. But it doesn't matter. Bullitt does what all good art does. It captures its subject matter and portrays it in novel ways. That snapshot of the time, the place, the cars and the culture, which could have been so easily buried in some forgettable movie, was instead turned into legend. Half a century on it's still a thrill. As for the sound recording, let Mike Magda's eye-opening account, "Dangerous Pursuit: The Real Truth Behind the 'Bullitt' Chase Scene" (subtitled Steve McQueen and his green Mustang defined on screen car chases for a generation) in Motor Trend, June 20, 2005, cast some light into the murky recesses of the internet. Here's an excerpt-- "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. Kean and Bud Ekins took the cars to Willow Springs Raceway near Los Angeles for the recording. 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. Kean was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the film." --Mike Magda Bullitt remains the quintessential car chase scene. It is the most influential chase scene ever filmed and the chase scene against which all others are measured.
Got a stage two upgrade on my Road King a few years ago mechanic asked me what I want the new exhaust to sound like , I gave him this video and told him to match the mustang at full throttle as much as possible . I have to say it’s pretty damn close . Thank you Flaco !
I was just reading something on that. Bill Hickman, the driver, was a stunt driver in Hollywood. The way the seatbelts in the Charger were at the time had a tendency to keep you planted in your seat, so in fact, he did it to maintain control of the car. When he came around the one corner and smacked the parked white car, that car had a camera on it, and he wasn't supposed to hit it. But, yeah, he in fact did know what he was doing. He was a close friend to James Dean, and was only a few minutes behind Dean with Dean's stationwagon and trailer when Dean crashed. Hickman was the first on scene, and Dean died in his arms.
Owned one and if you read back story of movie the charger had to be held back never had chance catching it really. It wasn't even working that hard in this scene. So miss ours. Such a bad ass car.
Thank you for starting this at the ACTUAL beginning of the chase sequence! It starts with the low speed games, the music building, little hints at what engines these cars are packing, then all of a sudden they drop the hammer. Perfection!
Inoubliable à jamais je l'avais vu 2 fois au cinéma j'étais jeune accompagné de mon frère et mon cousin où à l'époque la place de cinéma était de 3francs 50 cts donc 60 centimes d'euros avec sièges en velours rouge une hôtesse et aussi qui nous vendait dans son panier rempli de cornets de glace, de chocolat, sucette, cacahouètes et ce film Bullitt avait un immense écran en technicolor et des hauts parleurs stéréo dolby de haut niveau..... aujourd'hui j'ai 65 ans et c'est comme si c'était hier
Yes. But the filmmakers were right in having the actual chase without any music. Lalo Schifrin even suggested to keep only the sounds of the chase intact.
Everything came together, without doubt the best car chase... You can actually feel those drops, smell the engines and immerse yourself in the beautiful sounds of engines growling...Yet to be beaten and I doubt it ever will be!
57 years and still the best car chase in the history of cinema Not a single word, no music during the chase, no overdramatized stuff, only what we need: V8s screaming, tires screetching and metal slaming.
I miss the plowing through farmers markets on the sidewalk....random motorcyclists w/black visors & automatic machine pistols....cop cars with cherries & berries. Hydraulic Gimbels launching automobiles cartwheeling 20 ft. in the air.
@@bighands69 Errr... not really. Post synching is pretty straight forward. If you can't head slate it you can tail slate it. I'm not even convinced these are the sounds from these actual cars. But these are all done in post. I used to work in the film industry as a clapper loader and focus puller so it was part of my job.
@@thethirdman225 Cars do not sound the same when you listen to them through speakers. Music is the same when played through speakers. That is the reason when they do cars there is modifications of the sound or even replacement sounds. While you can record the event you will never capture the feeling of that sound hence why car sound is enhanced by different techniques.
While not driving fast. When i lived in SF, parts of this do remind me of going to grocery store. Each intersection was basically "a new view" who is coming/up down!!
Steve McQueen shared this chase scene with Bud Ekins, one of Hollywood's best stunt drivers at the time. 53 years later and it is still an epic chase scene with an Iconic car and equally Iconic actor. Hollywood don't make them like this anymore.
Stuntman Driver Bill Hickman drove the Charger, He was close friends with James Dean and was driving the Station Wagon pulling the trailer about 5 minutes behind when James Dean was killed in his Porsche Spider in 1955. Dean actually died in Bill Hickmans arms. His last words were I don't want to die.
How do you know bud ekins drove? I was 10 years old and talking to bud ekins on each scene.we were standing on the corner with bud and 2 girls right when they start going up the hill,I was wearing a white tee shirt and flood pants.bud has blonde hair,if you watch closely you'll see the four of us.i asked bud why he wasn't driving after he said he was Steve's stuntman and he said Steve does his own driving and he's there to fill in if necessary.
@@joematthewsparacino6844 I see you guys every time standing there on the corner on the left! Always thought that’s regular by-standers...kinda like the cabbie and the other guy in traffic who make Steve go around behind them...wow
Thanks to no CGI, you really feel like you're there inside the cars. And watching from the street. Clever camera work at 2:08 when the Mustang appears in the mirror of the Charger. EPIC!!
Love this movie: not just the chase. But what a chase: even though now you can see that green VW Beetle reappearing (that's become part of it's charm). I think it's the combination of San Francisco, those hills, the crashing car chassis' on the bumps, that bay view and sunshine, classic cars, great music, the roar of the Mustang engine, the overtakes and undertakes, and that unique handsome and oh so cool Steve McQueen persona. And the thugs look great too. All in all an excellent production which does what cinema did best without all the gizmo' we have today!
ive studied film for a few years now and can confirm that they simply do not make films on this level anymore. it saddens me everyday. what a sequence. the sound, subtleties in the performances, the cinematography, the tension, the editing. absolutely phenomenal.
I love this scene because up until the car chase, Bullitt has been one step behind the crooks and playing defense the whole time. It's when Hickman looks up and sees the Mustang in his rear view mirror that the audience and the bad guys are finally shown what Bullitt's really made of.
It's amazing how simply 2 muscle cars speeding down a street in SF can be more suspenseful than any of these multi-million dollar action blockbusters of today. I will say the car chase from The Raid 2 is the only film in recent times that comes close.
It just gets better with age, what a piece of art. The way the tension builds and then the scene blazes into action... not a word said, the sweet music of the V8. And I'll take the murdered out charger any day :)
I can see the influence Need for Speed got from this movie with the in car camera shots, plus the sound is fairly similar to the starting race they do in muscle cars. Cool little easter egg is that this was the scene playing at the drive in theater they went to.
Wasnt the mustang engine sounds dubbed over? And also the 440 mopar was so much faster they had to stay out of it so the mustang could keep up on the highway scenes.
This chase is the reason why there were queues outside the cinema upon its release in the UK 1970. And in '72 for the Gene Hackman car/train chase. The good old days of great movies with great cars and great actors.
@@xox945 I owned a '69 Chevy Nova SS 350 4-speed as my first car in the 70's. Never ever did I have to double clutch. Slapped every gear in an instant without missing. If you have never driven or owned one, you would be "that guy". Ask anybody that owned a Muscle Car. No double shifting needed.
![[HD] Greatest Hollywood Car Chase of All Time - Bullitt (1968)](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
