Bullitt: Steve McQueen

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

...in the jazz scene, its real quick, but its a band in some SF club- have any of you seen this?

[robviti]

From a Lalo Schifrin website:

"The jazz combo that performs Schifrin's "A Song For Kathy" in the film is said by singer Susanna Van Tassel to be her father's Bay area combo. The film's star, Steve McQueen, saw the group perform once and asked them to appear in the film."

Van Tassel's father is the guitar player in question, not Martino.

[sheldonm]

From a Lalo Schifrin website:

"The jazz combo that performs Schifrin's "A Song For Kathy" in the film is said by singer Susanna Van Tassel to be her father's Bay area combo. The film's star, Steve McQueen, saw the group perform once and asked them to appear in the film."

Van Tassel's father is the guitar player in question, not Martino.

You think you know everything!!!

[Free For All]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

[robviti]

You think you know everything!!!

no, but i can search just about anything!

[Free For All]

[Patrick]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Agreed. I like the way McQueen can hop in his car, and run into little or no traffic in the Bay area. Was it ever like that?

[7/4]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Agreed. I like the way McQueen can hop in his car, and run into little or no traffic in the Bay area. Was it ever like that?

Sorta like a car chase in NYC during the day.

[sheldonm]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Agreed. I like the way McQueen can hop in his car, and run into little or no traffic in the Bay area. Was it ever like that?

Sorta like a car chase in NYC during the day.

...my favorite part of the film is counting the hubcaps that fly off either the mustang or changer during the chase scene.....something like 6-7 fall off of the four tires....never could figure that out !

m~

[sheldonm]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Newly remastered I believe....gotta pick it up.

m~

[7/4]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Agreed. I like the way McQueen can hop in his car, and run into little or no traffic in the Bay area. Was it ever like that?

Sorta like a car chase in NYC during the day.

...my favorite part of the film is counting the hubcaps that fly off either the mustang or changer during the chase scene.....something like 6-7 fall off of the four tires....never could figure that out !

m~

I always carry extras and throw them out the window whenever I'm in a car chase.

[Claude]

A friend lent me the DVD of the movie. I must have watched the chase scene 10 times, but haven't managed to go through the whole movie. I always had to skip back to that incredible scene ...

[sheldonm]

I saw this film in the theatre with my dad. Best car chase ever. Mustang vs. Dodge Charger. Great "engine sounds". Lots of "cars in mid-air" shots. Also recently bought the soundtrack.

Thanks for bringing memories of this great movie back!

Agreed. I like the way McQueen can hop in his car, and run into little or no traffic in the Bay area. Was it ever like that?

Sorta like a car chase in NYC during the day.

...my favorite part of the film is counting the hubcaps that fly off either the mustang or changer during the chase scene.....something like 6-7 fall off of the four tires....never could figure that out !

m~

I always carry extras and throw them out the window whenever I'm in a car chase.

[pasta]

oh yeah???? well howzabout cannonball adderley in "play misty for me"??????

[Claude]

What about the green Volkwagen Beetle that shows up multiple times during the chase?

http://www.rjsmith.com/bullitt-locations.html

[ghost of miles]

Was recently working on a Night Lights show about THE FRENCH CONNECTION and learned that Philip D'Antoni, the movie's producer, produced BULLITT as well. In fact, the car-chase scene in CONNECTION (with Hackman chasing the French killer who's hijacked the elevated train above him) was a deliberate attempt to one-up the scene in BULLITT. Evidently D'Antoni and director Billy Friedkin walked around NYC for about 50 blocks, trying to think of ways to do it, before hitting on the idea of having Hackman chase a train. They did not see permission from the city to film the scene, and some of its pell-mell quality was quite real (and dangerous).

[rockefeller center]

...my favorite part of the film is counting the hubcaps that fly off either the mustang or changer during the chase scene.....something like 6-7 fall off of the four tires....never could figure that out !

m~

I found 5.

[Alexander]

it's amazing how effective the car chase in "Bullitt" is (as amazing as the one in "The French Connection" is, I have to say that "Bullitt" has the edge). Car chase scenes have become obligitory in American film. There was a period (in the mid-80s, I'd say) when there were so many car chases in films that it began to seem like movies were just an excuse to smash up as many cars as possible. There have been entire TV shows built around car chases ("Miami Vice," "The Dukes of Hazzard"). There have been three "Fast and the Furious" films, which are nothing but one long car chase. We are inundated with them. And yet the car chase in "Bullitt" STILL keeps viewers at the edge of their seats. It's white knuckle all the way in a way car chases haven't been - well - since "Bullitt!"

And I LOVE the bit where he tries to stop at 80 MPH. In most films, no matter how fast the car is going, the hero always screetches to a dead stop. Here, McQueen hits the brake and flies all over the road. That's the real thing!

I've read that McQueen did his own stunt driving for most of the scene. It was only after his THIRD crash of the day that he finally agreed to let a professional driver take the wheel.

I should also mention that Steve McQueen is one of my favorite leading men. He had a charisma that's hard to explain (unlike Cary Grant, Sean Connery, or George Clooney who simply OOZE charm). I guess its because McQueen had a "regular guy" quality to him. You have the feeling that McQueen's character could be anybody, and that allows you to identify with him. He didn't keep his audience at a distance.

Or maybe it was because he was SO fucking cool!

[GA Russell]

Anybody ever see The Seven Ups?

I enjoyed it in a theatre, but haven't seen it since. As I recall, the entire publicity was built around the car chase.

[Jazzmoose]

What about the green Volkwagen Beetle that shows up multiple times during the chase?

http://www.rjsmith.com/bullitt-locations.html

I just picked up the DVD a couple of months ago, and that's the one thing that stuck with me. The damned bug is always there first. If the other driver's had noticed, they'd have just given up...

[Chas]

What's most memorable for me about this film is not the car chase , but Pablo Ferro's main title sequence and the Schifrin music that plays during it . Very hip .

[ghost of miles]

Anybody ever see The Seven Ups?

I enjoyed it in a theatre, but haven't seen it since. As I recall, the entire publicity was built around the car chase.

Haven't seen it, but read about it while working on the French Connection program. Roy Schneider plays a character pretty close to the one he played in TFConnection, correct? I've been on a real kick for early 1970s crime drama lately, so I'd like to check it out.

[GA Russell]

Roy Schneider plays a character pretty close to the one he played in TFConnection, correct?

Yes, I guess that's true. The buzz on this one was along the lines of...If you liked French Connection, you'll like Seven Ups. Same director (as I recall), same actor, etc. It wasn't as good, but it wasn't bad in its own right.

[Jazz Kat]

I like how he walks on the runways right next to the 707's and nothings happens.

[Teasing the Korean]

...I've been on a real kick for early 1970s crime drama lately...

Me too. Dirty Harry, Taking of Pelham, Blaxploitation flicks. I love the scenes in the police precincts. Everyone looks so unhealthy. All the cops are fat, have bushy sideburns, and bad combovers. You can almost smell the stale cigarettes and coffee in the air. And they're always eating these enormous pastrami sandwiches...