Greatest car chase scene of all time - Bullitt

[Warden Callaway]

Watching it on DVD now.  Watched it when it came out in theaters. On double date Karen, cousin's date, got sick at the chase scene and couldn't watch.

 

 

 

[J-BAR #18287]

Great fun.  For grins count the number of times you hear a gear shift!

[Warden Callaway]

1 hour ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Great fun.  For grins count the number of times you hear a gear shift!

 

Or hub caps coming off the Dodge.  

 

Both Chargers and one Mustang were scrapped.  But one Mustang was bought by some guy.  It was lost for years. Here is a Jay Leno video on it.

 

 

 

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

The GREATEST car chase scene in movie history is in the Blues Brothers movie - the best part being inside the mall.

 

"Looks like the new Oldsmobiles are in early this year"

 

[DeaconKC]

I hate the Blues Brothers. I was one of the kids they hired to stock Dixie Square [that's the real name of the mall]. We never got paid, never got the tickets to see the movie even! They said the movie lost money, so we didn't get paid! Ackroyd was cool, nice to every one of us kids, Belushi was probably stoned, and he was a nasty #####.

[Cypress Sun]

So many great car chases with Bullitt and The Blues Brothers at the top. Don't forget Smokey and the Bandit and especially the original Gone in Sixty Seconds chase scene with Eleanor the Mustang. The original Gone in Sixty Seconds was a low budget movie but I loved every second of it. The remakes...not so much.

 

These car chase scenes were back when they actually used real cars and drivers. These days, it's all CGI.

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

9 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I hate the Blues Brothers. I was one of the kids they hired to stock Dixie Square [that's the real name of the mall]. We never got paid, never got the tickets to see the movie even! They said the movie lost money, so we didn't get paid! Ackroyd was cool, nice to every one of us kids, Belushi was probably stoned, and he was a nasty #####.

Reasonable reason - still the best chase.

Tho Bullit gets props for best use of a 97 shotgun in a chase scene.

I just can't get past the continuity issues and the fact that the Charger would have WALKED OFF and left the Mustang for dead.

[Alpo]

I read somewhere that the Charger had to slow down several times, because he kept running away from the Mustang.

 

I did love the sound effects. That badass Mustang sounded like a go-kart. And I kept hearing gear shifts when there should not logically have been any shifting taking place.

[Rip Snorter]

If you ever visited San Fran back when it was wonderful, IMHO a non cinema chase might not be survivable due to topography.  Long story, but I ended up in a car  ride back to my hotel with a guy who had no reason to be fond of me.  He wasn't much of a driver but was trying to scare me.  Didn't succeed, but nobody lives forever.

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I went and saw Bullitt at the theater when they had the 50th anniversary showings. Fun to see on the big screen again. I have it on dvd also.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

A bit of trivia: the start of the chase was filmed in real traffic. That is, the part where the two cars run the traffic light, cutting off the cars trying to cross and horns honking. 
 

I remember seeing the movie in the theater in 1968, when muscle cars were beginning their peak. Just about everyone pulling out of the parking lot was flooring it to make the tires squeal. 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

1 hour ago, Warden Callaway said:

Watching it on DVD now.  Watched it when it came out in theaters. On double date Karen, cousin's date, got sick at the chase scene and couldn't watch.

 

 

 

For all you gear heads, the 4:15 mark of the video demonstrates a classic example of 1960s muscle car axle tramp - too much power for the rear suspension. 

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

The French Connection's car chase was no slouch...

 

 

[Pat Riot]

Bullitt and Blues Brothers, both are great car chases. 
 

I was in the Navy and in downtown Chicago when they filmed part of the car chase for the Blues Brothers. I am one of the blurs. 

And Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi weren’t even there. What a gyp! 

[Bad Bascomb, SASS # 47,494]

  In the Bullit chase, count the number of times you see the VW Beetle mosey along trying to look like normal traffic.....

[Cypress Sun]

 

Here is the main car chase in the 1974 Gone in 60 Seconds. During the chase, there are several unplanned crashes. In one of the unplanned crashes, Eleanor (the mustang) gets spun out into a light pole severely injuring the driver who is also the director, lead star and stunt driver of the movie. The movie was made for $150,000 and grossed $40,000,000 at the box office.

 

 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

1 hour ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

The French Connection's car chase was no slouch...

 

 

Good call! Raw, unbridled emotion and terror in that scene as compared to Bullitt’s cold determination. 
 

More trivia: the a-hole FBI agent Popeye kills at the end of the movie is the same actor/stunt driver behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger in Bullitt. 

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

Imagine if you will:

 

1968, sixteen years old and you just saw Bullit!

 

Now you leave the theater and get into your relatively new 1967 Mustang GTA with a 390. (I believe the Bullit Mustang was a 289).

 

Oh lord, the temptation!

[Warden Callaway]

All great, but which one was first?  They did a lot of crazy things in silent movies. 

 

 

 

[Cypress Sun]

7 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Imagine if you will:

 

1968, sixteen years old and you just saw Bullit!

 

Now you leave the theater and get into your relatively new 1967 Mustang GTA with a 390. (I believe the Bullit Mustang was a 289).

 

Oh lord, the temptation!

 

I wasn't old enough to drive when Bullitt came out, but I sure was old enough when Smokey and the Bandit came out...and it was late at night...and raining.

[sassnetguy50]

9 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said:

Imagine if you will:

 

1968, sixteen years old and you just saw Bullit!

 

Now you leave the theater and get into your relatively new 1967 Mustang GTA with a 390. (I believe the Bullit Mustang was a 289).

 

Oh lord, the temptation!

68 GT 390 with modified heads in Highland Green.

[J-BAR #18287]

1 hour ago, sassnetguy50 said:

Imagine if you will:

 

1968, sixteen years old and you just saw Bullit!

 

Now you leave the theater and get into your relatively new 1967 Mustang GTA with a 390. (I believe the Bullit Mustang was a 289).

 

Oh lord, the temptation!

 

68 GT 390 with modified heads in Highland Green.

 

Either you guys had great after school jobs or an indulgent father!  Our family car, which I had to use on dates was a '58 Rambler.  

[sassnetguy50]

1 hour ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

Either you guys had great after school jobs or an indulgent father!  Our family car, which I had to use on dates was a '58 Rambler.  

No.  What I posted was the movie car in Bullitt, correcting Injun Ryder that it was not a 289. 

 

My car was a Bronco that a realtor had owned for 2 years.  I had a 351W with a 4sp in it to pull farm trailers, it had no top end.  It'd pull most other trucks off the line because it was so light. 

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

Either you guys had great after school jobs or an indulgent father!  Our family car, which I had to use on dates was a '58 Rambler.  

 

I have VERY fond memories of a 1965 Rambler Ambassador. The chances of that car ever being in a car chase is nil...a skateboard could have beat it in the 1/4.

 

[Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L]

1 hour ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

Either you guys had great after school jobs or an indulgent father!  Our family car, which I had to use on dates was a '58 Rambler.  

 

Started working at age 13 with summer hours sometimes exceeding 100 hours per week! 

 

The 1 year old used Mustang cost $2000!

[Sixgun Seamus]

5 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

Either you guys had great after school jobs or an indulgent father!  Our family car, which I had to use on dates was a '58 Rambler.  

Mom had a 63 Rambler. The front seats folded flat to the back seat. Great for taking a date to the drive in movies........or so I heard.

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

No, Striking Distance through Pittsburgh 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

I graduated high school 1971. The guys I knew that had nice muscle cars were all in farming families.  Most of them were good guys that worked their tails off during busy parts of the year. We cruised but it was just in whatever the parents ket me drive.

 

The coolest for me was a 1963 Galaxy convertable, white with red interior. It was fun driving it up to Avila beach.

[John E. Law]

It's not Hollywood but I think the best car chases are on that TV show COPS.

 

They are super realistic!!

 

JEL

[John E. Law]

My favorite Hollywood car chase of all time, which is a mix of actual stunts and CGI, is the Motorcycle/semi tow truck chase in Terminator 2, the Harley jump off was a real stunt (the cohones on that stuntman).

 

A close second was the chase in the not to well known flop movie Ronin with Robert DeNero.

 

The third is all CGI but so awesome in my home theater is the car chase/race in the movie Ready Player One! If you're a GenX that's a must see movie. The flashback Easter eggs throughout the entire movie will bring back great memories.

 

JEL

[Cypress Sun]

5 minutes ago, John E. Law said:

My favorite Hollywood car chase of all time, which is a mix of actual stunts and CGI, is the Motorcycle/semi tow truck chase in Terminator 2, the Harley jump off was a real stunt (the cohones on that stuntman).

 

A close second was the chase in the not to well known flop movie Ronin with Robert DeNero.

 

The third is all CGI but so awesome in my home theater is the car chase/race in the movie Ready Player One! If you're a GenX that's a must see movie. The flashback Easter eggs throughout the entire movie will bring back great memories.

 

JEL

 

I actually liked Ronin. The car chase scene was a good one. Jean Reno played a good part.

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

Another vote for Ronin. 
 

I’m a sucker for the mad max movies, most of them are movie long car chases. 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

Longest chase scene in Hollywood history has to be “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”. The entire movie is basically 3 hours of chase scenes stitched together into a marvelous movie. 

[Warden Callaway]

3 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

Longest chase scene in Hollywood history has to be “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”. The entire movie is basically 3 hours of chase scenes stitched together into a marvelous movie. 

 

Another one like that but not as long was Rat Race.

[Creeker, SASS #43022]

4 hours ago, Smokin Gator SASS #29736 said:

The coolest for me was a 1963 Galaxy convertable, white with red interior. It was fun driving it up to Avila beach.

My mom and dad had a 62 Galaxie Convertible when they started dating.

We had hot rods and "show cars" most of my life growing up - when I was about 15; dad decided he wanted another 62.

So we searched and hunted and found lots of dead ends and "almosts" that dad was unable to pass up.

We eventually found a 62 for dad in a barn in Memphis Tn.  390 tri power with factory cast iron headers, 26 thousand miles.

But by this time we had "accumulated" a number of 61 thru 64 Galaxies and one of these; a 63 1/2 427 car became mine.

Sadly, it was sideswiped in an accident and totaled out.

So me being me - I picked another orphan from our litter; a 65 Falcon Ranchero 6cyl - 3 on the tree...  But I knew where there was a Maverick Grabber 302 for sale and the Falcon quickly had a heart transplant (and a set of 60's Corvette sidepipes dad had unfortunately left sitting around where I could get to them). Drove that squirrelly thing around in rattle can black primer for a year until one of dads friends said he couldn't stand seeing it unfinished any longer and kept offering me money until I sold it to him.

 

Car people are just like gun people in that someone always knows somebody with something interesting to sell or trade.

 

So, I wouldn't say indulgent parents - but it sure didnt hurt to have a dad who was a gearhead; myself who wasn't afraid to bust my knuckles and figure out ways to make things work AND a fair amount of luck falling into situations and deals.

Meaning my teenage years involved either driving or owning my Galaxie, Ranchero, Nova, Camaro pace car, Firebird (moms), Corvette engined slammed Chevy shortbox truck (dads), my 914 Porsche, various Corvettes (dads), my Corvette and more motorcycles than I can recall. 

 

And yes I worked since I was 14 - but things were a lot cheaper then.  I don't think other than my 84 Camaro Indy Pace Car and my first Corvette (76 L82 T Top) that I ever paid over a 1000 dollars for anything (I was 16 in 1982 for reference).