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2025 GMC Terrain ReviewBullitt: A Car Chase That Stands the Test of Time
Steve McQueen, a car chase, and two iconic cars: the Mustang Bullitt and the Dodge Charger. Does the movie Bullitt live up to the hype?
Setting the Stage
You have to start with the man himself: Steve McQueen. Whether people know Steve McQueen as the name of Dr. Houses’ pet rat on House, as someone referenced in Sheryl Crow and Notorious B.I.G. songs, or as the race car-loving movie star, almost everyone has heard of Steve McQueen. He was a top box-office draw throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, but before that he had considered being a pro race car driver. McQueen took a BMC Mini out on the track of Brands Hatch in 1961 as part of the British Touring Car Championship. He finished 3rd in that race. Two years later, McQueen drove a Porsche 908/02 in the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring race.
As an avid motorcycle and race car enthusiast, McQueen jumped at the chance to get involved whenever anything related to automobiles came up in one of his movies. Way before Tom Cruise was in Mission: Impossible, Steve McQueen was performing his own stunts, including a motorcycle chase in the 1963 movie The Great Escape. It was natural for him to get behind the wheel of a 1968 Ford Mustang while filming chase scenes in Bullitt, a movie about a San Francisco police department lieutenant who tries to keep a mobster safe until he turns evidence. More than the story, the movie is remembered for a chase involving the fastback Ford Mustang and the 1968 Dodge Charger! We named it as one of the 10 best car chases in movie history.
Becoming The Standard
One reason why the Bullitt car chase scene is so famous is because Steve McQueen was rumored to have done some of the driving stunts. McQueen had a stunt driver over the two weeks it took to film the entire scene, but he was behind the wheel in scenes that required close-ups. Of course, the big appeal of the scene are his co-stars. Forget Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall. The cars, the Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang, were the real co-stars!
This chase lasts approximately 10 minutes, starting off in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco with a couple of hitmen driving the black Dodge Charger. Lt. Bullitt doesn’t seem to realize he’s being followed, eventually making a U-turn and then right turn up a steep incline. The driver of the Charger doesn’t do the best job at tailing Bullitt, though, and quickly loses sight of him. Then, all of the sudden, the camera zooms in on the Charger’s rearview mirror. There’s Lt. Bullitt in his dark green 1968 Ford Mustang. Now, the hitmen are being followed by Bullitt!
Throughout this portion of the movie, before actual acceleration occurs, there is some big band music in the background, building anticipation. Then, the mob’s hired driver of the Charger buckles his seat belt and the chase is on, signified by the squealing of the Charger’s tires! Immediately, the music drops out and, for the next several minutes, the only sounds we hear are the revving of the engines, car horns, and the burning of rubber.
Another big reason that this particular car chase was so innovative was the techniques used to shoot it. A variety of angles and vantage points were used throughout this sequence. Bird’s eye views, close-ups of the drivers’ faces, and over-the-shoulder views from the back seats of the Charger and Mustang were all used here. The film wasn’t sped up to make it look like a high-speed car chase. The cars were actually being driven at high speeds. There were no rear-screen projections, making it seem like the cars were being driven around San Francisco.
Sure, the director and producer had their tricks. They used smoke props for the wheels, stunt men to drive the other vehicles on the streets, and souped-up versions of the Charger and Mustang. The Ford Mustang was modified to use a V8 that made 325 hp. The Charger had two 375 hp 440 Magnum V8s. They also used more than one version of the Charger and Mustang to film scenes. Those vehicles were loaded with race-car shocks and skid bars. Finally, geographically, there’s no way the chase could have started and ended where it did in just 10 minutes.
Still, that was actual footage of an enhanced 1968 Ford Mustang and 1968 Dodge Charger being driven on the streets of San Francisco. All the while, there are taxi cabs, Volkswagen Beetles, and other cars backing out of parking lots, turning onto the streets, and slowing at stop signs. The cars are kicking up smoke and losing hub cabs against the side of cement barriers. Even with the tricks, there’s an impressive amount of realism in the filming, and there was intricate choreography needed to achieve the final results shown in the movie.
Some of the best parts of the chase may be as the 1968 Dodge Charger and 1968 Ford Mustang are traveling (and flying, in some cases) down the hills in the streets of the San Francisco, but the chase didn’t end there. Once they hit more flat ground, the pursuit goes onto the highway. Still, no background music. Just the sounds of the two cars. New traffic hazards include a motorcyclist (which delays Lt. Bullitt), a Ford F-250 towing a camper, and a flatbed truck. Eventually, traffic clears up and Bullitt pulls his Mustang up to the Charger. He can’t quite seem to get in front of them, but eventually the two cars are side-by-side, swiping each other. The Charger ends up going off the side of the right side of the road and the chase is over.
The Legacy Lives On
There are countless Steve McQueen and Bullitt references across music, movies, and television. The movie, the car, and the chase became so iconic that Ford released a special version of the 2001 GT with the Bullitt nameplate on it. The Mustang Bullitt was offered in the same shade of green that was used in the 1968 film. Another version was produced in 2008 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie. Versions were also released with 2019 and 2020 model years. Those special editions have been displayed at car shows alongside one of the restored original Bullitt Mustangs, found in a Mexican junk yard (one of the greatest barn finds ever).
Watching the Bullitt car chase back, it has a noticeably different feel to it than a Transporter or Fast & The Furious movie. Movies like Bullitt, and Vanishing Point, were made in a different era, absent of breathtaking special effects, computer-generated scenery, and music specifically composed to build excitement. Lt. Bullitt isn’t launching his Mustang off cliffs and swinging it in mid-air, like Dom and his F9 pals. Bullitt works without that kind of thing, even today. Not only was this chase a blueprint for future movies, but it still stands the test of time.
