Bullitt Car Chase

The car chase in the 1968 Steve McQueen "Bullitt" is the longest in movie history.

We have immortalised it somewhat at Modern Canvas Art, so much so that there is a bit of a choice when it comes to choosing some "Bullitt" art for your wall. Bullitt is without doubt one of the coolest films ever made and it makes for some great pop art. We've got a great selection of movie pop art prints and paintings for you to choose from on this theme.

The famous chase sequence from Bullitt was voted the best car chase in film history in a poll of 5,500 British film buffs. The rest of the top five were #2) Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), #3) The French Connection (1971), #4) Ronin (1998), and #5) The Italian Job (1969).

Two 1968 390 GT V8 Ford Mustangs (325 bhp) and two 1968 V8 Dodge Chargers (375 bhp) were used for the chase scene. Both Mustangs were owned by Ford Motor Company and were part of a promotional loan agreement with Warner Bros. The Mustangs engines, brakes and suspensions were highly modified for the chase by veteran car racer Max Balchowsky. The Dodge Chargers were bought outright from Glendale Dodge in Glendale, California. The engines in both Chargers were left largely unmodified, but the suspensions were upgraded to cope with the demands of the stunt work.

Though it is widely believed that Steve McQueen—an accomplished driver—did the bulk of the driving stunt work, the stunt coordinator, Carey Loftin, had famed stuntman and motorcycle racer Bud Ekins do most of the risky stunts in the Mustang (Ekins also doubled for McQueen in one sequence of The Great Escape, in which McQueen's character jumps over a barbed wire fence on a motorcycle). The Mustang’s interior rearview mirror goes up and down depending on who is driving. When the mirror is up (visible) McQueen is behind the wheel, and when it is down (not visible) Ekin is in the car.

The director called for speeds of about 75 to 80 mph (120 to 130 km/h), but the cars (including the ones containing the cameras) reached speeds of over 110 mph (175 km/h) on surface streets. Filming of the chase scene took three weeks, resulting in 9 minutes and 42 seconds of film. During the chase scene, the Charger loses six hubcaps and has different ones missing at different times. The production company was denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now watch the car chase below - all 9 minutes 28 seconds of it - and don't forget to check out our pop art !