Bullitt (1968) - 22 corrections

The famous car scene in this movie almost didn't happen. Neither Steve McQueen nor the director wanted to do the scene. Steve McQueen felt he had done too many movies with car chases in them, but was talked into it by the producer. [In a March 1987 'Muscle Car Review' article, Carey Loftin, the stunt coordinator for the film said that Steve McQueen was all for the chase sequence and that he even argued against undercranking the cameras for the chase. He wanted it to be as real as possible.]

In the scene at Enricos, where Bullitt is contacting the informant. Bullitt is seeking any and all information about Johnny Ross, a Chicago-based mobster. Lt. Bullitt asks about Ross' brother Pete. If Lt. Bullitt did not know anything about Ross, how did he know Ross had a brother? [Nowhere is it said that Bullitt does not know anything about Ross. Bullitt wants any and all info, but that does not mean he does not know some things already.]

To see the two takes of the chase going down the stepped hill, watch the silver-blue Cadillac, in the intersection. During one take, the first time we get to see a few frames of the yellow cab, the Cadillac does not move. The last we see of the chase through this same intersection, the Cadillac comes to a screeching halt, as the Charger passes through the intersection. [The earlier camera angle obscures the Cadillac's movement, but the stunt is the same action filmed from multiple angles simultaneously (and shown to us at different times to fake that it's happening again), so no difference can possibly exist.]

During the chase on the hill, the Charger loses a hubcap while making a left turn (in the only shot when the yellow cab is visible beside the Cadillac). When the same location is shown, but from the opposite angle, the hubcap is not visible in the different take. The hubcap should be rolling in front of the Mustang, as it closely follows the Charger. [The change of angle is what hides the wheelcover. It isn't a different take- its the same take from another camera angle.]

When the Dodge crashes into the camera, there is a red flash. If you slow down the scene (on DVD or video) the road is totally empty after the red flash. Where did the Dodge go? [If it requires slo-mo, it's not a valid mistake. The single-frame of empty street isn't recognizable at normal speed.]

At the beginning of the chase scene, when the cars are in street traffic, the rearview mirror shows the driver's face, then, a moment later, it shows the passenger's face. When the Charger crests the "stepped" hill, the mirror shows the Mustang, which is following. The passenger's face is seen a few more times, too, but the view from the camera's POV should show only the driver. [The mirror could easily have been moved during the driving. Alternatively, the camera angle may have been changed to show the passenger. If you are in a backseat, and move around the seat, you can change the angle of the reflection to see the other passenger.]

Just before the hit, Stanton rings Bullitt from the hotel room and Bullitt says her will be there in 5 minutes. When Bullit arrives, the injured parties are coming down in the lift. Later Bullitt enters the hotel room and we see photos of the shot man on the wall. So, in the time it took Bullitt to get dressed and arrive, the police had summoned a photographer who took the photos, the medics had arrived, stabilised 'Ross' and prepared him to be moved. That's a lot to do in 5 minutes. [Saying 5 minutes just means he'll be headed there directly. Traffic or other delays would take longer. When he says 5 minutes, he means he'll be headed there right away, probably after completing something that he thinks will just take a short time. ]

Bullitt, the movie, is based on one huge plot hole: if it wasn't for the "professional" hitman's sloppy work, Bullitt and his team wouldn't have been needed for much. The hitman enters the hotel room, wounds the policeman, then shoots the target with one shotgun blast to his upper left shoulder area. Any hitman worth his fee knows that this is not likely to be an immediately fatal wound. The hitman had a pump shotgun and should have finished the job right then and there. Surely he had more than two shells. Instead, he sees the target is slumped unconscious, then leaves the hotel room without checking to see that his victim really is dead. Nothing seems to be immediately threatening the hit team, though. The hitman spends the rest of his life trying to finish his job and pays the ultimate price for being lazy. When you can get past this gaping plot hole, sit back and enjoy the best movie car chase scenes ever. [Character mistake, not a movie mistake. And most movies require some suspension of belief in order to move the plot along. It would have been a pretty short movie if he had done his job properly.]

In the shot just after the hitman shoots Bullitt's windshield, after the word "Ahead" passes under the camera, an object that looks like either a spent shotgun shell or maybe a projectile to break the car's glass bounces on the roadway, beside the Charger, then it moves towards the camera. Whatever it is, it loses momentum (therefore it most likely came from inside the Charger). It is visible about 11 frames before the smoke from a gun blast (therefore a shell should not be below fast moving cars) and the gun is never sticking out of the side-window far enough for an ejected shell casing to be outside of the Charger, anyway. Although it is noticeable at normal speed, slow motion helps see the object much more . While it looks a lot like an errant shotgun shell, since one end is brighter than the rest of it, its length isn't exactly right for a shotgun shell - it may be a bit too long. [So it may not be a shotgun shell. It could be something else falling off the Charger, like body trim, or road debris. Not a mistake.]

When the gunman fires the first shot during the car chase, the Mustang swerves violently. However we don't see this shot damage the Mustang. From such an incredibly close range there is no way the shot could have missed and a shotgun blast at this range would have left a sizable hole in the car. ["No way"? People trying to commit suicide with a hand held gun have missed. Firing from a car moving at high speed, trying to hit a 'violently swerving' target? It's extremely plausible to have missed.]

During the chase scene, one of the bad guys is reloading his shot gun with three bullets. When he shoots the cop, he shoots four times instead of three. [The shooter loads it once, and never reloads. As such, we see three shells going in, but we don't know one or more shells aren't already in it.]

After the charger bursts away at the start of the chase, Bullitt is held up in traffic and it's 12 seconds before he accelerates away, meaning of course there is a 12 second gap between the cars. Immediately the scene cuts to both cars going uphill. Now there is less than 3 seconds between them. (I timed it.). [The two shots are not back-to-back in real time. The second shot can be two or three turns later for all we know, and the 'stang definitely handles better in the turns and would make up the difference in very little time.]

During the chase scene, the Mustang's rearview mirror usually shows part of the driver's face, either Bullitt's or his stunt double's. While near the end of the chase on the hill, when we can see the water of the Bay, the Charger can be seen (from within the following Mustang) having a hard time turning left. The Mustang's rearview mirror shows the stunt driver excitedly chewing gum, but Bullitt is not chewing gum. [Just because we don't see the gum placed into his mouth, and just because in some shots he isn't chewing, that doesn't mean it isn't there. The face in the mirror is indeed McQueen himself, and he is obviously actually driving the car in the chase, hence, Bullitt is chewing gum in the chase.]

Steve McQueen changes up a gear about 19 times. [Although it is technically a mistake, it can be explained by the fact that the sound of the 390 4V in the Mustang was dubbed over with the sound of a GT40's 427. The Mustang had a four-speed tranny, while the GT40 had a five-speed.] [At best, the Mustang goes through five distinct gears when accelerating after the slide to avoid the cyclist, then catching up to the Charger. At that point, the camera angle changes to inside the Charger, and the driving becomes erratic. A slow-down was certainly possible, putting the Mustang down a gear or two before we hear further upshifts. As for five gears, the car is wearing aftermarket wheels, right? Who says it can't have an aftermarket-prepped 5-gear trans, for the movie's sake? In reality it didn't, but the character could have made the change.]

The gunman is on the back seat when the Charger crashes, but in the next shot (showing the bodies burning) he is in the front passenger seat. [The Charger has crashed and flipped, and the guy was not wearing a seat belt. He could be anywhere after all that.]

In the leadup to the chase there is a large van and at least one other vehicle between the two cars. After cutting back from a view of the hitman, these vehicles have gone and have been replaced by a white estate with three people in it which is between the two cars. After cutting back again there are no vehicles between the cars. There is a white car to the right of the Mustang, but it only contains the driver. [These scenes are not necessarily shown in 'real time', so the cuts between, where they show the faces of the bad guys, are there to suggest a bit of time is passing as they follow Bullitt.]

With the camera inside the Mustang we hear the tyres squeal when the Charger makes a left at the bottom of the hills. When the Mustang takes the same corner, no squeal. Surely we would have heard the Mustang's tyres squeal too - especially being closer to the camera. [Not true. The Mustang begins to squeal its tires just a moment before the camera cuts to another location and view of the Charger approaching, but the squeal is definitely there, good and loud.]

During the chase, the same white Firebird turns right in front of the Charger from a side junction three times. Then, a few seconds later, the Charger hits a wall after swerving to avoid the same car. [Not so. The white Pontiac turning down the hill is a Lemans, the larger sister of the Firebird. Later, at the curved wall, a Firebird is indeed coming the other way, but it's a different car.]

After the charger hits the camera Bullitt has just passed a blue car and then he overshoots the corner. When he reverses and pulls away again there is no sign of the blue car. [Not true at all. This scene, done in one take, has the Charger and Mustang passing the same blue GTO with a white top. The Charger crashes, then we see the Mustang screech to a halt ahead of the GTO. The Mustang reverses as the GTO pulls over and stops. The Mustang passes in front of the GTO again as it races off after the Charger again. The GTO is always there, partially visible behind the Mustang. See screenshots.]

Jaqueline Bisset and Steve McQueen are driving in her yellow Porsche on the busy freeway. A grey saloon and 3 red lorries feature behind in the shot. Bisset and McQueen stop the car and get out for a chat on the side of the road. They then get back in and drive off, with same grey car and 3 red lorries behind them! [They are not shown driving away in this scene. There is a brief shot of the car parked on the shoulder, and one red truck can be seen approaching, but it is a highway and there's probably other red trucks traveling there.]