Bullitt Chase Scene(New) [Archive] - Mustang Forums at High Performance Stangs

VSTNG

06-29-08, 06:39 PM

Very cool! I love that movie! I've watched it frame by frame in slow motion several times and find that unlike modern movies that have someone in charge of scene by scene continuity, this movie has some interesting mistakes. Nonetheless, it's still the best chase scene of any movie.

Continuity: The Mustang has no side mirrors when parked at the carwash, but upon leaving it does have one (round - not stock '68 rectangular) on the driver's side.
Continuity: When Bullitt leaves the hospital, taking Ross' body to the morgue, he is still dressed in in the clothes he wore when he responded to the shooting the night before: brown cardigan over a light blue shirt. Very next scene, when he pulls up and parks the Mustang, steals the newspaper, visits local grocery, he is now wearing the trench coat over the trademark green sportcoat and blue turtleneck, BEFORE he goes home, showers and is seen changing into these very same clothes for the remainder of the film.
Continuity: The Charger hits a parked car and damages the left fender, yet it is undamaged in subsequent shots.

Continuity: During the chase scene, with the camera is shooting behind the Charger as it makes the left turn in front of the Cadillac, it loses the left front hubcap. When the next scene shifts, and the camera is in front of the Charger it does not lose the hubcap, which in later scenes the hubcap is back in place again.
Continuity: During the chase, the Dodge Charger loses more than four wheel covers.
Continuity: At the car wash, the Mustang has dirt clearly visible by the driver's side rocker panel, this dirt disappears in subsequent scenes.
Continuity: When the guys in the Charger first lose sight of Bullitt as they stop to make a left uphill curving turn, there is a green Ford Falcon parked on their left, this car is replaced with a red and white Chevrolet circa 55 or 56 that was parked further away.
Continuity: When Bullit yields for the first car at the 66 station, it is a Pontiac not a Plymounth Fury and when it switches to a different car, that car is a Desoto not a Ford Victoria.
Revealing mistakes: At the end of the chase, the '68 Dodge Charger drives through the gas station and out the back before the explosion.
Revealing mistakes: When the cars pull into the gas station during the chase, a chain is very briefly visible between the Charger and the Mustang.
Factual errors: According to elevator markings, most of the action in the hospital occurs on the 24th floor but when anyone gets near a window, it's obvious the floor isn't nearly that high.
Anachronisms: The model tag on the side of the Mustang says GTA, which denotes an automatic transmission
Continuity: During the chase between the Mustang and the Charger, just after the Charger side-swipes the truck and hits the fence, the old man reaches back to roll down the driver-side quarter window. At this point, the sides and doors are rather damaged, yet the two cars do no make contact until a few seconds later.
Continuity: The Charger supposedly explodes in a gas station, yet can be seen in the background of the explosion.
Crew or equipment visible: A forward aerial shot of the two cars about to turn right (on a street called "Mansell") shows a crew member on the right side of the screen waving the cars through.
Crew or equipment visible: In the scene at Enrico's restaurant, a policeman with a walkie-talkie doing crowd control is visible through doorway.
Continuity: During some shots, the Mustang has an exhaust pipe below the rear bumper (a standard Mustang); during others, the exhaust pipe is set within a hole in the bumper itself (a special issue Mustang GT).
Continuity: When the Mustang makes its U-turn at the 66 station, Bullitt yields to a 66 Plymouth Fury, which becomes a late 50's Ford Victoria. With the same scene change, the time of day switches from late afternoon to mid-morning (see the shadows).
Boom mic visible: A microphone is visible as the killer questions the doctor.
Continuity: After the man with grey hair is spotted in the hospital, the cops are alerted on the ground floor. One walks outside where it is quite dark. Later, Bullitt chases the man outside, where it is daylight.
Continuity: Luggage disappears from the airport doors between shots.
Crew or equipment visible: When the cab drops off Frank Bullitt to pick up his mustang at the car wash, as the car door swings open, the reflection of the camera and a crew member is visible in the door glass.
Continuity: During the overhead shot of Ross' cab early in the film, the Ford sedan shown is a 1968. In all other shots, it's a 1967.
Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the chase scene you can hear a manual stick shift changing gears on the Mustang during exterior shots of the car, but shots inside the vehicle during the chase show an automatic and not a manual stick.
Continuity: When the bad guys in the Charger have lost the Mustang, they look to the left and see a small red car (Fiat) on top of the hill with no car parked directly in front of it. Five seconds later a 1958 Dodge appears parked right in the front of the red car.
Continuity: During the pursuing through the airport, Bullitt wears a trench coat, jacket and blue shirt. At the end, when he gets closer to his apartment, he's still wearing the trench coat and the jacket is in his hand. Inside the apartment he is wearing a brown cardigan over the shirt and the trench coat is in his hand.
Continuity: When Capt. Bennett calls Lt. Bullitt at home , he catches him right after taking a shower and his hair is sopping wet. After hanging up the phone, Cathy hands him a cup of coffee and his hair is completely dry.
Errors in geography: The address of the hotel where Johnny Ross is killed is twice given as 226 Embarcadero Road. The address is real, but the correct name of the thoroughfare on which it is located is The Embarcadero, not Embarcadero Road.
Continuity: In the final scene, were Bullitt is washing his face and looking in the mirror, he is wearing the brown cardigan sweater from the day before at the hospital, not the blue turtleneck he had been wearing.
Continuity: During the chase, the Charger changes from a regular Dodge Charger to a Dodge Charger R/T
Continuity: During the chase scene, the weather changes from completely cloudy to clear and sunny to partly cloudy several times.
Continuity: During the car chase, the Dodge Charger's left front hub cap falls off as it make a left turn. Yet when Bullit runs the Dodge into the fuel station both left hubcaps fall off and are clearly seen rolling beside the Dodge.
Continuity: During the chase scene, when we see the interior of the Dodge car with the two passengers inside, the rearview mirror shows the face of the passenger riding shotgun. This means that the mirror is tilted to the right, making it impossible for the driver to see who comes from behind, like he does so often.
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Chalmers tells his flunky to call Dr. Willard at home. When he returns, he says he can't get in touch with Lieutenant Willard.
Continuity: When Bullitt and Cathy are by the water's edge, as she pulls her hair back over her right ear she is holding a flower which subsequently disappears and reappears between shots.
Continuity: When Bullitt continues pursuit of the Charger after spinning off into the dirt, you can hear him upshift once as he is driving away. In the next shot you can hear him upshift another three times. It is impossible to upshift any more than three times in total in a 4-speed transmission.
Continuity: Several motions made by Phil (the driver of the Charger) suggest that the car is a manual, and what appears to be a shifter's sleeve is briefly visible after Mike loads his shotgun. As the charger approaches the truck that it later sideswipes, you can hear a down shift, and Phil's hand does not leave the steering wheel.
Revealing mistakes: The DVD's subtitles read "mess and baum scissors" instead of "Metzenbaum scissors" which were named after the American surgeon/inventor. R C Hamilton.
Revealing mistakes: During the chase, many of the shots involving a screeching left or right turn clearly show skid marks already on the pavement, indicating a re-take.
Revealing mistakes: In the scene in the ambulance taking Stan to the hospital, Frank tells Stan to "hang in there Carl", the actor's real name.
Continuity: When Ross shoots at Bullitt on the runway, his second shot destroys a blue runway light. When Bullitt gets up and runs, the blue light looks normal except that the light is turned off.