On October 17, 1968, the movie “Bullitt” was released, with one of the best chases in the history of cinema. He boosted the legend of the Ford Mustang and of course Steve McQueen. The news about a “remake” is back.
The original 1968 film was based on a novel that came out shortly before, “Mute Witness” by Robert L. Fish. It’s about a San Francisco Police Department lieutenant trying to solve the murder of a protected witness who was going to testify against the mob. He has all the makings of a good thriller police.
Undoubtedly the most memorable scene in the film is Frank Bullitt’s pursuit of a couple of mobsters, one with a 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback and the mobsters with a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T. Both cars, therefore, were completely new when the film was shot.
The chase became very famous for its apparent realism and the spectacular nature of what was filmed by the camera with very few special effects, from when the specialists played the guy wildly. As protagonist we have a volkswagen beetle green, which appears in several seemingly unconnected scenes, and the Charger’s runaway hubcaps also played a role.
The two cars that starred in the 1968 film, a Mustang GT 390 and a Charger R/T
There have been rumors for years about the reissue of the film, in fact, it was talked about 15 years ago and he even put Brat Pitt in the pools to star in the new movie. Now the news about the film is back, and it will be Steven Spielberg himself who directs it and under the auspices of Warner Bros.
From what we know to date, there is a small stumbling block to resolve, that of the character’s rights with McQueen’s descendants. It shouldn’t be too difficult, considering Steve’s son Chad McQueen and Steve’s granddaughter Molly McQueen will be executive producers.
Information, deadline exclusiveSpielberg will co-produce the film with Kristie Macosko Krieger from a screenplay by Josh Singer. It would not be a reissue with the same story, it would be a reinterpretation of the character and we understand that set in the present time, not in 1968. The script is not finished yet.
In the sixth-generation Mustang, Ford capitalized on some of the classic GT 390 legend, with the same body color and obviously a V8 under the hood.
It is a golden opportunity for Ford to invest in marketing and bring back a Ford Mustang on screen, although we must also assess the possibility that the film makes a nod to the current era and instead of a noisy V8 the resurrected Frank Bullit drives a Mustang Mach-E, and that alone the wheels will sound and something will have to be added in post-production.
Bad guys can also drive the Dodge Charger, currently on sale but with a four-door body, not a muscular coupe with the body “cokebottle” (B Body). They can even stretch out and use the most brutal version on sale, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, with almost 800 hp stock, and that sure does sound like a sinister V8.
It’s a mystery if there will be a chase in the movie. Filmmaking techniques have improved a lot in the past 50+ years, and whether you use computer graphics (although modern CGI tricks the eye a lot) or traditional stunts, it’s sure to be just as spectacular. And if it is already in San Francisco, the bar will be very high, especially if there are also jumps on its steep slopes near the tram tracks.
A fragment of the 1968 movie chase. I recommend turning up the volume on the speakers
Remember that Ford had a Mustang Bullitt for sale a few years ago, specifically at the beginning of the century. The 2001 Mustang Bullitt It also had a V8 and not a small displacement, 4.6 liters, but in terms of power it was competitive with the current four-cylinder, only 270 hp. 5,582 units of this model were made. In 2008-2009 there was another fifth generation, this time with 315 hp, 7,700 units were built of the 2008 Mustang Bullitt.
Many more were sold from the 2018 reissue, which lasted for a couple of years, and that Ford had to expand production due to the demand and good reception it had, including old Europe. The classic model became a legendreaching the different units used in the film stratospheric prices at auctions.
Although the UNICORN with capital letters was the “hero car” of 1968, that is to say, the GT 390 that was used in the most closed shots. It was believed to be lost for years, although in reality it was in the hands of a lucky man who bought it at a ridiculous price in 1972 and kept it jealously guarded until very recently.