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Archive 1

Book reference required

What is the name of the fluids book used in the movie bullitt, in the scene where he is required to look up pipes? this has been bugging me for years - it looks like a hand book to get if I only knew the title! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.174.129.4 (talk) 19:17, 16 April 2014 (UTC)

There were dozens of such in the times that slide rules (good to 2 or 3 significant digits, only) were the only realistically available portable calculating tool. You'd be expected to repeat the calculations later, long-hand, but the look-up tables were the quickest solution at the time. One of the first uses of computers (from Babbage's "Difference Engine" to "Baby") was to compile such tables. A classical case was for artillery aiming tables, to avoid the need to make calculations under battle conditions. This example may mix theoretical calculations (volumes, flow rates) with empirical factors (friction, viscosity) which are very hard to calculate. It sounds like a hyper-specific architectural plumbing calculator - the sort frequently produced as part of sales materials by (in this case) a plumbing component supplier. I carry a similar book in my work bag, not for the calculations, but for the lists of standard sizes of oilfield components. When I was at school, I kept "Kemp's Engineering Directory" beside my homework desk, mainly for the tables of calculations and the compendium of formulae, calculation methods, and a set of logarithm tables. In various contexts at college I heard of the "Rubber Bible" (produced by a rubber company) providing similar services for a rubber company;s advertising department), which was a treasured office reference. There are many others in different industries, I'm sure.

If you really wanted to track down the specific book, major plumbing component suppliers of the early 1960s would be the place to start - the sort of catalogue that you'd consult to equip (say) an apartment block or hotel undergoing construction (the scene is in some sort of architect's office). But they're the sort of book that go into the recycling bin as attics get cleared by people who assume that all of this information will always be available on the internet (I keep my references because not having any internet connection is a normal thing at work), so they're going to be getting rarer, rapidly.

My nark with the article is the mention of finding (the hotel woman) with her "throat garotted", which is a very strange construction since garotting by definition involves compression of the throat. Very strange phrasing. AKarley (talk) 17:50, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Plot isn't in sequence

watched the film a few hours ago, bullitt talks to cabbie and goes on a tour of retracing "ross" 's footsteps, THEN he returned to his mustang to participate in the famous car chase.

References to use

Please add to the list references that can be used for the film article.
  • Leitch, Thomas (2002). "Bullitt and the Police Film". Crime Films. Genres in American Cinema. Cambridge University Press. pp. 215–240. ISBN 0521646715.

Cleanup needed

Cleanup needed: Excess bullets in 'Quotes' section.

Done. Slowmover 20:35, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Green VW

Does the Green VW need to be mentioned? It was seen (and used to identify it as such) as a purposefully repeated sequence to show the same section from different angles, first from the Charger, then behind from the top of the Fillmore, then from the Mustang, then in a follow car, then from the intersection where they pulled the left.

I thought that could be added under a trivia section or something similar. Watching Bullitt pass a white car, a green car, and make a sharp turn on a downhill section several times seemed fishy. Instinctually, I'm guessing the reason was for cost saving measures, but it did provide unique, multiple angles as you noted. Since the car chase scene is the defining feature of the movie, and the Green VW plays a large (albeit inconspicuous) role, it should be mentioned. LostCause 10:26, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
The film did win the Oscar for best editing, I don't see that given for such ham fisted editing. The other point that it is actually a device (to obviously show the same section over and over again), is that the sound and editing style changes as soon as they complete the cycle. It seems that they are trying to make the chase like a song with the VW being the bridge of the song between 2 different sections. It's just far too obvious to be anything but an intentional device, not a cost cutting measure. Again they don't give editing Oscars for cost cutting obvious gaffes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.213.203.12 (talk) 20:14, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

No, the editor can only work with what the director gives him. It's nothing to do with different angles on the same scene, they're supposed to be different scenes at different points in the chase. The fact that the chase cars keep passing the same green VW and white Mercury Cougar over and over again is simply a continuity mistake you're not supposed to notice. The VW and the Cougar are 'extras', used for background. You're not supposed to look at them. Khamba Tendal (talk) 19:19, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

"Allegedly a parody of the chase scene is in Clint Eastwood film The Dead Pool"

This needs a source or citation, otherwise should be removed.


Why is Bullit refering to Bullitt? Bullit is a popular Dutch energy drink and major sponsor of a world championship darter (raymond van barneveld) so it's probably also known outside the netherlands, in my opinion Bullit should not directly refer to Bullitt...

Car chase section

I just finished a copy-edit of this section—mostly moving things around a bit—and I'd really welcome opinions. Make sure I didn't change the meaning of anything. I added the sourced fact about the Mustang reproductions, and all I removed was:

The production company was denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge.

I just couldn't find a place where this fit. It wasn't related to any other fact in the section. (It could use a source too.) One last thing. The fact about being voted the best car chase in film history—it now needs a source, badly. There were 3, but they were all bad and I couldn't find a replacement. If anybody can find a reference for this, please add it. Or perhaps if you could find a nicely sourced similar fact, you could replace this one. Anyway, this is a great article. Hope I improved it just a little. --AnnaFrance (talk) 02:29, 19 May 2008 (UTC)


There should be a trivia note added that famed comic book artist Gene Colan was so excited by the chase scene that he devoted over ten pages of (I believe) Captain America number 109 to a car chase with the red skull up the Meritt parkway in New York. Doing so left so little room in the script for the remaining dialogue that he got into trouble with Stan Lee, who wrote the issue. The annecdote is features in Gene's art book "Secrets in the Shadows" and is a common story told at public appearences.

Seems like entirely too much information about the Mustang reproductions. I think a note mentioning the Bullitt and a link to the main Mustang article would be enough. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.23.153.248 (talk) 15:50, 13 September 2009 (UTC)


The article states that Torqueflite-equipped Chargers were used in the chase scene. Despite the number of times I've watched the chase scene, I went back and watched a couple more times to confirm my suspicions. There are definitely three, and possibly four scenes where it's very obvious the Charger is a four-speed. One scene in particular, where Bill Hickman is preparing to do a u-turn, the camera actually shows the shifter in first gear. It also shows him shifting gears, and you can hear him downshift in one scene. There's another scene where the Charger is quite obviously pulling away from the Mustang and you can hear Hickman shifting. I know a lot of sound is dubbed, but I don't think it was in that particular scene. Nevertheless, in the scene where the shifter is visible there is NO doubt the car Hickman is driving is a four speed. Jimpatnmatt (talk) 21:55, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:B70-10404.jpg

Image:B70-10404.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 10:59, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:B70-10404.jpg

Image:B70-10404.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 19:04, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

"Downtown" San Francisco?

The entry read "Bullitt is probably best-remembered for its car chase scene through the streets of Downtown San Francisco..." In fact, the chase scene spends just a few seconds of the 9+ minute sequence Downtown; the vast majority of it is confined to Russian Hill, the Marina, the Outer Mission/Bernal Hill, McLaren Park and the roads of Mt. San Bruno. I've removed the "Downtown" from the description. Bricology (talk) 06:27, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

Zodiac

How can a movie made in 1968 be based on a movie made in 2007? 67.176.160.47 (talk) 05:12, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

I fixed the grammar, so it says that Dave Toschi was the basis, not the movie Zodiac, for Bullitt —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.176.160.47 (talk) 05:20, 22 March 2010 (UTC)

10% of the driving

In this article it states that McQueen did about %10 of the driving. This isn't a scientific number, it's cited as something another stunt driver, Mr. Janes, said when he was interviewed recently (after Peter Yates death in 2011). The man was 80 years old when he said that - the number is completely arbitrary. I've been reviewing the scene for an editing class, it's difficult to get even a rough percentage of definitely McQueen/Not McQueen. I'm not sure how much is rear-projection, but Steve is clearly in the car quite a bit - another report says he intentionally leaned towards camera to show that it's really him. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.57.83.76 (talk) 06:27, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

Soundtrack issues

I see in the article that Bullitt was nominated for Best Sound, but the soundtrack dialogue and effects have a lot of problems and irregularities throughout. Granted, digital sound editing was not available in 1968; but there are places where background noise varies severely within dialogue scenes, and missing foleys that, despite artistic discretion, should be there but are missing. One small example is when Bullitt is talking to his man Stanton in the ambulance, and the fill background does not match the dialogue background much at all. A fade up and down of mismatched ambient noise is clearly heard in the mix during the scene. Sudden changes in dial bg noise occur in many places within scenes. Another problem is the loop of the Mustang engine has a high frequency wow in it that repeats over and over during the car chase. — Preceding unsigned comment added by C-post (talkcontribs) 06:15, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

Removed 40th anniversary Bullitt Mustang from the lede

I removed this item from the lead (corrected from the recently and incorrectly edited version):

In 2008, the Ford Motor Company produced the Mustang Bullitt model for the 40th anniversary of the film.

It was added to the lead as a longer item in 2011 [1], and edited down some time later. It just struck me as not at the level of importance to this 1968 movie that merits inclusion in the lead, as 1) it is not directly about the film, instead, a later commercial offshoot product; 2) it is not the only Ford Bullitt Mustang to be released - the importance of the film's 40th anniversary is arbitrary. I updated the mention in the "Legacy" section to include that (according to a source) the 2008 edition was indeed produced for the 40th anniversary. --Tsavage (talk) 11:52, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

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Chalmers

Was Walter Chalmers a Senator, or a senatorial aide? -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 10:55, 10 January 2021 (UTC)

Certainly not a senator, because he is addressed as "Mr. Chalmers" rather than "Senator Chalmers". And also, someone comments about him that he might be preparing to run for office, which is not something you'd say about someone holding office. As for whether he is a senatorial aide, that's unclear. Typically if that were his position, he would live in Washington, not have a huge home in San Francisco. I think we just have to say that the screenplay is unclear (or even confused) on the question of what position Chalmers holds. Mathew5000 (talk) 04:16, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Questions about chase scene filming locations

  • "followed by Midtown(?) shooting on Hyde and Laguna streets" - parallel
  • " locations around and on Filbert and University streets - miles apart

0mtwb9gd5wx (talk) 05:33, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

I rewrote most of that para for clarity. The list of locations was confusing, and from comparing with two of the sources now cited, it wasn't complete. Now it's clear that footage from several locations scattered around the city were edited together -- there is no actual physical route that coincides with the chase. --Tsavage (talk) 02:09, 9 December 2022 (UTC)