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![]() Former Coffee Cantata location, 2026 Union Street, in 2002. |
The streets of San
Francisco helped director Peter Yates revolutionize cinema with the original,
the mother of all car chases in the 1968 action film Bullitt.
Highlights are magic flip-flops between Russian Hill and Potrero Hill, as
well as some wild hills on Taylor Street and frequent appearances by the
same green VW Beetle. As played by Steve McQueen, Bullitt was a tough cop
before Dirty Harry. Assigned to protect a witness, Bullitt soon realizes
things are not as they appear in this story of political corruption also
starring Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, and Jacqueline Bisset. Bullitt is
a stylish classic that has held up nicely. Well, except for a scene in which
five men stand around a huge fax machine that has an acoustic coupler and
carbon paper! Nearly a full minute of screen time goes by as the cops wait
in silence for the incoming fax! Surely this was cutting edge police communications
equipment in 1968. The license number on Bullitt's green Mustang is In the film's opening sequence,
the Bush Street exit of the garage in the 450 Sutter Medical Building
represents a fictional location in Chicago. The east side of the building
at 645 Bush Street along the Chelsea Street alley remains scarred from
cars hitting the wall during the filming of this scene. |
Copyright 2001-2003 Hank Donat |