Muscle and movies

Thanks for the valuable info, Strokerboy. My fixation with the Challenger began with the original Vanishing Point movie, starring Barry Newman and released in 1971. Now, THAT'S AN R/T!

Did you know that the white car that smashed into the two bulldozers in the '71 Vanishing Point movie was a '67-'68 Camaro? Evidently the producers of the movie still wanted to save the new-for'70 Challenger from certain ruin. Well, since they beat it to death anyway (I'm kinda sure the production outfit trashed more than just one Challenger, of course) it was good only for parts after it had completed its movie duties.

Legendary stuntman Hal Needham took charge of the great chase and crash scenes in Vanishing Point. I could be wrong, but I would not be surprised if Hal Needham started his "Crash 'n Burn" movie crusade with what was arguably the greatest chase movie of all time, BULLITT (1968). During the time of Bullitt and Vanishing Point, remember that there were hardly any special effects facilities for car chases, so "what we saw was what we got". The actual sight of distortion of doors, fenders and entire body structures, the actual sound of imploding metal, the actual sight of drifting, flipping, somersaulting, head-on collisions, explosions, and everything else. Can you imagine how many COLLECTIBLE CARS they crashed in the movies? Now they have computer simulation for everything, but that won't bring those genuine gems of American muscle back to the market!

Reminds me of a friend who used to get away with this line: "Ma'am, galing po ako sa Sampaguita Pictures. Napansin ko yung lumang auto ninyo sa garahe. Alam po ninyo, tamang-tama yan sa aming bagong pelikula! Pasasabugin namin yan!"

Happy trails!

Wow, another informative post from sir techno!! B)

To me the best car chase is Gene Hackman's The French Connection,

See more of the cars that were used in The French Connection.

Cars in The French Connection Movie

Nice site, tnx Jared

great info techno, picamaro and strokerboy!
I wonder how I'd react if someone came up to me, pointed to the firebird and said "pasabugin namin yan" hahaha

nice link jared, sana we posted those pics and let people guess the cars hehe (oh wait, there is a thread like that here i think.. let me find it :D

hahaha, I wonder how would you react kapag pinag-awayan yung firebird mo ng Coke and Pepsi...








(gawin naming tansan yan!!) hahaha, JOKE! :D

I think the The French Connection is the ultimate European vs. American muscle show-offs :lol:

This post has been edited by jared201 on March 19, 2008 01:56 am

Maybe If someone says that to my car, hmm..... MAPAPATAY KO NG DISORAS!!! :D HEHEHEHEH!!

The car featured in the film is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, with a 440 cubic-inch V-8, and not a 426 Hemi V-8 (as is often believed). Five white Challengers loaned from the Chrysler Corporation were used during the filming. The sounds of the 1970 Dodge Challenger in certain scenes are actually from the 1968 Mustang in Bullitt.
There was actually four 440 Challenger R/Ts and one 383 Challenger R/T, which was an automatic with green interior. This one was used for some exterior shots and it pulled the 1967 Camaro up to speed so the Camaro could hit the bulldozers. As confirmed by property master Dennis J. Parrish, all of the cars were NOT originally white. They were just painted white for the film. During the scene where Kowalski has a flat tire, you can see green paint in the dents. The color white was chosen for the car simply so the car would stand out against the background scenery in the movie. White was not symbolic in any way.
The director of the movie chose Gene Hackman to play the lead role in Vanishing Point, but the studio, 20th Century Fox, insisted on using Barry Newman if the movie was going to be made.

Everyone seems to forget the great car chase in The Seven-Ups with Roy Scheider!
The vehicle that Roy Scheider is seen driving is a 1973 Pontiac Ventura Sprint coupe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgLH8WAWGt0

What do Bullitt, French Connection and The Seven-Ups have in common?
The Stunt Driver Bill Hickman! The actor is better known for his prowess as a stunt driver. His work in Bullitt is legendary where he drove the black Dodge Charger 440 Magnum that was pursued by Steve McQueen in his Ford Mustang 390 G.T. For his reputation earned on Bullitt, Hickman was hired by William Friedkin for The French Connection. He staged a similar chase on the streets of Manhattan but with a greater presence of civilians, an element that had been missing in Bullitt. Doubling for Gene Hackman in the more hazardous stunts, Hickman drove the brown 1970 Pontiac at speeds up to 90mph with Friedkin manning the camera right behind him. Hickman's third spectacle would be captured in The The Seven-Ups (1973) where, yet again, he virtually outdid himself doubling for Roy Scheider in another landmark car chase. Before becoming a famous movie stuntman, he was James Dean's driver in 1955 when the latter was killed after a roadside accident. Hickman, driving the Ford station-wagon and trailer that hauled Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder, was the first on the scene when he came upon the accident.

it's sad that the Heckflosse is only a background vehicle in Bullitt huhuhuhu :huh:

(IMG:http://www.imcdb.org/images/007/415.jpg)

driving those cars like that seems like an arm workout already for the driver :)

Yes, the original Vanishing Point and Bullitt are great car movie's I never get tied of watching them.

I also like the remake of Vanishing Point in particular when after destroying several police cars trying to catch the Challenger the head cop drops the classic line “It take a Mopar to catch a Mopar” and then proceeds to deputize the Black Beast (68 Charger) before a car chase.......watch on Youtube for the end result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GUcI-KfXXs

There is something about black chargers….Bullitt, Vanishing Point, Gone in 60 sec, Death Proof. They just look soooo sinister!!!

I like the bumper sticker!

My wife yes. My dog maybe.
My Dodge?......NEVER!

B) yup, now i want one

Attached Image

Techno, I've got to agree with your comment about Bullitt being the greatest car chase movie. Just had another look on Youtube and it still holds up with what is being delivered in todays movie’s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu5zV9gnOqU&feature=related

Just love the facial expressions of the guys in the Charger, driver only offers the faintest hint of a smile when he thinks he has lost Bullitt.

Triple Back Charger, black vinyl top on black body with black interior….oh yes!!!

68 GT Mustang….what a machine!!!

Notice the white firebird that keeps popping up during the chase along with some other very nice cars?

i had a great time reading all that behind-the-scenes info steelrat, nice post! :)

dont forget Blade's black charger, that thing looks downright evil, befitting a vampire killer :D

did anyone catch bullrun? i posted it before.. Mr ANGRY the charger. now that's an apt name.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/744737

Thanks for the valuable movie info, Steelrat! We are now happy to know that not only are you a car enthusiast of the highest order, but a very knowledgeable moviephile as well!

My limited car chase movie knowledge started and ended with Hal Needham's stunt production outfit, but I never knew who actually did the dirty work [the driving, of course] on the flicks that are the subject of this Off-Topic but still highly interesting discussion! Mods, thank you for bearing with us!

I wonder, did Bill Hickman also do the crazy driving in the following legendary automotive blood-and-guts flicks?>
1. The Getaway (1972): Starred Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw. Theme music by QUINCY JONES! Lotsa car chases and crashes in a redneck setting, thanks to the plot, which centers on Steve McQueen as a hard-luck fugitive from justice
2. McQ (1974): Starred John Wayne. More chase scenes, and a brewster green '73 Trans Am sqaushed by two garbage trucks in an alley. Owing to John Wayne's conservative taste due to his advanced age, the screaming chicken on the hood was an option-delete item.
3. The Driver(1978) Ryan O'Neal and the delicious Isabelle Adjani. Jared, do you know this movie? Our (anti-)hero methodically demolished a W108 250S piece-by-piece in a vacant parking garage, just by pulling off parts thru precision driving! Various other desireable cars were trashed, such as a '76 Trans Am, a '77 Chevy stepside pickup, etc. Or did you notice that because you were to busy ogling at Isabelle Adjani? Hehehe
4. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) A B-movie if ever there was one, because none of the cast really took off after that movie. First demolition of a '69 Charger filled with a bunch of "criminal hippies" who were too loaded with LSD to even care. They hit a moving locomotive.

Take note, there's a guy at the DCPH forum (www.dcph.info) named TOYWIZARD who sells nice, clear, high-fidelity DVD copies of the first three flicks, plus other car-themed movie greats such as Steve McQueen's LE MANS (1971), James Garner's GRAND PRIX (1966), and a whole bunch of feature films and automotive documentaries with themes such as vintage rallying, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, CORVETTE, MUSTANG, and musclecars in general. Of course, what he's doing isn't exactly legal, but you're not telling Edu Manzano, right? Send him a PM when you log into DCPH, and tell him Technophobia sent you.

Finally, is that Claude Akins walking alongside the parked Heckflosse in that captured scene of Bullitt? As I recall, many noteworthy Hollywood celebs joined Steve McQueen in that great movie. Robert Vaughn of the "Man from U.N.C.L.E." TV series fame was one. And of course, who could forget the then-lucious Jacqueline Bisset?

Actually, Miss Bisset played the "almost other woman" in one of my favorite films, the 1967 Stanley Donen production of "Two for the Road". The plot revolves around the trials and travails of a young married couple (Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney) whose rise to success and fortune was best described in the cars they drove. First they started married life with an old,dilapidated MG that actually burned to the ground. Then when their daughter was born and the business flourished, they were cruising in a Triumph Herald saloon. When they had "finally arrived", their ride of choice was a brand-new white Mercedes-Benz 230SL Pagoda (which turned out to be Stanley Donnen's personal car!). Aside from the cheesy but humorous and heartwarming story, it was the movie's theme song that really made the earth move. The Henry Mancini rendition of Two for the Road was on the Billboard charts for quite a while. In fact, my better half and I have adopted it as our very own theme song, even if the movie is considerably older than the wifey. Type lang namin. No chase scenes, but thankfully the veddy British humor is comprehensible, thanks also to English subtitles. If you can't find the movie, let me know. I'll be glad to lend you the original DVD.