Before today’s Fast and Furious style CG-enhanced, gravity-defying car mayhem there was the car chase in Bullitt.

It is rare that a movie’s reputation rests on one scene – but I think that’s very much the case with Bullitt.  The first/only thing people remember about it is the iconic car chase around San Francisco, for which car-mad star Steve McQueen performed some of the driving stunts himself, giving it an extra air of realism. The rest of the film is – though – a bit meh. I have it on DVD but, car chase aside, it is frankly a bit of a by-the-numbers cop thriller, although McQueen is as cool as ever.

Posters for Bullitt are very collectible (aka crazy expensive). Many feature the iconic image of McQueen with the shoulder holster, which is on the cover of the DVD above that I do own. This however is the rather different Belgian version, which I bought recently as part of a batch of Belgian posters. The illustration is by Raymond Elseviers, who was a prolific movie poster artist in Belgium in the 60s-80s, responsible for more than 225 posters (!). He has a very distinctive graphic style.

You can find this online too for sale for stupid prices – a snip at $695!  – although my copy cost a fraction of that. Given I am ambivalent about the movie itself I am planning to put this poster up for sale, notwithstanding the so-so condition it is in.