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Director Peter Yates was personally selected for "Bullitt" (1968) by Steve McQueen, because Yates had filmed a realistic car chase through the streets of London in "Robbery" (1967). One of the first things Yates did when he got the job was persuade Warner Brothers to buy him a lightweight Arriflex camera that he could use for all of his hand-held footage. Yates called for speeds of about 75 to 80 miles per hour, but the cars (including the ones containing the cameras) reached speeds of over 110 miles per hour. Filming of the chase scene took three weeks, resulting in nine minutes and forty-two seconds of footage. They were denied permission to film on the Golden Gate Bridge. Traditionally, car chases are filmed by second units, but Yates insisted on doing it himself. This was partly because he knew that McQueen would be performing a lot of the stunts himself.According to Yates, McQueen made a point to keep his head near the open car window during the famous chase scene so that audiences would be reassured that it was he, not a stunt man, who was driving, After McQueen lost control of his car and smashed into a parked vehicle, his then-wife Neile Adams begged Yates to use stuntmen. So when McQueen reported for duty to find stuntman Bud Ekins sitting in his car, dressed as McQueen, he was furious. Yates hired a local trucking company for some background shots (most notably the scene where the Dodge Charger crashes into the gas station), but sent back the initial truck, because it was red. He didn't want any red vehicles in the movie, because it would detract from the blood. A blue truck was dispatched in its place. (IMDb) Happy Birthday, Peter Yates!