Bullitt
Artist: Thomas William Chantrell
Format: UK Quad (30"x 40")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1968
DescriptionSteve McQueen’s star had been on a meteoric rise throughout the 1960’s. Arguably the pinnacle of his success came with 1968’s “Bullitt”. A box office triumph and critically acclaimed, the film offered McQueen one of his most iconic roles and featured one of the most famous and imitated car chases in film history.
Following films like “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Great Escape”, McQueen carried a lot of heft in Hollywood with “Bullitt” being co-produced by Solar Productions, which was his own company. English director Peter Yates was hired after McQueen saw his film “Robbery”, which also included an extended car chase. Despite all McQueen’s clout though, “Bullitt” went so far over budget that Warner Brothers reportedly cancelled the contract on seven more of his films.
The A-Style UK Quad for “Bullitt” certainly offers a vibrant and dynamic portrait of McQueen. Artist Tom Chantrell incorporates a swirling, whirlwind effect into the central McQueen image. This extends into the large, menacing revolver illustration and has an almost hypnotic effect, drawing you into the steely eye of McQueen. To the right of the poster is a strange mixture of black and white photographic images alongside artwork of a romantic embrace. The background of the poster, though predominantly white, also features surreal inclusions of green and blue. These slightly bizarre additions, coupled with the dark, brooding McQueen portrait certainly make the poster eye-catching.
The same, though slightly adapted, McQueen portrait was also used on the B-Style Quad poster, also featured on this site and shown below for comparison. In a more action-packed design, an explosive car chase takes centre-stage alongside a review quoted which praises the chase scenes. The US 1-Sheet, shown below courtesy of www.moviepostermem.com, forefronts McQueen as the key selling point of the film, much like the A-Style Quad. However this is done with a basic, though undeniably stylish, black and white photographic image.
This poster has been linen-backed.