William Friedkin's grimy love letter to 70's NYC
A rival to Bullitt as the best ever movie car chase sequence is the one in The French Connection. Another family film when I was growing up (think Mum had a thing for Fernando Rey), this remains one of my all time favourites, and of course being shot in the US in the 70's features many "Beetle!" moments throughout the whole film.
Friedkin took considerable risks with innocent bystanders in shooting the chase sequence, with no city permits, speeds of up to 90mph and an unplanned collision...
Read more about the filming of the sequence here...
https://www.hagerty.com/media/archived/the-making-of-the-french-connection-chase/
Stunt coordinator and driver Bill Hickman features in both this chase and the one in Bullitt.
Here are a few of the film's many "Beetle!" moments, including a red one that appears twice in the chase, one in Marseilles, and for the eagle-eyed, a whole car transporter full of them!
Here's the full chase - look out for all the bugs!