Bullitt 1968 Dir. Peter Yates
The first “Beetle!” movie shout out I can remember hails from the famous car chase in the film Bullitt. There are many beetles dotted around the streets of San Francisco during the 10 minute action sequence, but the most notable is the dark green example driving down one of the steep hills. The dangerous stunts (with Steve McQueen doing much of the driving himself) were shot with multiple cameras and at least 4 shots are repeats of the same action. Unfortunately the dark green beetle is quite recognisable and gives the game away once you spot it. Great action trumped continuity... It took nearly 3 weeks to film the whole chase, and is considered one of the best ever filmed.
Here's the full sequence...
And here's some behind the scenes...
The iconic 60′s film also features a great jazzy sound track by Lalo Schifrin. A very cool movie for a youngster to watch with his Dad!