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Monday, January 10, 2011

When Film Director PETER YATES captured Boston perfectly

British filmmaker Peter Yates, who sent Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in "Bullitt," has died at the age of 81.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/01/10/international/i070131S96.DTL#ixzz1AgI2ltnX



Peter Yates filmed what many believe to be the greatest movie ever filmed in Boston - THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE.


Yates used early 1970's Boston which was a much grittier city than today. The bar that was a centerpiece in the movie was the old Kentucky Tavern on Massachusetts Avenue in the Back Bay which today is a Best Buy.


My favorite scene was filmed at the Boston Garden during a game with arch-rival Chicago. Yates did something unheard of at the time where he had Robert Mitchum and peter Boyle in the stands during the game. he used hand hand cameras and wireless mics and the fans you see behind them were not extras, they were real Bruins fans watching the game and oblivious to the fact a movie was being filmed.


The movie was finally released for home video just a couple of years ago and it is worth watching. Here are some clips and the trailer.







1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great film! That first video is a classic. So many iconic films have been made in Boston - it is great for video production. Nice post! (Though sad to hear he died)