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San Francisco has been the setting of a lot of exciting movie car chases over the years, but this 1968 police thriller is still the one to beat when it comes to high-octane action on the steep hills of the city by the Bay. The outstanding car chase earned an Oscar for best editing, but the rest of the movie is pretty good, too.Bullittis a perfect star vehicle for cool guy Steve McQueen, who stars as a tenacious detective (is there any other kind?) determined to track down the killers of the star witness in an important trial. Director Peter Yates (Breaking Away) approached the story with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, using a variety of San Francisco locations. Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall appear in early roles, and Robert Vaughn plays the criminal kingpin who pulls the deadly strings of the tightly wound plot.--Jeff Shannon
good for rent only This is considered a classic thriller. I personally found it very slow and the car chase is just a minor plus for this movie. I watched all this movie simply because it is a classic however the story including the sound effects and picture of the DVD are just very basic and not worth spending your money. Rent it first, you will see what I mean.
Overrated I know this is considered a classic, but I personally did not like it. I thought it moved very slowly due to the minimal amount of action. Now, I love Steve McQueen just as much as the next guy, but I really do not think he played the hard-boiled, renegade cop all that well. His face didn't show any feelings of anger, frustration or rebelliousness. This film is famous for its car chase; I am sure that it was amazing for its time, but in this day and age, it is passe. The other thing that really bothered me about this film was its silence; there wa almost no soundtrack. Save for the occasional dialogue, song or sound effect, this felt like a silent film. The soundtrack elements that were present did not seem to enhance the story at all.
If you want to watch a movie about a hard boiled, renegade cop, I highly recommend any of the Dirty Harry series over this one.BEFORE THERE WAS DIRTY HARRY CLEANING UP SAN FRANCISCO, THERE WAS BULLITT IN A NUTSHELL: IT'S ALL ABOUT RESULTS!
Robert L. Pike's stunning novel "Mute Witness" becomes an epic film thanks to director Peter Yates and actor Steve McQueen who is Bullitt.
This movie really books, and I mean in every way. Once we get over the apparent failure of Bullitt to protect the witness in his care, we see a very interesting and sophisticated story unfold in an exciting way.
WHAT "BULLITT" IS ALL ABOUT:
"BULLITT" the film and the man are about the same thing: RESULTS! How Bullitt goes about getting them is a brillant mix of superb storytelling, pacing, political intrigue, and an incredible and famous car chase that fits the story perfectly.
As I recall from seeing "Bullitt" in the theatre in 1968, there was some explicit and realistic violence for 1968 moviegoers in Bullitt. The scene where murder by shotgun results in the victim being hurled against the wall from the sledgehammer-like blow of the weapon was new and hard-hitting [no pun intended] at the time. Also, the chase scene's sheer visceral effectiveness was, in fact, more startling than the sheer speed and reckless violence which it depicted. Lastly, Steve McQueen as Bullitt utters a profanity to his superiors, something [profane language] that although used very sparingly was still rather unheard of in a film of such high quality. Due to its conservative use, the word was quite effective and memorable.
The 6-million-dollar budget allowed for more than just an elaborate chase scene. Steve McQueen had a well-cast group of co-stars that complemented his performance well. Oscar winners Robert Vaughn and Simon Oakland, both of whom had been in films before with McQueen, added a strong touch of dramatic realism and tension to the entire production and greatly aided in suspending one's disbelief which is vital to a fictional drama of this sort. The lineup was as follows below:
Steve McQueen - Bullitt Robert Vaughn - Chalmers Jacqueline Bisset - Cathy Don Gordon - Delgetti Robert Duvall - Weissberg Simon Oakland - Capt. Bennett Norman Fell - Baker Justin Tarr - Eddy Carl Reindel - Stanton Felice Orlandi - Rennick Vic Tayback - Pete Ross
BOTTOM LINE:
Before Clint Eastwood as "Dirty Harry" went on to clean-up San Francisco in the 1970s, Steve McQueen as Bullitt created the role of the moody and unappreciated lone hero. His girlfriend Cathy, played by Jacqueline Bisset, makes that clear in her condemnation of Bullitt. Her insistence that he must be "callous" and thereby changed into a lesser human being as a result of all of the horrors that touch him everyday in his work imply a rejection of the personal side of Bullitt by the one closest to him, without objective grounds.
This is thought-provoking, 5-Star entertainment that defined and set into motion the previously untapped potential of an under-utilized genre -- "The Sensitive Action Hero" as a lone, misunderstood, and tragically-rejected figure.
ABOUT THE DVD:
The 1-DVD editon that I have has an excellent widescreen transfer. It also contains the interesting Vintage Featurette -- Bullitt: "Steve McQueen's Commitment to Reality"
