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Customer Reviews of Bullitt

stripped-down cinematic perfection
This is undoubtedly the tightest, best-directed, best acted "quiet anti-hero detective with a hot '68 fastback Mustang" ever filmed. Though there any number of great details to enjoy in this film (not the least of which is Jacqueline Bisset as a very glamorous architect)--check out McQueen's silky smooth double-clutching during the famous chase sequence, and Robert Duval as the balding taxi hack who takes McQueen over the same route the bad guy took--this film's finest moments are the chase, of course and the powerful dialog-free ending. <
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>The chase, if you know even a bit about San Francisco geography, is a physically impossible route, cutting from central S.F. to the Marina, etc., but it works brilliantly as cinema. The soundtrack of most films in 1968 would be jarringly outdated to today's viewers, but by using a semi-cool jazz theme, the film retains a certain auditory timelessness. <
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>The closing sequence of this film just isn't a good cop movie ending, or a good Steve McQueen movie ending or a good 60s film ending--it is great film-making, period. It is very quiet and not at all the cliched gloating that is de rigeur in the genre. No dialog, no music, just McQueen returning home dog-tired in the early morning--a masterful ending which captures the essence of the character, the violence of his profession, and his relationship with Bisset. <
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before "dirty harry" we got frank bullitt
this is the one,until the road warrior,the best car chase in a movie ever made. i say that because this movie is much more. frank bullitt is a cop who takes no stuff from anyone,bosses,bad guys,or anyone else. because of this he is given the job of keeping a witness alive till a big mob trial. of course the mob,and "others" don't want that and try to kill the witness. frank must now find out what is going on and get his hands on the shooters before anymore people die. <
> simlpe story,great car chase,and steve mcqueen at his coolest,does it get any better!!!!

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"You work your side of the street and I'll work mine."
Steve McQueen...men wanted him, and women wanted to be like him...er, wait, scratch that...women wanted him, and men wanted to be like him. Aptly known as `The King of Cool', he still has as much screen presence some twenty-six years after his death as he did when appearing in such features as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and this feature, simply titled Bullitt (1968). Directed by Peter Yates (The Hot Rock, The Deep, Breaking Away), the film stars, as I've mentioned, Steve McQueen, along with Robert Vaughn (The Magnificent Seven, The Towering Inferno, Battle Beyond the Stars). Also appearing Jacqueline Bisset (Casino Royale, Airport, The Deep), Don Gordon (The Towering Inferno, Omen III: The Final Conflict), Simon Oakland (The Sand Pebbles), Norman `Mr. Roper' Fell (Charley Varrick, "Three's Company"), Georg Stanford Brown (Stir Crazy), and Robert Duvall (To Kill a Mockingbird, True Grit). <
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>McQueen plays Lieutenant Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco police detective assigned to protect a skittish star witness involved in an extremely high profile trial, one that prosecutor Walter Chalmers (Vaughn) believes will cement his political aspirations into reality. Things go sour after the witness suffers a serious case of lead poisoning (the man survives the initial assassination attempt, leading me to believe the `professionals' charged with the task weren't all that professional...remember kids when performing a hit, always put two in the head), and Chalmers begins looking for a scapegoat (guess who?) to save political face. Given the circumstances, Frank suspects a leak (the would be killers knew exactly where the witness was hiding), and makes a dicey career move by hiding the critically injured man while he figures things out, much to the consternation of Chalmers, who starts turning the screws on Frank's superiors...as Frank starts running down various clues, things get a little squirrelly, resulting in one of the most memorable fender bending, paint swapping, guard rail scraping car chase sequences ever filmed, involving two, classic American muscle cars (a dark highland green 1968 Ford Mustang GT-390 and a black 1968 Dodge Charger 440) barreling balls out through the city streets and rural countryside of San Francisco. With everything on the line, Frank must either come with the goods, or face the consequences of Chalmers vindictive wrath... <
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>This is one of the films I wish I'd been around for to see on the silver screen if only to catch that lengthy car chase sequence (it lasts about eight to ten minutes) as I figure as exciting as it was on the small screen, it must have been a blast on the big screen. At one point I could actually feel my stomach drop as a camera, shooting from inside the Charger, takes on the hilly streets of San Francisco. I'm no gear head or anything, but the best part of this film was when McQueen's character turned the tables on those following him, which led into the chase sequence. At one point we see both drivers engaging their seatbelts, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I knew things were going to get good...and with a squeal of the tires, we're off! This was definitely one of the most memorable aspects of the film, but that's certainly not to say it's the only reason to check out this feature. There are lots of great, low-key performances, a solid story, interesting, actualized, and realistic characters, and wonderful location shots through out the San Francisco area. One of the more interesting aspects to me was while this was a police drama, there was so little gunplay, as McQueen's character doesn't even draw his firearm until near the end. I'm unsure how often a real life officer or detective draws his or her weapons during the course of their duties, but some features would have you believe it's a fairly common occurrence. Also, when someone does take a bullet in this film, it has actual meaning in terms of the person as an individual, and just not some faceless fodder used to bolster the body count...not that I necessarily have a problem with that, as sometimes I want mindless action, but it's also nice to see a feature focus on the repercussions of such actions as was the case here. Another aspect I really liked and one that stood out was the respect and confidence Frank's immediate superior had for him, allowing him the leeway to handle matters as best he saw fit, even despite Chalmers constant pressuring to turn over his witness. There's not a lot of over the top antics here (except maybe for the high speed chase) as Franks spends a good deal of time doggedly following up any and all leads that may provide the answers he needs to sort things out...and he didn't seem so much motivated by a desire to clear himself, but more so to get to the truth, and facing up to his assumed responsibilities, which contrasted dramatically with Vaughn's smarmy, insincere, two-faced, condescending character who was a complete a-hole, surrounding himself with only the finest suck up crony types, interested solely in personal gain and saving whatever face he could by shifting blame onto anyone but himself once the brown stuff hit the fan. As far as the rest, I think they were along for the ride. Bisset she had a minor, but significant role as Frank's girlfriend. She sort of represented to me the common folk, those of us protected behind the thin blue line, knowing most of what we know about police activities from watching the television show `Cops'. After getting a dose of Frank's world, she begins to question his motivations for doing the work he does, commenting on his lack of sensitivity in terms of not being completely horrified by seeing a recent victim of a horrible crime. All in all I thought this an excellent police drama, driven by some well developed characters, wonderful performances and a sharp story, topped off by a really, groovy score by Lalo Schifrin. <
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>The picture on this two-disc DVD release is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), and comes across sharp and clear (looking better than the original DVD released back in 1997), as does the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track. As far as extras included, there's a audio commentary track with director Peter Yates, cast and crew bios, an original theatrical trailer, production notes, a featurette titled Bullitt: Steve McQueen's Commitment to Reality, and subtitles, and two newly made, lengthy documentaries titled "Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool" and "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing". <
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>I did learn one thing from this feature...at one point Dodge Chargers must have sported at least seven hubcaps, because, during the chase sequence, I saw about three or four of them fly off the car, and yet in later scenes at least three were still attached... <
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