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73 out of 90 people found the following comment useful :-
Modern directors should take note of the style., 21 February 2005

Author: jd372 from United States

What a change of pace this movie is as compared with its genre today. I'm no old fogey but would that modern directors become smart enough take several pages from its book.

The Bullit character is a precursor of Dirty Harry but a bit more cerebral. Stylistically, the director sets the stage beautifully for McQueen's Bullit. The movie has a European feel (director Peter Yates is a Brit) and achieves its dark mood through quiet understatement. The musical score for instance. Today, music is overly used, overly loud and manipulative. (i.e. in case you are not moved by this scene, here are a division of amplified violins to remind you to weep). In 'Bullit' the music is sparingly used and doesn't intrude at all. It complements the directorial style without setting the agenda.

The feeling of reserved naturalism is achieved through editing and dialogue. There really aren't very many lines in the movie and when characters do speak they are very succinct. Notice the last 15-20 minutes of the movie, most of which takes place at the airport. Hardly a line in it. There is none of the chattiness so prevalent today (especially post "Pulp Fiction") which is so tedious (unless the script is tip-top, which is rare).

Editing is, perhaps, its greatest strong point. The many long edits deserve equal credit with the dialogue in setting the low-key mood. The cinema verite dialogue of the airport scenes (and, say, the scene where McQueen and Don Gordon search the trunk) combined with the long cuts add greatly to understated feel while adding realism.

And the performances are top notch. The spare script helps McQueen shine since the taciturn moodiness fits his persona to a tee. There are very fine performances from all of the supporting cast, from Don Gordon to Bisset to Fell to Duvall to Oakland. This is a great movie for watching faces. Note the expressions of the hit men during the chase scene (just another example of this movie letting the little touches speak volumes).

The chase scene certainly deserves its billing as one of the best in movie history. Recently, 'The Transporter' was lauded for its opening chase sequence. The one in 'Bullit' is a marvel compared. In 'The Transporter' sequence I'm not sure there is a cut that lasts more than three seconds. In 'Bullit' it is again the editing which sets it apart here. The long edits give you the feel of acceleration and deceleration, of tire smoke and gears, of wind and the roller coaster San Francisco streets. You are given the time to place yourself in the frame. In short, 'Bullit' uses real craftsmanship. Films like 'The Transporter' use hundreds of quick edits to mimic the danger and immediacy of 'Bullit' but it comes across as hot air, confusion instead of clarity. The two scenes are perfect set pieces of easy (and hollow) Mtv-style flash versus real directorial substance.

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65 out of 91 people found the following comment useful :-
The one that started it all..., 10 February 2004

Author: BroadswordCallinDannyBoy from Boston, MA

...from from rogue cops who make their own rules, to... rogue cops who seriously know how to put the pedal to the medal. Only Bogie and John Wayne were cinematic tough guys before Frank Bullitt came along, and it was Bullitt that inspired Dirty Harry and every rogue cop movie as a result. If you were looking for the first modern cop thriller, well here it is. Accept no substitutes. In today's over-blown and effects laden (for better of for worse) era, people often forget that all those films began with movies like this one.

The story has Lieutenant Frank Bullitt receiving an assignment to protect a star witness in a high profile case that could bring down a powerful crime organization. Bullitt and his men take turns guarding the witness, but before long there is a hit and the witness is mortally wounded, and Bullitt takes the case into his own hands. The resulting mystery is both Grade-A Hollywood entertainment (rare these days) and a believable character portrait of a man engulfed by his work in a cruel world.

Of course one cannot talk about his movie without mentioning the legendary car chase, which is one of the best out there, but is not the main part of the movie as many make it out to be. If you see this movie just for some pedal to the medal action you will be let down. The focus of the movie is on Bullitt and the car chase, while very exciting and fun to watch, is one of the many scenes that show Bullitt's near obsession to work. Unlike today's crap action movies there is no 37 car pile up, no cars flipping over simply because the bad guys are driving them.

Also the finale of the film, a foot chase at an airport, has our hero firing two shots from his pistol and that is the only time he uses it in the movie. This film demonstrates that action is best when the result of a character's emotions and not a director's ambition to blow stuff up. Bullitt wants to get the bottom of the case, he wants to find out who's been following him around town and that is the result of the action scenes. In the end the film is a true classic and Frank Bullitt is a character to remember. 10/10

Rated PG: violence (though if it were released today, it probably would get a PG-13)

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53 out of 74 people found the following comment useful :-
Bullitt-speed, 18 December 2004

Author: paul2001sw-1 (paul2001sw@yahoo.co.uk) from Saffron Walden, UK

The late 1960s saw two classic, hard-boiled thrillers set in San Fransico; John Boorman's stylised 'Point Blank', and Peter Yates' 'Bullitt'. Calling your hero Bullitt might seem an unsubtle way to emphasise his macho qualities, but in fact Steve MacQueen plays him as a quiet man, not some wise-talking maverick: he does what he has to do, but takes no pleasure in his actions; and survives the roughness of his work not by becoming a monster, but simply by becoming a little less human. It's a believable portrait, and the film as a whole has a procedural feel: there are action scenes, but these are kept in their place in the overall design.

Today, the film is most famous for its celebrated car chase, which makes excellent use, as indeed does the movie as a whole, of the bay area locations, but is not actually shot that excitingly: the conclusion at the airport is more original, though it roots the film in the time when it was permissible to take a loaded gun onto a plane. But overall this is still a classy film, dry, exciting and bleak, and among the very best films of its day. William Friedkin's brilliant 'The French Connection', made a short while afterwards, would appear to owe it a debt.

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36 out of 48 people found the following comment useful :-
Not just a car chase, 1 October 2004
Author: tarmcgator from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

SPOILERS, sort of.

"Bullitt" seems to be remembered mostly for the central car chase, which was state-of-the-art for its time and still works extremely well. But this signature film of the late '60s was more than screeching tires and muscle cars flying down the hills of San Francisco.

McQueen was not a great "actor," in the sense of being able to play a variety of characters convincingly -- but then, most film actors are not. Bogart, Grant, Gable, Wayne, Dean, Eastwood et al. each developed a distinctive screen character that audiences found appealing and then built their careers on that character. McQueen could be charming in romantic roles ("Love with the Proper Stranger"), and he had the guts (and box-office clout) to risk playing against his typical character in "The Reivers" and "An Enemy of the People." But his basic screen persona, as exemplified in "Bullitt," was the cool, reserved physical act-er who distrusted words and relied on his own body and wits to survive in a hostile world. His characters are consummate professionals whose skills and competence give their lives meaning in the chaos of war and urban crime. Audiences respond to McQueen because of that self-reliance and competence (the same quality that made the young James Cagney so appealing) and his healthy skepticism about convention and authority.

Frank Bullitt was a particularly interesting character for McQueen because he was, for the first time, playing an actual authority figure, a respected police detective, but one still caught up in the intrigues of the "establishment," personified by a politically ambitious DA, Chalmers (Robert Vaughan). When Bullitt fails to protect the DA's mob witness and one of his own men is badly shot up, the detective sets out to find out the truth of the situation and ultimately discovers that the DA has been conned. It's interesting, in this pre-Watergate film, that there's no hint of criminality or corruption about Vaughan's character or any of Bullitt's San Francisco police superiors. Bullitt's ultimate contempt for Chalmers stems both from an innate distrust of politicians (who are willing to compromise standards of professionalism for political gain) as well as the the DA's sheer incompetence in dealing with the Mob.

The plot requires close attention; I recall that it took me two or three viewings before I understood everything that was going on in the film. But "Bullitt" rewards repeat viewings with new wrinkles and insights. The film also benefits from the great location photography and from a superb cast of character actors. Bullitt's fellow detectives (Don Gordon and Carl Reindel) are likewise dedicated professionals; his boss (Simon Oakland) is also a pro, sympathetic to Bullitt but wary of the political pressures on the police department. Norman Fell is downright scary as a police captain allied with the smooth, oily Chalmers; and Robert Duvall stands out in a rather small role. The locations and supporting actors lend a realism to "Bullitt" that also make it satisfying after multiple viewings.

Ultimately,"Bullitt" is not about the car chase and shoot-outs, but about a person trying to maintain his humanity and self-respect while doing a violent, sordid job that society demands and in which he obviously believes. At one point, Bullitt's luscious girlfriend (Jacqueline Bisset, at her most appealing) happens on a crime scene and realizes the true nature of her lover's work. "You're living in a sewer, Frank!" she cries. And it is a very expensive place to live. Bullitt shows humane instincts and flashes of warmth and humor, but his attitude toward life is one of suspicion and skepticism. He's constantly on his guard, on edge, seldom able to relax, even with his girl. The film ends ambiguously, as Bullitt quietly contemplates the emotional price he pays for his authority and for doing a soul-grinding job at which he has become quite adept. It's this deeper layer of character and emotion, not the car chase, that make this film a classic.

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38 out of 52 people found the following comment useful :-
A Not-to-be Missed Thriller, 29 May 2005

Author: DrHypersonic from United States

Bullitt is an extraordinary film, memorable, powerful, and absolutely riveting. The plot has twists and turns that are believable and lack any pretense of being forced or artificial. Justly heralded for its tremendous car chase--a tribute to legendary driver Bill Hickman, arguably the finest of all motion picture drivers--the film as well captures the feel of gritty detective work in a form that has been copied frequently since, but rarely, if ever, equaled. The film is a delight as a period piece: the easy-going, already laid-back Bay area culture of the late 1960's and early 1970's, the tension between the cool, vaguely anti-establishment Bullitt and the straight-laced local officials and department heads that he finds himself compelled to work with. The other actors are themselves a superb supporting cast: old-timers like Simon Oakland, Norman Fell, an oily (and vaguely Bobby Kennedy-ish) Robert Vaughn, and Don Gordon (as Bullitt's long-suffering but intensely loyal partner). But, as well, there are memorable newcomers: George Sanford Brown as an overworked doctor, Robert Duvall as a sharp taxi driver, and Jacqueline Bisset as Bullitt's trophy architect-girlfriend. Lalo Schifrin contributed a superb, memorable score--just the right mix of jazz and brass and percussion. And, of course, that glorious Mustang. . . .!!! Not to be missed!!!!!

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29 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
A cop thriller with undoubted charisma..., 15 May 2005

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Newman, after "Hud," continued his career with films that clearly signified the evolution of the anti-hero into a man who actively opposed the wrongs he saw around him… This opposition was to be effectively personified by Steve McQueen… His early films that included "Hell Is for Heroes," "The Great Escape," "Love With the Proper Stranger," and "Baby the Rain Must Fall," all roles which, together with his addiction to motorcycle racing, led to McQueen's personification as anti-hero…

This reached its peak in "Bullitt," the film which finally confirmed both McQueen's image and his claim to stardom…

McQueen is assigned to guard Johnny Ross (Pat Renella). When Ross is gunned down in his dingy hotel room hideout, Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn), the ambitious assistant DA who hopes to expose the syndicate, threatens to ruin Bullitt's career if Ross dies… But Bullitt is suspicious and, when Ross does in fact die, he suppresses the news while he investigates…

McQueen's ability to convey Bullitt's contempt for Chalmers' threats – and his knowledge that even though he might lose his job, he would never lose his integrity – confirmed his image…

Bullitt was Hud, Seventies style; he knows the world is full of crap but he is pretty sure that it is possible to keep out of most of it…

The film is distinguished by a splendid car chase through the streets of San Francisco, with Detective Bullitt in a Mustang, chasing the baddies in their sedan... which takes one's mind off the tedious plot…

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27 out of 35 people found the following comment useful :-
The real king......, 29 October 2003

Author: dixie-18 from Danville, Virginia

McQueen was really the King of Cool. I have read many comments here about this film, and some say it is slow, some say it is an action thriller. Thrilling it is! Steve did not have to jabber in every scene to dominate this film. The car chase is unequaled to this day. How can anything on the road in later years compare to the "muscle cars" of the late 60s? But Steve was the star, make no mistake, and even though the dialogue was minimal, it was enough. Steve McQueen had that power on the screen. He remains one of Hollywood's best, even though he passed away over twenty years ago. We will not see the likes of him for many more years. Women loved him, men loved him too. If you have not seen many of his films, watch any you can. Watch him in Tom Horn (1980), and Papillon (1973). Try The Getaway (1972), Junior Bonner (1972)and the humorous The Reivers (1969). Of course, The Sand Pebbles (1966) , The Great Escape (1963), and the ever classic The Magnificent Seven(1960) are among his most popular films. You never go wrong with any of these.

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22 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :-
Maximum Cool, 1 November 2001
Author: gvb0907 from Falls Church, Virginia

Steve McQueen's career peaked in 1968 with "Bullitt" and "The Thomas Crown Affair," both ideal vehicles for his cool persona. Although superior to its recent remake, "Crown" has not aged gracefully, while "Bullitt" has held up fairly well.

Cool though he may be, Frank Bullitt is a totally committed detective, perhaps even more so than Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle or Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan. Bullitt is a complete professional who never takes his eye off the objective, no matter how much interference he encounters from his superiors or from Robert Vaughan's scheming politician, Walter Chalmers. And Bullitt, unlike Doyle or Callahan, operates without the histrionics. No one-liners, no yelling and screaming tantrums from this officer. You may not like him very much, but you have to respect his dedication to duty and you'll quickly share his absolute contempt for Chalmers.

"Bullitt" is best remembered for its spectacular car chase in which McQueen reportedly did most of his own driving. But this is not primarily an action film. Aside from the chase and the final shootout at SFO, there's not a lot of violence. Most of the attention is on Bullitt's maneuvering to unravel the mystery and to keep Chalmers off his back.

Recommended if you like McQueen or policiers in general. The pace may be a little slow for people under 30 who are used to a more slam-bang, less cerebral approach to this sort of thing, but "Bullitt" is still worth your time. Just don't expect "Lethal Weapon."

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28 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
McQueen In The Driver's Seat, 20 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Steve McQueen was usually worth watching no matter what he was in, although he did a few stinkers like everyone else. This is not one of them; he's excellent here as an intense but low-key cop. It's a pretty solid police thriller which features a famous car-chase scene that supposedly set the standard (or maybe it did at the time of release.)

What's interesting to note, according to a documentary on the DVD, is that McQueen did his own driving! No stuntman for him, even at 110 miles per hour through the streets. Speaking of streets, San Francisco always makes for an interesting local.

Robert Vaughn, Don Gordon, Jacqueline Bissett, Simon Oakland and Robert Duvall complete the big-name cast, but this is McQueen's movie all the way.....and, for a film almost 40 years old, it's not very dated.

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29 out of 44 people found the following comment useful :-
A Bullitt For Steve, 16 March 2004

Author: sol1218 from brooklyn NY

*****SPOILERS****** Even though the movie "Bullitt" is known for it's legendary car chase scene, this in 1968 when everything was done for real not in a studio with computer enhanced imagery, the movie is also a very fine crime/drama straight out of todays headlines and has a very good and brainy plot too.

Senator Walter Chalmers is holding a special Senate Commission on Organized Crime in America in San Francisco and has a very important witness Johnny Ross, Pat Renella, coming from Chicago to testify. Chalmers Wants to make sure that Ross is protected from the mob who beside testifying against it has also stolen $2,000,000.00 dollars from them and they want him dead and will go to any lengths to get him.

Ross is assigned a unit from the SFPD headed by Let. Frank Bullitt, Steve McQueen, for around the clock protection at an undisclosed hotel. Just before Ross entered the hotel he made a number of Phone calls one was to a hotel in San Mateo Calif. Later back in his hotel room with Sgt. Stanton, Carl Reindel guarding him Ross slides open the lock on the door and just then two men enter the hotel room and blast both Ross and Sgt. Stanton away; at the hospital Sgt. Stanton survives but Ross dies on the operating table.

Let. Bullitt wisely decides to keep Ross' death secret from Senator Chalmers as well as the media by having Ross' body put on ice in the hospital morgue, unidentified, under a John Doe. With Ross' death kept under cover Let. Bullitt checks out Ross' phone calls, before he entered the hotel room, and finds that the call to the San Mateo hotel was to a woman who registered under the named of Dorothy Simmons. With the Senate Commission hearing the next day Bullitt begins to realize that this dead hood Johnny Ross may not the person that he seems to be.

As Let. Bullitt gets closer to the truth about the whole Ross business his life becomes endangered by the two killers, Paul Genge and Bill Hickman, who killed Johnny Ross in his hotel room. This sets the scene for the thrilling and exciting car chase that the movie is noted for. Setting him up for an ambush on a deserted San Francisco street Bullitt turns the tables on the killers by backtracking and then surprises and chases them into a hot corner. We have the two killers and Let. Bullitt flooring the gas peddle and tearing up the roads and highway in and around San Francisco and the Bay Area. The exciting car chase comes to an end when, after trying to shoot at Bullitt's car with a shotgun, the killers auto loses control and smashes into a gas station with both of the killers ending dead and burned to a crisp .

Back at the police station Bullitt starts to check out the mysterious Mrs. Simmons, the woman who Ross called before he was killed, at her hotel room in San Mateo and finds her murdered. Looking at Mrs. Simmons' luggage Let. Bullitt and the police find out that she was really a Mrs. Renick and was scheduled to leave San Francisco ,with her husband Edward, on a plane trip to Italy? whats going on here?

Checking Mrs.Renick aka Simmons husbands passport photo Bullitt realizes that Johnny Ross who was killed at the hotel room was really her husband Edward Renick a car dealer from Chicago with no mob connections. Renick must have been paid off by the real Johnny Ross, Felice Orlandi, to impersonate him with Ross taking Renick's passport and identity and checking out of the country and away from the law and the mob who were both looking for him! Ross must have also double-crossed both Renick and his wife by having them murdered.

With the real Johnny Ross now heading for the San Francisco International Airport to make his getaway Let. Frank Bullitt is the only one who has a chance to stop him and as it gets closer for Ross' flight to take off for Italy the chances of him getting caught are getting slimmer by the minute.

Terrific police/action/drama with an ending at the airport, thats as good as the great car chase seen earlier in the film, that left everyone gasping. Also good in the film is Jackie Bisset as Let. Frank Bullitt's girlfriend Cathy who had trouble accepting Frank's job as a policeman especially by seeing up front and personal, the murdered Mrs. Simmons/Renick, what that job did to him as well as what it was doing to her her by living with him.

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