Review of Bullitt (1968) by Jacob M — 09 Aug 2013

"You work your side of the streets. And I'll work mine.".

One of the most successful actors in the 1960's was Steve McQueen. Known as the "King of Cool", McQueen's toughness, attitude, and power acting provides McQueen in many incredible performances, including films as The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven. But McQueen's greatest achievement in his career would be the film Bullitt, an intense, powerhouse, heart-pounding crime drama that's one of the best films ever made.

Steve McQueen plays Frank Bullitt, a tough, cool police detective who's assigned by senator Walter Chambers (Robert Vaughn) to protect the mobster Johnny Ross from harm so Ross can testify in court. But things go terribly wrong when a mysterious gunman shoots down Ross, and eventually dies from his wounds. Bullitt, not wanting to tell what happened to Chambers, hides the body and goes out to find who killed Ross and why.

Bullitt also stars Jacqueline Bisset as Cathy, Bullitt's love interest, Don Gordon as police detective Delgetti, Simon Oakland as Capt. Bennett, and Robert Duvall makes a memorable appearance as a cab driver.

Bullitt is an thrilling wonder. Throughout the film, we witness one thrilling sequence after another, from a memorable chase sequence inside a hospital, the thrilling climatic scene at an airport (with almost no dialogue or music in that matter, a brilliant decision on the producer's part), and in the most famous scene, a famous car chase sequence between Steve McQueen's Mustang and the villain's Charger. These chase each other down the San Francisco streets (and pass the same green Volkswagen three times), fly at super-fast speeds, and even compete on the highways with lots of other vehicles in their way. This ten-minute chase sequence is well-filmed, with Steve McQueen doing all his stunts here, and it's arguably the greatest car chase ever put on film, and it's even more exciting than McQueen's motorcycle chase in The Great Escape.

Steve McQueen, one of the greatest Hollywood actors of all-time, is fantastic as Bullitt. From his brilliant opening sequence where he gets out of bed, McQueen's performance of the tough detective is unforgettable and as far as tough cops go, Bullitt is still the coolest. Robert Vaughn is chilling as the suspicious senator, and scenes with him and McQueen are some of the most thrilling talking scenes I've ever witnessed. The thing I love about Bullitt is how the action is driver towards the characters and not huge set-pieces. For me, stuff like that pays off more than tons of action sequences, though that kind of action can work too (The Dark Knight, for example). Also, the other performance I have to mention is Jacqueline Bisset as Bullitt's love interest. Honestly, I don't think her character really should have been in the picture, but at least her love scenes with McQueen make an interesting match and don't lower the score down.

There's also a super jazzy score throughout the film that rocks. My favorite moment is a scene where Bullitt's in a fancy restaurant and he sees Bisset and the band in the background is playing catchy jazz music, and there's this catchy flute solo that's very awesome and sums up the scene. Another highlight in Bullitt is the cinematography. What helps is the entire film was shot on location in San Francisco, making the film that more realistic.

Bullitt ranks as one of the greatest films ever made, featuring the greatest role from Steve McQueen, the greatest car chase ever put on film, fantastic action sequences, a super jazzy score, and an ending that's definitely original. If there's nothing in Bullitt that you don't like, the car chase sequence alone can convince you otherwise.