Review of Bullitt (1968) by Jim H — 17 Jul 2011

A cop pursues killers and uncovers a conspiracy involving a witness he was charged to protect.

For most of the film, this is a fairly basic procedural in the tradition of The French Connection, and it clearly influenced Michael Mann's Heat. But in the third act, Bullitt's girlfriend inexplicably shows up at a crime scene, and her incisive insights into Bullitt's character add a new dimension to the film. Though it's too late, once these character questions are added, Bullitt takes on a new dimension -- moral questions about a character who heretofore has been so stoic (in fact, one of the weaknesses of this film as a procedural is how little we get to know about Bullitt's thought processes; there's no Watson for Holmes to reveal his ideas to). Without the character dimension, the strong ending would have fallen flat.

Steve McQueen is requisitely cool, but the best performance is by Robert Vaughn as the ambitious prosecutor who deliver stone-cold threats in such a tone and with such stillness that he could make anyone shit their pants -- anyone except Bullitt.

Overall, though I liked how the film avoided cliches (Bullitt isn't a drunken fuck-up or a comic wise guy), it is far too late before we get to know Bullitt in an otherwise well-constructed procedural.