Review of Bullitt (1968) by Lenny R — 12 Dec 2014
Solid, edgy detective story with an immersive, slow-burning style and a supercool 60s vibe. The plot is sometimes a little hard to follow (it took me a few viewings to make sense of it), but that doesn't matter most of the time, because it gets by on vibe alone.
McQueen is in top form, as is Robert Vaughn. Jacqueline Bisset does a great job of portraying Cathy's relatively sheltered humanity, an interesting (and necessary) counterpoint to Frank's hard-boiled, detached approach to his work.
The sun-bleached San Francisco streets look amazing, and suit the film's tone just right - it's kind of like a bright, sunny film noir. The score is among Lalo Schifrin's best (which is saying something), and is to be admired as much for its restraint (Lalo knows when to let the ambient sounds speak for themselves, eg in the car chase) as for its smooth, jazzy noodling.
And that famous car chase is still mind-blowing, over forty years on. A classic in every way.
This review of Bullitt (1968) was written by Lenny R on 12 Dec 2014.
Bullitt has generally received very positive reviews.
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