Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Bullitt


When one hears the movie title "Bullitt," the first thing that comes to the mind of many is its famous car chase. A Ford Mustang and a Dodge Charger tear through the streets of San Francisco in some of the most realistic street racing scenes ever filmed. For others, they will fondly remember its star, Steve McQueen. McQueen became one of the bigger mail leads during the 1960s and 1970s, only to have his career and life cut short by lung cancer at the age of 50 in 1980. McQueen was one cool cat and "Bullitt" is one of the finest examples of how cool the man could be. McQueen strove for authenticity when he signed on for "Bullitt," going as far as actually lying down between the wheels of the enormous landing gear on a jet airliner and taking the wheel of the Ford Mustang during the ultra-cool driving scenes. A word to best describe the Steve McQueen picture "Bullitt" is also the word cool.

"Bullitt" is a crime drama featuring not only Steve McQueen, but also Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Jacqueline Bisset and everybody´s favorite landlord, Norman Fell. The film finds McQueen as police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. He is assigned to protect a man, Johnny Ross (Pat Renella) while he awaits taking the witness stand in an effort to bring down a large crime organization. With lawyer Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) breathing heavily down Bullitt´s shoulders, Ross is shot point-blank with a shotgun and a fellow police officer is also shot. Bullitt doesn´t stop when Ross is unable to take the stand against the crime lord and decides to bring down the man that has shot Ross and those behind the entire plot. With or without his partner, Delgetti (Don Gordon) and against the wishes of his Captain, Baker (Norman Fell) and further alienating his beautiful girlfriend Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset), Bullitt is a loner who will stop at nothing to bring justice to those who deserve it.

The main character is a loner that is not understood by anybody around him. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Cathy, that wants to understand him and wants to love him, but feels he is becoming futher detached from reality with every case he solves and every ounce of blood he pays witness to. When she sees a dead girl lying on a floor, she is horrified, but Bullitt is calm and casual as he telephones the police to give further information on the case. His supervisors and superior officers know him as a man to count on and a man that will complete the job, but they do not understand his methods and cannot offer answers to his actions. He is an enigma to his partner, but an effective police officer. To everyone, Bullitt is viewed as perhaps more machine than man and very little trace of humanity is shown in the character, just complete calculated coolness.

"Bullitt" takes a look at politics and procedures in policework and the nosework that is sometimes needed to solve a crime. The autopsy scene in the film shows nearly no blood, but lists in great detail the sort of information you would overhear during an autopsy. Luggage is found and placed into police evidence and a lengthy scene involves Bullitt and others looking through the various bags to find even the slightest trace of evidence. The scene slowly offers information that will ultimately send Bullitt on his way to bring down the mastermind behind Ross´s assassination. Answers are commonly given to let the viewer know why certain conclusions were made. For instance, one scene finds Delgetti stating a long distance call was made. He states that the large amount of change put into the pay phone was his evidence to this fact.

The politics come into play when Chalmers constantly wants to get a confession out of Ross or even a photograph to aid in his efforts. He tries to pull strings to force Bullitt into playing the game the way Chalmers wants it played. The police captain and others allow Chalmers to control the case because they consider Chalmers the kind of friend the police can always use. With its attention to detail and a look at what goes on behind the scenes of an investigation, "Bullitt" is a crime drama that entertains its audience with intelligence. This is not a lightweight film that relies on convenience and coincidence to move its plot along. The film does not force assumptions upon its viewers. Any piece of information that is needed for the viewer to understand and follow each step of the police investigators is offered up nicely.

This is not the typically action-paced crime dramas that are so prevalent today. The classic car chase between the Mustang and the Charger is wonderfully shot and full of speed, but it too lacks the over-the-top excitement of todays chases. There are no spectacular gunfights and while the climactic finish does bring about a tense moment or two; this is not an exciting film. While not exciting, it is certainly cool. Everything Steve McQueen does is cool. Just the way he puts on a turtleneck or walks across the street is cool. The way he handles his superior police officers is cool. The manner in which he simply hangs up on Captain Baker is cool. Every frame of this film is stylistic and cool and this is why "Bullitt" is so classic. Steve McQueen and "Bullitt" is a film that will easily keep your interest because it is so damn cool.

When one hears the movie title "Bullitt," the first thing that comes to the mind of many is its famous car chase. A Ford Mustang and a Dodge Charger tear through the streets of San Francisco in some of the most realistic street racing scenes ever filmed. For others, they will fondly remember its star, Steve McQueen. McQueen became one of the bigger mail leads during the 1960s and 1970s, only to have his career and life cut short by lung cancer at the age of 50 in 1980. McQueen was one cool cat and "Bullitt" is one of the finest examples of how cool the man could be. McQueen strove for authenticity when he signed on for "Bullitt," going as far as actually lying down between the wheels of the enormous landing gear on a jet airliner and taking the wheel of the Ford Mustang during the ultra-cool driving scenes. A word to best describe the Steve McQueen picture "Bullitt" is also the word cool.

"Bullitt" is a crime drama featuring not only Steve McQueen, but also Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Jacqueline Bisset and everybody´s favorite landlord, Norman Fell. The film finds McQueen as police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. He is assigned to protect a man, Johnny Ross (Pat Renella) while he awaits taking the witness stand in an effort to bring down a large crime organization. With lawyer Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) breathing heavily down Bullitt´s shoulders, Ross is shot point-blank with a shotgun and a fellow police officer is also shot. Bullitt doesn´t stop when Ross is unable to take the stand against the crime lord and decides to bring down the man that has shot Ross and those behind the entire plot. With or without his partner, Delgetti (Don Gordon) and against the wishes of his Captain, Baker (Norman Fell) and further alienating his beautiful girlfriend Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset), Bullitt is a loner who will stop at nothing to bring justice to those who deserve it.

The main character is a loner that is not understood by anybody around him. He has a beautiful girlfriend, Cathy, that wants to understand him and wants to love him, but feels he is becoming futher detached from reality with every case he solves and every ounce of blood he pays witness to. When she sees a dead girl lying on a floor, she is horrified, but Bullitt is calm and casual as he telephones the police to give further information on the case. His supervisors and superior officers know him as a man to count on and a man that will complete the job, but they do not understand his methods and cannot offer answers to his actions. He is an enigma to his partner, but an effective police officer. To everyone, Bullitt is viewed as perhaps more machine than man and very little trace of humanity is shown in the character, just complete calculated coolness.

"Bullitt" takes a look at politics and procedures in policework and the nosework that is sometimes needed to solve a crime. The autopsy scene in the film shows nearly no blood, but lists in great detail the sort of information you would overhear during an autopsy. Luggage is found and placed into police evidence and a lengthy scene involves Bullitt and others looking through the various bags to find even the slightest trace of evidence. The scene slowly offers information that will ultimately send Bullitt on his way to bring down the mastermind behind Ross´s assassination. Answers are commonly given to let the viewer know why certain conclusions were made. For instance, one scene finds Delgetti stating a long distance call was made. He states that the large amount of change put into the pay phone was his evidence to this fact.

The politics come into play when Chalmers constantly wants to get a confession out of Ross or even a photograph to aid in his efforts. He tries to pull strings to force Bullitt into playing the game the way Chalmers wants it played. The police captain and others allow Chalmers to control the case because they consider Chalmers the kind of friend the police can always use. With its attention to detail and a look at what goes on behind the scenes of an investigation, "Bullitt" is a crime drama that entertains its audience with intelligence. This is not a lightweight film that relies on convenience and coincidence to move its plot along. The film does not force assumptions upon its viewers. Any piece of information that is needed for the viewer to understand and follow each step of the police investigators is offered up nicely.

This is not the typically action-paced crime dramas that are so prevalent today. The classic car chase between the Mustang and the Charger is wonderfully shot and full of speed, but it too lacks the over-the-top excitement of todays chases. There are no spectacular gunfights and while the climactic finish does bring about a tense moment or two; this is not an exciting film. While not exciting, it is certainly cool. Everything Steve McQueen does is cool. Just the way he puts on a turtleneck or walks across the street is cool. The way he handles his superior police officers is cool. The manner in which he simply hangs up on Captain Baker is cool. Every frame of this film is stylistic and cool and this is why "Bullitt" is so classic. Steve McQueen and "Bullitt" is a film that will easily keep your interest because it is so damn cool.

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