Retro Film Review: Bullitt (1968)

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When CGI technology became commonplace in the film industry, many feared that it could have devastating effects on the world's film heritage. Many quintessential films would become unwatchable for younger audiences because of their obsolete special effects techniques. While in certain aspects such dire predictions came true, in other areas CGI technology helped classic films and classic film icons to get a new life. The best example is the 1997 car commercial in which CGI technology displayed its formidable and sometimes controversial ability to raise dead actors from the grave and perpetuate their iconic image for new generations. The icon in question belonged to Steve McQueen, one of the most legendary action stars of all time. The commercial also used the music forever associated with Steve McQueen's best-known film. That film was Bullitt, the 1968 action drama directed by Peter Yates.

In this film, Steve McQueen plays Lt. Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco Police Department detective who enjoys a reputation of integrity and professionalism. Because of this, he is recommended to Senator Walter Chalmers (played by Robert Vaughn) for a seemingly routine task – to protect Johnny Ross (played by Felice Orlandi), one of the top organised crime figures who has defected and is ready to testify at a Senate hearing in San Francisco. The task turns ugly when two professional killers visit Ross's hotel room and shoot Ross and one of Bullitt's men. Bullitt, who now must watch over two seriously wounded men in hospital, is determined to find who the assassins were and how they knew where to find their target. But in doing so, he must also manoeuvre his way around Chalmers, who wants to pin the blame for the fiasco on the detective and threatens to shut down his investigation.

Today Bullitt is best known for its car chase scene. Often cited as the model for car chase scenes in future films – many of them often using the same San Francisco locations – it is still exciting, despite not being based on special effects technology or clever tricks like most scenes made before and after. Bullitt's car chase scene is impressive because of its authenticity. Steve McQueen, a racing enthusiast, invested a lot of his passion and experience, and did not flinch from performing his own stunts. The result is sometimes raw and imperfect, but it is authentic.

Ironically, this scene is perhaps the best remembered, but it is actually among the least important in the whole film. The film that supposedly redefined the action genre has relatively few action scenes. Its genre is closer to drama or a conventional thriller; there is more dialogue than shooting, and the dialogue itself is very sparse. Yet the audience is not bored, thanks to the talents involved. Peter Yates directs this film, seamlessly crossing between quiet introspection and intense drama. In this, he is helped by Frank Keller's perfect editing and Lalo Schifrin's recognisable and atmospheric score. William A. Fraker's cinematography, despite its sometimes annoying darkness in night scenes (which would become a recognisable element in 1970s police films), manages to capture the attractiveness of San Francisco's locations.

Bullitt is different from most police films, especially those that would come in future decades, because of its intense realism. Locations are genuine – not only the streets of San Francisco, but also its hospitals and office buildings. Real doctors and real nurses were used as extras. There is very little dialogue, and the film at times looks almost like a documentary, even in the last action scene. With all this authenticity, Bullitt looks like a genuine film, and it is somewhat strange that many see it as the one that established the police film clichés of the 1970s and 1980s. Its protagonist, for example, has very little to do with characters like Harry Callahan or the heroes of the Lethal Weapon series – he is determined to get the villain, but his determination never descends into obsession, and he works within the system; his boss, who is strict but fair, stands behind his man; he never loses his cool, and the scene in which Bullitt has to endure threats and humiliations from a slimy politician is very telling – in it, Steve McQueen keeps his calm, unlike his future colleagues who would react with profanities and impulsive gestures.

The acting in Bullitt isn't 'Oscar'-worthy, nor was it supposed to be. But Steve McQueen is nevertheless very impressive in his role; with a script that didn't leave him much opportunity to express emotion, he manages to convey a great deal with small gestures. Supporting actors, like Robert Vaughn and Simon Oakland, are very good in their roles, but not as good as McQueen. On the other hand, Jacqueline Bisset is wasted in the thankless and unnecessary role of the protagonist's girlfriend, and her stunning looks in some strange way only hamper the film's realism. A bigger flaw of Bullitt lies in its plot, which, although intriguing, isn't particularly well explained to the audience, and many would have to watch the film at least twice before they figure out what it was all about.

Those flaws, however, won't hamper enjoyment of this film. Repeated viewings only allow audiences to notice some fine details, especially those that give away the period in which this film was made – levels of airport security, crypto-racist attitudes of politicians, fedoras still being part of men's fashion, fixed phone lines as the quintessential tool of police communication, and the wonders of emerging telefax technology. Bullitt is nevertheless a very entertaining film and a reminder of an age when the word 'cool' had more to do with what people did than what they looked like.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on February 23rd 2004)