My Favourite Movies: Bullitt

This is another of those movies I can’t possibly have seen at the cinema – at least not when it first came out in 1968 – being only 8 at the time. As the DVD is rated as a 15 certificate there’s little chance that my father would’ve taken me to see this even if he could have sneaked me in somehow.

Anyone, Bullitt is basically a cop movie based in San Francisco. The early shots set the scene showing the eponymous hero (played by the great Steve McQueen) going about his daily business, shopping for food and meeting his architect girlfriend (played by the very lovely Jacqueline Bisset) then going out to eat in a restaurant. Once the foundation is over with – so we’re happy with both time and place – we are introduced to the ubiquitous slimy politician (played superbly by Robert Vaughn in his first role after the end of The Man from UNCLE). It seems that Chalmers (the politician) has a way to enhance his reputation by producing a witness to testify against The Mob and he wants Bullitt to guard him for the next 40 hours until the hearing. Gathering his team together Bullitt visits the safe house where the witness has been stashed away and immediately realises that something isn’t quite right. Leaving his men to stand first watch Bullitt goes home to bed only to be awoken several hours later when professional killers arrive and kill the witness and injures his partner. Determined to get to the bottom of who betrayed his team Bullitt begins a dangerous cat and mouse game with Chalmers, the killers and his own department.

Of course right in the middle of all of this is one of the best car chases ever filmed as Bullitt in his iconic Mustang first evades and then chases the bad guys through the streets of San Francisco and then out on the highway. Filmed, like much of the movie, in almost documentary style full of close-ups and changes of camera angles, the chase itself makes my heart beat faster and my palms sweat which is always a sign of a good chase! I think McQueen did a lot of his own stunt work in this film which, inevitably, makes everything that much more realistic. It certainly shows.

Although rather dated in many ways – the clothes, music and attitudes screams late 60’s – this actually holds up really well being more of a time capsule rather just an outmoded and outdated concept. Of course central to the whole thing is the inherent honour of the main character and his refusal to compromise it for any reason – particularly for any political reasons. In one of the final scenes the sleazy politician sneers cynically saying that “Integrity is something we sell to the public” prompting a look of utter distain and the comment “You can sell what you want”. It’s a nice scene.

If you missed this during the preceding 44 years I’d see if you can get it on Netflix or acquire the DVD from somewhere. It probably won’t rock your world but if you’re anything like me I think you’ll enjoy it.