Bullitt (1968)

"You believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine.", 25 November 2015

As my rating indicates, I love Bullitt. I think it's mostly a brilliant movie. Other reviewers have mentioned more eloquently than I can everything I love about the movie - the uber-cool Steve McQueen; the editing, cinematography, and direction; Lalo Schifrin's score - particularly the title sequence; the car chase; the acting; Robert Vaughn (an actor who usually annoys the pants off me); and the brilliant San Frnacisco locations. I'm not going to go into detail on most of this other than a bit about McQueen. I think a lot of people (including me) remember McQueen for being the larger-than-life badass. But watching Bullitt the other night, I was reminded of just what an outstanding actor he was. There are scenes and moments in Bulllitt where McQueen is able to do more with just a nod or a look than most actors could with a dozen pages of dialogue. McQueen was often the center of attention on a screen-full of actors without ever opening his mouth. He had a real presence. He was a real actor.

There are three other things I want to mention in this comment: First, there is one plot point that really gets under my skin and I consider it a real weakness in the script. Looking at the apartment selected to keep the informant, Bullitt immediately notices the windows and the security weaknesses they provide. Why doesn't he demand a new location? Or, better yet, being Bullitt, why doesn't he just take it upon himself to find a new location? Leaving things to chance is a contradiction to Bullitt's character.

Second, I will admit there are some pacing problems in Bullitt. I don't agree with other commnetors who say the film is "boring". It may not have an unrealistic explosion every 10 seconds, but that doesn't make it boring. What you call boring, I call realistic. I get a kick out of most of the scenes where Bullitt is just standing and watching what's going on around him. I find McQueen that watchable. What I'm talking about are a few scenes that are completely unnecessary to the script. A slightly tighter script, with 10 or so minutes cut, might have made a good movie a great movie.

Third, Jacqueline Bisset really has no point in the movie. She's in some of those scenes I mentioned in the last paragraph that I felt unnecessary to the plot. She doesn't add a thing to McQueen's character or our feelings toward him. I would normally praise any movie just for casting Bisset, but here, she's wasted.

Despite the weaknesses, a strong 8/10 from me.

8/10