Computer Age

Bullitt (1968)
Director: Peter Yates
Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland

There are dozens of films that have gone into the annals of film history for a particular scene or sequence, having instances in which these scenes / sequences have come to overshadow the tapes that include, to the point that most people can not even remember something as basic as its argument. This starts with that of the beloved Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock (belonging to the man fly) or the mythical "stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers (A Night at the Opera).

There is no doubt that Bullitt is and will always be remembered for the car chase on the steep streets of San Francisco (which, incidentally, continues after a long time on the roads surrounding the city). All a marvel of planning and mounting technology that even today, forty years ahead of his first pass, it remains current and fresh, which gives an idea of its quality. The film's director, Peter Yates, wanted the maximum realism possible and decided to forget all about the special effects until then used to apply a rule to shoot car chases. The result is a "total immersion" of the viewer within a sequence in which the vehicles involved came to reach 180 kilometers hour in some time. Surely in such circumstances the best that it happened during the filming was Steve McQueen minute. The actor was a lover of speed to an almost suicidal, as Bruce Lee himself would attest, a good friend in real life. The legendary martial artist, after going with Steve for a ride to test their brand new sports, he vowed never again climb into a car with McQueen at the wheel. During the filming of Bullitt, and true to his custom, Indiana he was determined to do the stunts himself, although in the end had to yield and allow the renowned specialist Bud Ekins takes twice his most sensitive, as had made five years earlier in another mythical scene: the motorcycle jump in The Great Escape. One detail that certainly it is not mentioned in the "production notes" on the DVD of the film, which suggests that Steve McQueen fully participated in the filming of the sequence. Curious.

That pursuit is undoubtedly the highlight of the film, and do happen in the middle of the footage, when it took about an hour of viewing. Fortunately Bullitt is much more than that pursuit and has more points of interest such as a sequence at the airport that at times seems to have inspired Michael Mann for the final sequence of Heat. The argument, circumscribed within the canons regular of black cinema, is well established and developed. The dialogues are funny and the wonderful music of the great Lalo Schifrin (particularly inspired on this occasion) wraps the film into perspective, providing a distinctive touch. Above all this luxury comes a hero, a Steve McQueen at the height of his career, although I've never considered a major player in the strict sense, exudes a charisma and a "learn to be" in front of cameras that it wanted to practically all current Hollywood star, to which this man could have tea in one gulp with minimal effort. He is the absolute and undisputed protagonist to the point that as I write this not because I can not remember any scene, if not some shot in the film that does not leave. His practice omnipresence, not tired at all, is well sheltered by an enigmatic and a wonderful Robert Vaughn Jacqueline Bisset, both in very minor roles in comparison, but critical for the development of the plot.

In short, Bullitt is a good thriller with a sequence of almost revolutionary court, which created hundreds of film school and continues later on today. The modern movie bill can be seen even in the opening credits, and the assembly process (Oscar winner) should take note that the mob today is dedicated to "direct" action films, led by morons the caliber of Michael Bay or Stephen Norrington. I'm surprised has not been issued for only the TV, given that this is a film perfect for primping an afternoon / night weekend at home, and more taking into account the usual bad habit of replenishment, such that has led to more than one and knowing by heart the dialogues of Kindergarten Cop (glaps!). But the mysteries of the "idiot box" (every day less "box" and more "stupid" by the way) are inscrutable.