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 sequence or a particular scene, having where such scenes / sequences have come to overshadow the tapes that include, to such an extent 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 Fly Man) or the mythical "stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers" (A Night at the Opera).

There is no doubt that Bullitt is and will be remembered forever 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 technique 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 possible realism and decided to forget all about the tricks which 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 per hour at times. Surely in such circumstances the best that it happened during the minute break was Steve McQueen. The actor was a lover of extreme speed until 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 your brand new sport, he vowed never again get into a car with McQueen at the wheel. During the filming of Bullitt, and true to his custom, Indiana insisted on doing his own stunts, but finally had to give up and allow the renowned specialist Bud Ekins bend it takes more sensitive, as had made five years earlier in another mythical scene: the motorcycle jump in The Great Escape. A detail which of course it is not mentioned in the "production notes" included in 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 actually happens halfway through the film, when we took about an hour of viewing. Fortunately Bullitt is much more than that persecution 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 . This argument, confined within the normal fees of black cinema is well established and developed. The dialogues have spark and the splendid 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 have never considered a major player in the strict sense of the word, oozes charisma and "knowing how to be" in front of cameras that if they wanted practically all current Hollywood star, to which this man might eat you one bite with minimal effort. He is the absolute and unquestionable character, to the point that as I write this not because I can hardly remember a scene, if not some movie making that does not leave. His practice ubiquity, not tired at all, is well sheltered by an enigmatic Robert Vaughn Jacqueline Bisset and a lovely, both in very minor roles in comparison, but instrumental to the plot development.

In short, Bullitt is a good thriller with a sequence of almost revolutionary court, which created a school for hundreds of subsequent films and continues to this day. The modern-style film 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 the mentally retarded the caliber of Michael Bay or Stephen Norrington . I'm surprised has not been issued for only the TV, given that this is a perfect film to fix an afternoon / night weekend at home, especially taking into account the usual bad habit of replenishment, such that has led to more than one to memorize dialogues Kindergarten Cop (glaps!). But the mysteries of the "idiot box" (every day less "box" and more "silly" by the way) are unsearchable.