Bullitt
Directed by Peter Yates
- action
- crime
- thriller
The story
Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
What it’s like
Gritty late-1960s San Francisco shot on location: rain-slick streets, fog rolling off the hills, drab hotel corridors and cramped airport terminals lit by flat fluorescent glare, with the colour palette leaning on muted greens, browns and the rust of old Mustangs. The camera stays grounded and observational, often holding on Steve McQueen's unhurried face while the city moves around him, then breaks into handheld, low-angled chase footage where engines roar over the hills and gravel flies. The score is sparse jazz-tinged percussion that drops away entirely in the quiet stretches, leaving the sounds of traffic, footsteps and hotel doors. Vibe: cool, watchful, rain-damp and tense, a noir-adjacent procedural that suits a rainy evening or a late-night watch alone. Pacing is deliberate through long stretches of waiting and cross-checking, then sudden, sustained bursts of speed. The emotional register is restrained; Bullitt is a taciturn cop who lets his competence and quiet stubbornness speak for him, and the film holds its interest in his methodical attention rather than in big speeches. Violence is brief but sharp: a few gunshots and a fatal shooting or two, with little gore and no sexual content. For people who want a classic, unshowy thriller with a famous car chase at its centre and an understated lead.
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