Bullitt 1968

     San Francisco Police Lieutenant Bullitt is sent out on an assignment to guard Johnny Ross.  He is a Chicago mobster and he is about to turn evidence against the organization.  Walter Chalmers wants Ross to be safe at all cost or else Bullitt will suffer the consequences of not doing his job properly!!

     This 1968 police movie remains famous for its lengthy and white-knuckle chase scenes through the streets of San Francisco.  It's a no-nonsense thriller with a focus on characters and details rather than action and suspense.  Even though star Steve McQueen is still cool and even though the car chase still works, some younger viewers may find the movie a bit dull?  It does have some grisly shootings with spurting blood and gory corpses.  The main character and his girlfriend share some intimate scenes with no nudity.  There are a couple of choice swear words saved for the film's final sequence.

     I REALLY liked this movie!!  The cars of this period are interesting and something to see.  The Mustangs and the Chargers from this time period are worth a LOT of money now!!   I really liked the chase scenes too.  It’s great to see the cars levitate because of the bumps in the SF roads!!  There is extra drama with a plane at the SF airport when one of the bad guys tries to leave the country.  There are a LOT of details involved in the surveillance of the man who is supposed to testify and those who want to keep him quiet.  Bullitt takes heat for this part of the movie.  5*+

114 min, Action directed by Peter Yates and written by Alan Trustman, Harry Kleiner and based on a novel by Robert L. Fish with Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell, Georg Stanford Brown, Justin Tarr, Car Reindel, Felice Orlandi, Vic Tayback, Robert Lipton, Ed Peck, Pat Tenella.

Note:  Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 45 ratings, Imdb 7.4* out of 10* with 61,577 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 98% with 41 critic reviews 85% with 15,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 81 out of 100 with 20 critic reviews 7.1 out of 10 with 91 user scores, Common Sense Media Jeffrey M. Anderson, 4* out of 5*, age 14+, Roger Ebert 4*.

Special Note:  Although Steve McQueen was credited with driving during the chase sequences, it was actually shared by McQueen and Bud Ekins.  He is one of Hollywood's best stunt drivers.  From the interior shots looking forward inside the Mustang, it's easy to see which one is driving.  When McQueen is driving, the rear view mirror is down and reflecting his face.  When Ekins is driving it is up, so his face can be hidden.  Bullitt's reverse burnout during the chase scene actually wasn't in the script, Steve MacQueen had mistakenly missed the turn.  The footage for this scene was included in the film.  Two Mustangs and two Dodge Chargers were used for the famous chase scenes.  Both Mustangs were owned by the Ford Motor Company and part of a promotional loan agreement with Warner Brothers.  The cars were modified for the high-speed chases by veteran auto racer Max Balchowksy.  Stunt coordinator Carey Loftin got Bud Ekins got to drive the Mustang for most of the stunts.  Both of the Dodges were junked after the filming and one of the Mustangs.  The other less banged-up Mustang was purchased by a Warner Brothers employee after all production and post-production was completed.  The car ended up in New Jersey a few years later where Steve McQueen tried to buy it.  The owner refused to sell and the car now sits in a barn.  It had not been driven until it was used by Ford to promote the 2018 "Bullitt" Mustang revealed at the Detroit international auto show.

Mistakes:  During the chase scene you can hear a manual stick shift changing gears on the Mustang during exterior shots of the car.  But shots inside the vehicle during the chase show an automatic and not a manual stick.  A microphone is visible as the killer questions the doctor.  When Chalmers tells Bullitt on Friday that he needs to keep Ross out of reach of the organization for 40 hours until the senate sub committee hearing on Monday, it should be 64 hours. 40 hours would put the sub committee hearing on Sunday.  Bullitt and Delgetti go through the dead man's luggage, handling every single item without wearing gloves.  Then Bullitt asks the evidence guy for "fingerprints on this stuff."  Detectives messing up the evidence was commonplace into the 1970s but these actions are laughable rookie blunders.