Bullitt (1968) is known primarily for its famous San Francisco car chase sequence a little more than mid-way through the film. Even though it’s been copied a thousand times, it’s still a great piece of cinema. But in watching Bullitt the other night, what stood out more was the way director Peter Yates and Steve McQueen approached realism with the entire film. For instance, the operating scene in the ER used real doctors, real nurses, and was radically different from the fast-talking silliness of the modern-day show ER. It was hushed, thorough, business-like: and came off with an authenticity that gave a very different feel to the scene. It was this authenticity that makes Bullitt less a crime film and more an exploration into McQueen’s character as a cop dealing with reality. [click to continue…]
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