Bullitt: Difference between revisions

| caption = Theatrical release poster by Michel Landi

'''''Bullitt''''' is a 1968 American [[Crime film|crime]] [[thrilleraction film|action]] [[Thriller film|thriller]] film<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/bullitt-v7534 |title=Bullitt (1968) - Peter Yates |website=[[AllMovie]] |access-date=February 3, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230081046/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/bullitt-v7534 |url-status=live|last=Tobey|first=Matthew}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> directed by [[Peter Yates]] andfrom produceda screenplay by [[PhilipAlan D'Antoni]]Trustman|Alan R. The picture stars [[Steve McQueenTrustman]] as the title character,and [[SanHarry FranciscoKleiner]] policeand detectivebased Frankon Bullitt,the who1963 pursuescrime anovel group''Mute ofWitness'' by [[Mafia|mobstersRobert L. Fish]] after they kill the witness he's been assigned to protect. TheIt caststars also[[Steve featuresMcQueen]], [[Robert Vaughn]], [[Jacqueline Bisset]], [[Don Gordon (actor)|Don Gordon]], [[Robert Duvall]], [[Simon Oakland]], and [[Norman Fell]]. In the film, detective Frank Bullitt (McQueen) investigates the murder of a witness he was assigned to protect.<ref name="Bullitt">{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/21345/Bullitt/full-credits.html |title=Bullitt |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=November 19, 2016 |archive-date=September 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930115624/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/21345/Bullitt/full-credits.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The screenplay by [[Alan Trustman|Alan R. Trustman]] and [[Harry Kleiner]] was based on the 1963 novel ''Mute Witness''{{sfn|Monush|2009|page=274}}{{sfn|Eagan|2009|page=641}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DzdsAwAAQBAJ&q=Bullitt%20was%20based%20on%20the%201963%20novel%2C%20Mute%20Witness%2C%20by%20Robert%20L.%20Fish%2C&pg=PT173 |title=Steve McQueen: A Biography |first=Marc |last=Eliot |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group#Imprints|Crown Archetype]] |edition=1st |location=New York City |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-3074-5321-1 |access-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-date=October 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002014511/https://books.google.com/books?id=DzdsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT173&q=Bullitt%20was%20based%20on%20the%201963%20novel%2C%20Mute%20Witness%2C%20by%20Robert%20L.%20Fish%2C |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Murphy|1999|page=179}} by [[Robert L. Fish]], under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mute Witness |author-link=Robert L. Fish |first=Robert L. |last=Pike |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |location=New York City |year=1963 |isbn=978-9-9975-2787-5}}</ref>{{sfn|Kabatchnik|2012|page=231}} The film was made by McQueen's Solar Productions company, with his partner [[Robert Relyea]] as executive producer. [[Lalo Schifrin]] wrote the original [[jazz]]-inspired [[Film score|score]].

In 2007, ''Bullitt'' was selected for preservationreleased in the United States on October 17, 1968, by [[NationalWarner FilmBros.-Seven RegistryArts]]. byIt thewas a critical success, with praise for its screenplay, editing, and action sequences: its [[Librarycar chase]] sequence is regarded as one of Congressthe most influential in film history.<ref name=Ebert /><ref name=Maltin /><ref name=Levy /><ref name=Weber /> The film received numerous awards and nominations, including being nominated for two [[Academy Awards]], aswinning "culturallyfor [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]. It grossed $42.3 million worldwide, historicallybecoming one of the highest grossing films of 1968. In 2007, or''Bullitt'' aestheticallywas significant"preserved in the U.S. [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/08012/registry.html |title=National Film Registry 2007 |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=April 28, 2010 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201943/http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/08012/registry.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=September 18, 2020|website=Library of Congress |archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191832/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On a Friday night in [[Chicago]], mobster Johnny Ross briefly meets his brother, Pete, after he fledfleeing the [[Chicago Outfit|Outfit]]. The next morning, Lieutenant Frank Bullitt of the [[San Francisco Police Department]], Detectivealong Lieutenantwith Frank Bullitt'shis team, including Delgetti and Stanton, isare tasked by ambitious politician Walter Chalmers with [[protective custody|guarding]] Ross over the weekend, until he can be presented as a witness to a [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[subcommittee]] hearing on [[organized crime]] on Monday morning. The detectives are told that he is in a cheap hotel on the [[Embarcadero (San Francisco)|Embarcadero]]. At 1&nbsp;a.m. Sunday, while Stanton is phoning Bullitt to say that Chalmers and a friend want to come up, Ross unchains the room door. Two [[contractContract killing|hitmen]] burst in, and shootshooting Stanton in the leg and Ross in the chest.

Chalmers holds Bullitt responsible. After Ross dies fromin his woundshospital, but Bullitt conceals the death to keep the investigation open and sends the body to the morgue as a [[John Doe]] in order to keep the investigation open. An informant saysstates that Ross was in town[[San Francisco]] because he stolehad stolen millions of dollars from the Chicago Outfit. Bullitt also findsdiscovers out that heRoss made a long-distance phone call to a hotel in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]]. While driving his [[Ford Mustang (first generation)#1967–1968|Ford Mustang]], Bullitt becomes aware he is being followed by a [[Dodge Charger (B-body)#Second generation|Dodge Charger]]. An extended chase ensues through the city, ending in an explosion in [[Brisbane, California|Brisbane]] when the Charger crashes into a gas station, killing the two hitmen.

[[File:Steve-McQueen-1968.jpg|thumb|McQueen in 1968, the year of the film's release.]]

* [[PaulJohn GengeAprea]] as Mike,Dr. a hitmanKinner

* [[JohnPaul ApreaGenge]] and [[Bill Hickman]] as hitmen

* Kennedy Hotel (on Embarcadero and Howard, near the EmbarcadroEmbarcadero Freeway)

At the time of the film's release, the exciting car chase scenes featuring McQueen at the wheel in all driver-visual scenes generated prodigious excitement.<ref name=Ebert>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19681223/REVIEWS/812230301/1023 |title=Bullitt |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=December 23, 1968 |access-date=January 18, 2010 |quote="Bullitt," as everybody has heard by now, also includes a brilliant chase scene. McQueen (doing his own driving) is chased by, and chases, a couple of gangsters up and down San Francisco's hills. They slam into intersections, bounce halfway down the next hill, scrape by half a dozen near-misses, sideswipe each other, and leave your stomach somewhere in the basement for about 11 minutes. |archive-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011180807/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19681223%2FREVIEWS%2F812230301%2F1023 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Leonard Maltin]] has called it a "now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best."<ref name=Maltin>{{cite book |editor1-last=Maltin |editor1-first=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2004 Movie and Video Guide |publisher=Penguin Group |year=2004 |quote=Taut action-film makes great use of San Francisco locations, especially in now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best; Oscar-winning editing by Frank Keller. |page=195 |isbn=978-0-4512-0940-5}}</ref> [[Emanuel Levy]] wrote in 2003, "''Bullitt'' contains one of the most exciting car chases in film history, a sequence that revolutionized Hollywood's standards."<ref name=Levy>{{cite web |title=Bullitt |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |year=2008 |url=http://www.emanuellevy.com/search/details.cfm?id=4610 |access-date=November 6, 2010 |website=EmanuelLevy |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024192059/http://www.emanuellevy.com/search/details.cfm?id=4610 |url-status=live }}</ref> In his obituary for Peter Yates, [[Bruce Weber (reporter)|Bruce Weber]] wrote, "Mr. Yates' reputation probably rests most securely on ''Bullitt'' (1968), his first American film – and indeed, on one particular scene, an extended car chase that instantly became a classic."<ref name=Weber>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/movies/11yates.html |title=Peter Yates, Filmmaker, Is Dead at 81 |last=Weber |first=Bruce |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 11, 2011 |access-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-date=June 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630121443/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/movies/11yates.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Two 1968 325-horsepower [[Ford FE engine#390|390&nbsp;cu.&nbsp;in. ''FE'' V8]] [[Ford Mustang (first generation)#1967–1968|Ford Mustang GT]] [[FastbackFastbacks]]s (325&nbsp;hp) with four-speed manual transmissions were purchased by Warner Bros. for the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mustangspecs.com/1968-ford-mustang-bullitt-movie-car/ |title="1968 Ford Mustang Bullitt Movie Car", ''Mustang Specs'' |date=June 9, 2020 |access-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423060158/https://www.mustangspecs.com/1968-ford-mustang-bullitt-movie-car/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Mustangs' engines, brakes and suspensions were heavily modified for the chase by veteran car racer and technician [[Max Balchowsky]]. In[[Ford 2020,Motor oneCompany]] oforiginally thelent fastbacks was sold attwo [[MecumFord AuctionsGalaxie|Galaxie]] sedans for athe recordchase pricescenes, but the producers found the cars too heavy for the jumps over the hills of $3San Francisco.7 millionThey (~${{Formatalso price|{{Inflation|index=USfelt a Ford-GDP|value=3700000|start_year=2020}}}}Ford inbattle {{Inflation/yearwould not be believable on screen. The cars were replaced with two 1968 375-horsepower [[Chrysler B engine#440|US440 ''Magnum'' V8]] [[Dodge Charger (B-GDP}}body)#Second generation|Dodge Charger]]s. The engines in both Dodge Charger models were left largely unmodified, but the suspensions were mildly upgraded to cope with the demands of the stunt work.<ref name="cnn2020">{{cite news |last1=Valdes-Dapena |first1=Peter |date=January 10, 2020 |title=$3.7 million: Ford Mustang driven in the movie 'Bullitt' sells for record price |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/10/cars/bullitt-mustang-auction-record-price/index.html |accessurl-datestatus=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2020live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111034132/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/10/cars/bullitt-mustang-auction-record-price/index.html |urlarchive-statusdate=live}}</ref>January [[Ford11, Motor2020 Company]]|access-date=January originally11, lent two2020 |work=[[Ford Galaxie|GalaxieCNN]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite sedans for the chase scenes, but the producers found the cars too heavy for the jumps over the hills of San Franciscoweb|url=https://www. They also felt a Ford-Ford battle would not be believable on screensfgate. The cars were replaced with two 1968 375com/movies/article/CUT-horsepower 440&nbsp;Magnum V8TO-powered [[Dodge Charger (BTHE-CHASE-Classic-scene-in-McQueen-body)#Second generation|Dodge Charger]]s-2580656.php|title=CUT TheTO enginesTHE inCHASE both/ DodgeClassic Chargerscene modelsin wereMcQueen's left'Bullitt' largelyunreal unmodified,as butever|website=SFGate|date=October the26, suspensions2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite wereweb|url=https://www.motortrend.com/vehicle-genres/bullitt/|title=Dangerous mildlyPursuit: upgradedThe toreal copetruth withbehind the demands"Bullitt" ofchase thescene|website=Motor stuntTrend|date=June work.20, 2005}}</ref name="cnn2020"/>

The director called for maximum speeds of about {{convert|75|-|80|mph}}, but the cars (including the chase cars) at times reached speeds of over {{convert|110|mph}}.<ref>{{Citationcite neededweb|url=https://www.inchcape.co.uk/blog/remembering-bullitt/|title=50 Years of Bullitt: Remembering Film's Most Iconic Car Chase|website=Inchcape|access-date=DecemberOctober 26, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://carbuzz.com/news/here-s-why-the-bullitt-car-chase-scene-was-so-influential/|title=Here's Why The Bullitt Car Chase Scene Was So Influential|website=CarBuzz|date=October 29, 20212017}}</ref>

The editing of the car chase likely won [[Frank P. Keller]] the editing [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for 1968,<ref name=Hartl>{{cite news |last=Hartl |first=John |title=Top 10 car chase movies |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6091432 |work=[[MSNBC]] |access-date=November 7, 2010 |quote=''Bullitt'' (1968). Philip D'Antoni, who went on to produce ''The French Connection'', warmed up for it with this Steve McQueen crime drama, set in San Francisco, where the steep hills seem to yearn for cars to go sailing over them. The director, Peter Yates, makes the most of the locations, especially during a gravity-defying chase sequence that earned an Oscar for its editor, Frank P. Keller. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100916231758/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6091432 |archive-date=September 16, 2010}}</ref> and has been included in lists of the "Best Editing Sequences of All-Time."<ref name=Dirks>{{cite web |title=Best Film Editing Sequences of All Time, From the Silents to the Present: Part 5 |last=Dirks |first=Tim |url=http://www.filmsite.org/bestfilmediting5.html |publisher=[[Filmsite.org]] |access-date=November 11, 2010 |archive-date=November 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121000656/http://www.filmsite.org/bestfilmediting5.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the volume ''The Sixties: 1960-1969'' (2003), of his book series
''History of the American Cinema'', Cinema Arts professor Paul Monaco wrote:
{{whoBlockquote|date=December 2023}} wrote, "The most compelling street footage of 1968, however, appeared in an entirely contrived sequence, with nary a hint of documentary feel about it – the car chase through the streets of San Francisco in ''Bullitt'', created from footage shot over nearly five weeks.<ref name="Monaco"/>}}

After the filming was complete, '559 was repaired and repainted with a single coat of Highland Green, and sold to Warner Bros. employee Robert Ross,.<ref name="machines">{{cite book |last=Stone |first=Matt |title=McQueen's Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7603-38957 |location=Minneapolis |page=90 |quote=One of the Mustangs was so badly damaged during filming it was judged unrepairable and scrapped. The second, chassis 8R02S125559, was sold to a Warner Bros. employee after filming was completed.}}</ref><ref whoname=":4" in/> turnRoss solddrove theit car inuntil 1970, then sold it to Frank Marranca, who had it shipped from California to New Jersey. In 1974, Marranca sold the car to Robert Kiernan through an advertisementad in ''[[Road & Track]]''.<ref name="cnn2020" /><ref name="thirdversion" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Ceppos|first=Rich|date=March 16, 2018 |title=Steve McQueen's Bullitt-Movie Mustang Suddenly Reappeared: This Is How It Happened |magazine=Car and Driver |url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a19457341/original-steve-mcqueen-bullitt-mustang-rediscovered/ |access-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026222843/https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a19457341/original-steve-mcqueen-bullitt-mustang-rediscovered/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The Kiernans used it as a family vehicle before placing it in storage in 1980. In 19871977, ChadSteve McQueen attempted to buy it back, but was refused.<ref name=":4">{{cite news |title=1968 Ford Mustang Fastback (Bullitt – '559) |website=Historic Vehicle Association |url=https://www.historicvehicle.org/national-historic-vehicle-register/vehicles/1968-ford-mustang-fastback-bullitt-559/ |accessurl-datestatus=January 31, 2018 |archive-date=February 1, 2018live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201091255/https://www.historicvehicle.org/national-historic-vehicle-register/vehicles/1968-ford-mustang-fastback-bullitt-559/ |urlarchive-statusdate=liveFebruary 1, 2018 |access-date=January 31, 2018 |website=Historic Vehicle Association}}</ref> The Kiernans drove it for 46,000 miles as their family car, then put it in storage in 1980. Kiernan's son, Sean, began to restore the carvehicle in 2014, and had it authenticated in 2016, with documentation that included McQueen's letter offering to purchase it. On January 10, 2020, the car was sold by Mecum Auctions for $3.7 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=3700000|start_year=2020}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to an unidentified buyer.<ref name="cnn2020" />

* {{Official sitewebsite | https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/bullitt }}

[[Category:Edgar Award-winningAward–winning works]]