Appropriate praise has been placed on the groundbreaking chase scene about an hour into the film Bullitt (1968). Amazing considering its brief, near ten-minute screen time, but the film seems made up of gravitating brief moments. Yes, everyone knows about the repeated, differing camera positions to film the hilly San Francisco chase: the curse of multiple viewings. Yes, there have been more extended, unrealistic chase scenes in a couple of films to follow in an effort to "outdo" this film. But none are believable in real life. This driver knows his way around a Ford Mustang GT. Despite early script and character confusion, realism sums up the entire film. Of course, the chase without Lalo Schifrin’s perfectly matched jazzy “cat and mouse” score would be unimaginable.
Beyond this presumed “car guy film,” Steve McQueen is at his apex in a role perfectly suited for his subtleties. A strong "re-actor," this film showcases that talent in an early scene as the Lieutenant returns to the hotel where a contract killing took place. There is no dialogue. No music. Only the sound of highway traffic coming through an open window of a hotel near a freeway. Contemplating how the murder could have happened, his minute expressions, eye movements, and body language make this seemingly dull scene very powerful.
Another defining scene concerns the hospital communication station where Bullitt is confronted by a politically ambitious federal prosecutor, Chalmers, played by Robert Vaughn. It is a scene that is overwhelmingly realistic and believable. Foretelling the tension coming in the famous chase, the two characters come to terms. They do not like each other. Bullitt’s tolerance reaches its end with the self-aggrandizing Chalmers. With direct eye contact, he states, “You work your side of the street, I’ll work mine.”
The capture above is the spark that ignites the car chase.
