Frank Bullitt

Appropriate praise has been placed on the ground-breaking chase scene within the film Bullitt (1968). Amazing considering its brief 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 DVD viewings. Lalo Schifrin’s jazzy “cat and mouse” score to set up the chase—as well as his main theme—carries just as much impact. Beyond this presumed “car guy film,” Steve McQueen is at his apex in a role perfectly suited for his subtleties. A strong "reactor" beyond "actor." One particular scene has Bullitt returning to the hotel where a contract killing took place. There is no dialogue. No music. Only the sound of highway traffic comes through an open window. Contemplating how the murder could have happened, his minute expressions, eye movements, and body language make this seemingly dull scene very powerful. 

Another defining element concerns his co-star, Robert Vaughn, in a hospital communication station. 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. “You work your side of the street, I’ll work mine.” It is a beautiful “unacted” moment, making it overwhelmingly realistic. A quality that sums up the entire film.

Note: The capture above is the spark that ignites the car chase.

A Noted Television Theme

 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television. The series follows two secret agents working for an international counterespionage agency called the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. The first series to capitalize on the 007 gadget craze made stars of Robert Vaughn, the singular initial focus, and David McCallum, as a Russian agent. McCallum became so popular he was added as an UNCLE agent and the heartthrob for many teenage girls. Jerry Goldsmith wrote the theme, starting off with his trademark snare drums then a syncopated rhythm under a trumpet solo. By the end of the four-season series, the theme lost its intrigued with a trendy jazz arrangement. Here is the "clean" 1964 version.