– Here’s a technique that is not exclusive to car chases, but that certainly adds to the effect: a great composition. He also choreographed (and acted as wheelman for) chases in two other Philip D’Antoni productions: ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Seven-Ups’.
#THRILL OF THE CHASE DRIVER#
– The driver of the Dodge Charger, and choreographer of the chase, is the legendary stunt driver Bill Hickman. This requires coordination, but it pays off. As a technique, I prefer this more classical style of shooting longer takes, rather than employing a lot of needless cuts. We follow his 1968 Ford Mustang GT (a truly incredible machine) using a slow zoom, and then as the Mustang pulls away the camera picks up the pursuing Dodge Charger at the tail end of the shot – no cuts. – The chase begins with a neat opening shot of Bullitt, already aware of the two hitmen, pulling slowly out of the parking lot. This was Schifrin’s suggestion, and director Peter Yates wisely agreed. I also like that the score drops out as soon as the chase kicks into high gear. – I really like Lalo Schifrin’s intro music, which manages to simultaneously set the cool tone and increase the suspense. It is a chase that I admire more than I love, but I do appreciate it for being what it is: a frigging monument to ‘cool’.Īnd now to analyze the craft of the chase: The craftsmanship, while certainly coherent, is workmanlike (apart from the superb editing) and the chase itself is not exactly pulse pounding.
#THRILL OF THE CHASE MOVIE#
In my opinion, it is this element that is most directly responsible for distinguishing the chase in the annals of movie history. Heck, even Bullitt’s tweed jacket is cool. The cars are cool, the music is cool, and the stunts are cool. The one word I would use to describe the chase is cool. I mention this because, in many ways, the film’s central car chase is a perfect visual encapsulation of the character of Frank Bullitt, and of the mythology of Steve McQueen. They could have titled the movie ‘McQueen’ and nobody would have blinked. Steve McQueen was a perfect fit for this type of character, having shown flashes of that persona in films like ‘The Great Escape’ (1963) and ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ (1965). Frank Bullitt was modelled after SFPD Detective Dave Toschi (who famously investigated the Zodiac killer), and McQueen plays him as a world-weary, no-nonsense cop who keeps his cool in all situations, whether he’s confronting an ambitious District Attorney or, say, pursuing a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T through the streets of San Francisco. It’s best viewed as a vehicle (pun intended) for Steve McQueen’s persona, embodying machismo, a distaste for authority, and ‘cool’ above all else. Seen now, the film is still fairly slick – thanks in part to Lalo Schifrin’s jazzy score – yet somewhat unremarkable as a whole. Produced by Philip D’Antoni (more on him later), it was a critical and commercial hit in 1968. ‘Bullitt’ is a movie that, intentionally or not, is all about style over substance.