Recollections of "Bullitt"

[Cal Metal]

The "Seven Ups" was Philip D'Antoni's first shot at directing a film. He had produced the famed, "French Connection" prior to that. That scene in the "Ups" is considered, I believe, to be the longest car chase in history, at least in a city. While the movie has its shortcomings--Roy Scheider's first attempt as a leading man--the chase was pretty spectacular.

To me, the "Bullitt" scene will always be the magical one. Hard to say why. The San Francisco venue with the vertical streets was a brillant idea; it was really the first major scene of its kind. The fact that it integrates so well into the movie-- and not just a chase movie. Unlike "Connection" there is superb pacing as the stalker becomes the stalked. One thing that has always captivated me was the sound of the exhaust as the scene begins--much like the growl of a couple of feline predators out to get one another. From the time McQueen starts the Mustang, and the Charger accelerates out of the underpass, the growl of the exhaust says this chase is about machines dueling for supremacy, as it is about men.