Last night I returned from dinner. AP was in the TV room. His children were asleep. I poked my head into the room to say hello. AP motioned for me to sit down.
"BULLITT. It just started."
I needed no further encouragement. Steve McQueen. No one cooler. I joined AP on the couch. Feet up on the settee. Widescreen TV. A puff of marijuana.
Within seconds the terse movie directed by Peter Yates transported us to 1967. San Francisco. Not of the hippies. Cops, Crooks. Muscle cars. Hip people. Jazz. Good restaurants. Intrigue. Power and corruption.
A young Jacqueline Bisset as Bullitt's girlfriend.
Cathy: What will happen to us, in time?
Bullitt: Time starts now.
McQueen always cool.
No special effects. No gun ballets. No jerky cinematography. A clean soundtrack. A stunning car chase. A "Highland Green" 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 CID Fastback versus a "Tuxedo Black" 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum. Speeds up to 110 on the streets of San Francisco. A great bike laydown by the legendary motorcycle racer Bud Ekins.
Academy Award for Film Editing.
I sat through this film without looking at the time. I doubt young people could do the same. Maybe, but what does an old man know about the young other than what they tell him.
I was 16 in 1968.
We all wanted to be McQueen.
And lay in bed with Jacqueline Bisset.
To see the car chase go to this URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-y1VUdnQXo
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