I've always been interested in the goings on behind the scenes of my favorite movies. This transcript is a treasure trove of information about Raiders. It actually shows that it is in fact Lucas who is the biggest creative force behind this project. This leaves little question that the Indiana Jones character is his. He's the idea man and at the that time, his story telling instinct was at it's peak.
I just finished watching a movie. I didn't really intend to see the whole film, I just wanted to try if it plays fine on the player. The first note of Lalo Schifrin's score and the elegant titles sequence by Pablo Ferro just pulled me in, hooked me up, and didn't let go.
The movie is titled Bullitt, made in 1968, starring Steve McQueen, and directed by Peter Yates. I've seen McQueen in The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, but both of them are ensemble pictures. He had to share screen time with Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn, some of the biggest badasses in the history of cinema. This was my first time to see him carry a movie all by himself, and man did he carry it. I no longer wonder why he was such a revered actor. He projects such a cool demeanor on screen that is so rare these days. His is a dying breed. They flocked the Earthy during the olden days, along with Humphrey Bogart, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and the ones that I've already mentioned. Clint is so old now, and when he retires, there will be no one left. The only one I can think of who is worthy of carrying their banner is Daniel Craig, no one else.
The movie is a straight up police procedural, with McQueen starring as Frank Bullit, the title character. Bullitt is a good cop who gets a rep as a media darling. That is why Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) a politician handpicks him to guard an important witness to a case that would catapult him to the public eye. As expected, the assignment goes south. The witness gets shot and lies in critical condition. Chalmers threatens to ruin Bullitt's career if the case is destroyed. The witness dies which leaves our lead to solve the mystery before Chalmers makes good his threat.
This movie sits beside The French Connection as one of the best police procedural movies ever made. It's gritty and realistic. There are no big set pieces or elaborate gun play. Bullitt is definitely not that type of action film. It takes its time, choosing to hike up the tension by letting scenes play out instead of punctuating every sequence with a gunshot. As I've mentioned, gun play is almost nonexistent. Frank always his gun in its holster and he only pulled it out in the last 10 minutes of the movie, firing it only twice. Unlike the PNP, Bullitt is not a trigger-happy psycho itching to bleed his culprit. He only shoots when he absolutely has to.
Technically, this movie is terrific. It was perfectly shot. The car chase (which it is most famous for), was excellently executed. The editing is great, scenes play out the way they should. But beyond the technical aspects of this movie, which gets excellent mark, it won't be the same without Steve McQueen. He just oozes cool and charm and his all business attitude makes him badass. Bullitt is always in control, he knows what he is doing every time. He's the perfect cop, I guess. His girlfriend doesn't understand the world he belongs to, the ugliness that he sees every day very much a part of his life. Being good at what he does has cost him greatly.
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