Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
Good scripting and excellent direction by Peter Yates maintain deliberately low-key but mounting suspense.
– ,
Variety,
1 Mar 2007
fresh:
A terrific movie, just right for Steve McQueen -- fast, well acted, written the way people talk.
– Renata Adler,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
McQueen is great in Bullitt, and the movie is great, because director Peter Yates understands the McQueen image and works within it. He winds up with about the best action movie of recent years.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
fresh:
Even though the story almost makes no sense and the Oscar-winning editing has several illogical cuts, Bullitt is an exquisitely satisfying motion picture, particularly if there is still an adolescent boy lodged somewhere in your psyche.
– Douglas Pratt,
Hollywood Reporter,
21 Jun 2005
rotten:
There isn't much here, and what there is is awfully easy.