Bullitt

Let's cut away all the fluffiness and cut right to the bone. Steve McQueen is maybe the coolest actor to ever work in Hollywood. An underrated actor who had an incredible on-screen presence, he had his biggest success and popularity in the late 1960s. The Cincinnati Kid, Nevada Smith, Thomas Crown Affair, The Sand Pebbles, all excellent parts in good to great films. Nowhere was McQueen more at his coolest than 1968's Bullitt.

A respected and hard-edged San Francisco detective, Frank Bullitt (McQueen) has been tasked with a somewhat dull but essential task from ambitious politician Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn). Prepping for a Senate hearing about a Mafia takedown, Chalmers has enlisted a key witness (Felice Orlandi), and Bullitt and two other detectives must babysit him over a weekend until the hearing. Instead, the witness is killed by two assassins, forcing Bullitt to find out what's going on. Something doesn't fit together as he examines the clues and evidence, but the pressure is on. Chalmers needs a scapegoat, and Bullitt seems like the perfect target to take the fall. Knowing he's been backed into a corner, Bullitt has an extremely limited window to find out exactly what's going on.

The late 1960s were one of the most influential periods in Hollywood history, changing the way films were made and more importantly, the stories that were told. From director Peter Yates, 'Bullitt' is a police/cop movie like none before it. It is a smart, stylish cop drama/thriller that for me, gets better with each viewing. For starters, it was filmed in San Francisco, setting the stage for Dirty Harry, McQ and a whole cop genre to move into the city. It is an ideal backdrop for the story; a polished, good-looking city that is nonetheless hiding secrets. The score from Lalo Schifrin is a good mix of quiet, soothing jazz and faster-paced, more traditional yet still exciting musical cues (listen HERE). The style in an almost documentary-like fashion reflects some of the French crime thrillers that I've really come to appreciate, giving 'Bullitt' a different edge more than just the same old, same old cops and robbers story.

That starts with Steve McQueen as Detective Frank Bullitt, a veteran cop who always gets the job done but usually how he wants to do it, not how he should do it. That basic write-up is as cliched as the countless cop movie stereotypes that have been done to death in the years since, but McQueen gives the lead performance a different edge. Never one for huge dialogue scenes, McQueen's Bullitt is a huge presence whenever he's on-screen. He does more with a look here or there than many actors could do with an entire monologue with the camera trained on them. There's a self-assured confidence in the part, a quietness about it too. Bullitt is an expert at what he does, but he's not interested in fame or accolades. He does it because he's really good, so good that he's become almost desensitized to the violence he sees on a daily basis. McQueen is cool, acts cool and looks cool (I have a way with words, don't I?).

Okay, so we've talked about the plot, Steve McQueen's badass-ness (is that a word?), and hhhmmm, what else? Oh, right, the cars. Some 45 years since its release, 'Bullitt' is still remembered fondly for an infamous car chase that opened the door for countless knockoffs, remakes and retries. Driving his 1968 Ford Mustang, McQueen pursues two assassins (driver Bill Hickman, killer Paul Genge) in, around and through San Fran, two muscle cars going at it for everything they're worth. Schifrin's soundtrack is left by the wayside, just the sounds of the two engines doing battle providing all the soundtrack that's needed. Looking back on it now, it isn't a flashy sequence, but it is clear how much it has influenced just about every movie car chase since. It is an extended sequence that runs about 10 minutes total (near the film's halfway point), one that will definitely get the adrenaline pumping.

Now sometimes at the expense of the film's style is the film's story. It took me three or four viewings to really get everything down just right. Not to throw this out there as a cop-out, but an understanding of the story isn't a must here. You watch for the style. Some reviewers/critics have an issue with the pacing, some point-blank stating that it's a boring movie. It isn't an action-packed movie, that's for sure. 'Bullitt' takes its time but always knows where it wants to go. A chase through a hospital is subtle and underplayed but incredibly full of tension, as is the finale at the San Francisco airport as Bullitt chases a suspect across runways in use. We see little departures into San Fran with Bullitt's girlfriend, Cathy (Jacqueline Bisset), on dates and at work, to Bullitt's apartment, to follow up with witnesses. It's rarely flashy, but there's something charming just the same about that assured style.

Backing McQueen up, Vaughn does what he does best; gentlemanly slimy to perfection. His Chalmers is smooth and suave, but he's really a snake waiting in the grass to strike. Don Gordon (a longtime, close friend of McQueen) is nicely cast as Delgetti, Bullitt's longtime partner with Simon Oakland and Norman Fell as their superiors. Also look for Robert Duvall in a small but key (and effective) part as a cab driver whose help Bullitt enlists as he tries to figure everything out. 

One of my favorites, an iconic flick from the 1960s, and one of Steve McQueen's all-time bests. Haven't seen it? What's wrong with you?!? Highly recommended.

Bullitt (1968): ****/****
Rewrite of November 2009 review

Mother, Jugs and Speed

Pick a profession, any profession at all, and I'd bet you can find some sort of humor in it.  Typically, the darker profession the funnier.  Take 1976's Mother, Jugs and Speed which is about a privately owned ambulance company competing with another ambulance company for a contract with the city.  People driving around saving patients who are in pain doesn't seem like an ideal setting for a comedy, but this one works somehow.

It is typical of many 70s comedies because it has a strong ensemble cast, some really quirky humor -- really quirky -- and a few attempts at some fairly raunchy jokes, most of which that don't work.  The movie's first 30 minutes are the best and the funniest with the story getting weirder and weirder (not necessarily for the better) with each passing minute as so many elements are thrown together.  What does work about the second half of the movie is more of a focus on three key characters, Mother, Jugs and Speed.

A cop on suspension (Harvey Keitel) -- he's under investigation for selling drugs -- takes a job with F & B Ambulances, a privately owned company in Los Angeles.  Dubbed 'Speed' by his new co-workers, he finds quite a business going on.  The owner, Harry Fishbine (Allen Garfield), tells Speed a city council meeting is coming up in a week where the company's fate will be decided and for him to not do anything stupid.  He's teamed with Mother (Bill Cosby) in an ambulance and off they go. Speed finds quite the eccentric group of individuals at F&B including Jugs (Raquel Welch), the secretary, and Murdoch (Larry Hagman), a would-be ladies' man, among many others.  Can this crew of weirdos keep it together long enough to keep the company going?

There isn't a plot here as much as a series of vignettes showing the craziness and quirkiness of the job of the ambulance drivers.  The first 20-25 minutes is just gag after gag as Mother and Co. go through a typical night of doing their job.  Because they're privately owned, the drivers have to ask for payment on pickup -- $42.50 and 50 cents a mile -- which does provide some funny moments.  Their rival, United Ambulance, is always competing with them for patients, and neither company is beneath pulling off some shenanigans.  A local police officer (L.Q. Jones) is always willing to help them out as long as his palm is greased.  It probably would have been difficult to maintain that tone throughout the movie when Captain Buzzkill arrives.

It's after that first 30 minutes that the story takes an odd turn.  The script has a lot of different elements, some of which seem incredibly out of place, almost like director Peter Yates couldn't decide which direction to take his movie in. It's slapstick comedy, then dark comedy, then romance, some perverted actions for good measure, and a shootout at the end.  Hagman's Murdoch tries to rape a knocked out patient but still has a job.  Mother beats the crap out of him but for something completely different.  Murdoch disappears and reappears when his craziness is needed for the finale.

Even with all the ridiculousness going on, the cast has a way of righting the ship.  Cosby is great as Mother, the sarcastic driver who always helps run the place and is protective of the company and his co-workers, even if he never shows it to their faces.  A lot of his laughs sound like he improvised them, but the serious side of the character is dead-on, especially one monologue late about the pressures and demands of the job.  He also has one of the weirdest scenes ever in a "massage parlor" where he gets to do some Cosby-isms.  Welch must have groaned when she saw her character's name, but she's good as Jennifer ("Jugs"), the secretary trying to make it as an EMT.  Keitel is good as always -- when wasn't he good? -- as the straight man to all the craziness.  Along with Hagman, some of the other drivers include Bruce Davison as pot-smoking Leroy, NFL legend Dick Butkus as Rodeo, and Allan Warnick as Bliss, the highly intelligent and highly gay driver.

A weird, off the wall 70s comedy if there ever was one.  I wish the story could have been streamlined some more with a decision to go one way or another, but this is still an enjoyable movie.  It's got some good laughs -- one bit early with a runaway gurney is priceless -- but the main reason to see this is the cast, especially the leads.  Cosby, Welch, and Keitel have a great chemistry together and through all the craziness, that's what is worth watching.

Mother, Jugs and Speed <----trailer (1976): ***/****

Breaking Away

Going to Indiana University as an undergrad, one running joke was that to get into IU you had to love basketball and watched both Hoosiers and Breaking Away, two movies that are often associated with the college. Of course, it's not a requirement, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean they're not classics.

Breaking Away is one of the best coming of age movies ever made. Too often movies like this go down one road, either really serious trying to get a message across or the completely comical look at growing up like any number of high school sex comedies. Breaking Away settles in that middle ground between the two, treading that fine line where both drama and comedy are used and effectively. Parts are genuinely funny and others can be heartbreaking, but it never feels fake and that's why the movie is so good.

A year removed from high school graduation, Dave Stohler (Dennis Christopher) has one goal in life; to be an Italian. He loves everything about the Italian culture, idolizing the Cinzano bicycle racing team, one of the top teams in the world. Of course, in the process he drives his parents, Evelyn (Barbara Barrie) and Ray (Paul Dooley), absolutely nuts including one encounter where Ray walks in on his son shaving his legs. His parents want Dave to either enroll in college at Indiana University or get a job and start to grow up. But it's all put on hold when he finds out the Cinzano team is holding a race in Indianapolis. What happens during the race has a sobering effect on Dave, forcing him to reconsider what he's devoted his life too.

Something comes up though, something new Dave can channel his efforts into, the Little 500 bike race in Bloomington. Dave, along with three friends and fellow townies called 'Cutters' (because locals cut the limestone used to build much of the IU campus), enter the race and go up against IU's fraternities. Of his friends, there's Mike (Dennis Quaid), the jock in high school now struggling to see that maybe his best days as an athlete are behind him, Cyril (Daniel Stern), the tall, lanky jokester, and Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley), the designated 'little guy' in the group who's always ready to stick up for himself or his friends.

Why this movie works so well is the dynamic among the four friends. They're all different people, but they are going through the same things. Each of them is trying to grow up, to find their way in life, but where do you even start? Dave wants to be a cyclist, Mike is pissed that as a local he's looked down upon, Cyril has always been put down by his dad, and Mooch is working on his relationship with girlfriend Nancy. All their scenes ring true, I believe each time I watch Breaking Away that these four are truly friends.

Another obvious high point is Dave and his ongoing conflict with his folks, Ray and Evelyn. Ray is convinced his son has lost his mind and lets him hear about it any chance he can. He goes about telling his son what he wants for him in odd ways, often yelling at the sometimes oblivious Dave, but all other things aside he wants what's best for his son and his happiness. Evelyn similarly wants her son to be happy and quietly supports everything he does. The only thing that doesn't ring true in 'Breaking Away' is Dave's relationship with an IU student, Katherine (Robyn Douglass) with Dave pretending to be an Italian student to woo her. Those are the only scenes that come across as forced and unrealistic.

Having attended IU for four years, part of the fun of the movie is that director Peter Yates wisely chose to film the entire movie in Bloomington. The IU campus and the surrounding areas in southern Indiana film beautifully, especially a swimming hole at an abandoned rock quarry. Yates takes full advantage of the campus, filming at any number of recognizable locations like Memorial Stadium, Assembly Hall and all over the streets that wind around the academic buildings as well as downtown Bloomington. It might not have the same affect for someone who doesn't know the campus, but the on-location filming gives an authentic feel to the story.

With a movie focusing on a character who wants to be a cyclist, the racing scenes don't disappoint. The Cinzano race is a great sequence with an Italian opera playing as the soundtrack as Dave meets and eveven keeps up with the Cinzano racers. The Little 500 segment is the high point though as 34 teams race around a quarter-mile long track for 200 laps. Christopher, Quaid, Stern and Haley did their own riding so the viewer sees the Cutters team riding along with the field. It's a great race sequence, and the two-lap finale filmed in a long shot is the perfect ending to the race.

Definitely one of my favorites, a movie that hits all the right notes. Few movies have dealt with growing up as pitch perfect as Breaking Away does. Great cast, great story, love the locations (Go Hoosiers!), and exciting race sequences.

Breaking Away<---- trailer (1979): ****/****

Netflix review #26: The Friends of Eddie Coyle

After years of not being available in any format, The Friends of Eddie Coyle was released on DVD late this spring by the Criterion Collection. I'd never heard of it prior to a Criterion email but reading about the casting, the director, the story, I couldn't pass it up. Of course, I wasn't the only one itching to see it, the movie status on Netflix for most of 2 months was 'Very Long Wait' which never sounds too good. So after most of three months of waiting on and off, Eddie Coyle came in the mail this week.

Everything about this movie is underplayed from the characters to the shooting style to the dialogue. It is what it is. There are no huge theatrics as the story unfolds. Stuff happens sometimes, and you have to roll with the punches. A lot of the credit goes to director Peter Yates of Bullitt fame among other movies. Yates doesn't call much attention to himself and knows from the start that the attention should be on the actors. Novel concept, isn't it? 'Eddie Coyle' looks like a documentary film, just following characters around as they live their lives. It's gritty and realistic, giving you the sensation of a fly on the wall as several seemingly unrelated storylines converge on each other.

With those unrelated stories, the movie can be hard to follow because it's not always easily apparent where it's going or how all these different things will come together. Looking back, it all comes together and makes sense. While a lot is going on, the main attention is paid to Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle, maybe a career-best performance for Robert Mitchum. Eddie is a small-time crook, as low level as they get, but who still has a way of being involved in every little thing. He's a gunrunner and puts people where they need to be to pull off a job. But Eddie's in trouble, he got arrested for transporting liquor and is facing a jail sentence of at least a couple years. With nowhere to turn and a wife and three kids to look after, Eddie goes to his last resort, becoming a snitch for Foley (Richard Jordan), a cop you're never quite sure of his motives.

Also involved is Jackie Brown (Steven Keats), Eddie's supplier who sells/transports the guns out of his souped-up muscle car. He plays dumb at times but when it comes down to it, he knows how to handle himself and stay alive when trouble arises. Then, there's Dillon (Peter Boyle), an ex-con working as a bartender who is similarly in trouble and looking for a way out. And all the while as Eddie works to save himself, Jimmy Scalise (Alex Rocco) is leading a crew who have their routine down pat for pulling off bank jobs. The stories are introduced and develop without much background or anything to go on, and that's what makes it hard to follow at some points.

But there is a connection and it all comes together nicely in the last 30 minutes. What sets this apart though from other difficult movies to follow is that I barely noticed it at all. The dialogue, the exchanges between this group of people are so perfect, so natural that it's just a pleasure to watch them do it. None of the characters are even particularly likable, they're all low-level hoods and thugs, even Jordan's Foley gives off a bad vibe, but I was drawn in nonetheless.

Often playing the anti-hero who when it came down to it was a good guy, Mitchum plays Eddie differently. He's looking out for his family, but as he's told, he put himself in this predicament. He's never rose in the ranks, but Eddie's got experience. Check these scenes with Jackie Brown and a meeting with Foley about his situation and one more with Jackie negotiating for the guns. Pulling off a tough Boston accent, Mitchum portrays Eddie as worldweary man who has backed himself into a corner and must now respond. It's scenes like this that are a pleasure to watch. No big over the top acting, no calling attention to themselves, just good old fashioned acting.

It's Mitchum's movie, but the rest of the cast is just as strong. Boyle is only in a few scenes but his actions help put the final scenes into motion, including a frustrating ending that works for the story but isn't the typical easy ending. Jordan stands out, again, as Foley, the cop trying to pull off any number of cases who just as easily could have been on the other side of the law. Having seen a handful of movies with Jordan from early in his career, it's hard to believe he never became a big star. His parts are always picture perfect, and he's becoming one of my favorite character actors. Along with Joe Santos, Rocco gets the less glamorous part as Eddie's associates but both actors make the most of it.

Not a typical crime movie, it's more low-key with little action and less gunplay/violence. The movie suceeds and fails on the performances of the cast so for my money, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a huge success. It's not a movie you watch for the huge twists, the big gun fights, the exciting car chases. 'Eddie Coyle' you watch for the characters and the dialogue. It hasn't been available for years so take advantage of the Criterion Collection DVD, don't let this one slip by.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle <----trailer (1973): ***/****