Bullitt

I started BULLITT a little worried. Lalo Schifrin's opening music was so jarring and so dated that I didn't know if I could handle two hours of it.

Fortunately, the music tapered off from there and I was able to enjoy a solid procedural with a few very strong elements.

First is the movie's sense of reality. There's a lot of silence, a lot of ambient noise, and a lot of the pauses that make up such a huge part of our day. Second is McQueen, who was every bit as cool as he's cracked up to be. Third is the famous car chase, a sequence so good that it had me grinning like a monkey. And fourth is the climactic sequence at San Francisco International Airport, a pursuit among men who actually behave like real people, not Olympic athletes.

BULLITT's a treat.

PS Robert Vaughn, who plays one of Bullitt's adversaries, is now doing commercials for some personal injury lawyer. Maybe he has grandkids to put through college.