Overview
A tense race against time unfolds as a police officer must protect a key witness from the mob.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- cool
- terse
- gritty
- classic movie night
- action film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Bullitt as a stylish, exceptionally well-acted police procedural distinguished by its editing, cinematography, and landmark car chase.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bullitt must guard a principal witness while tracing the consequences of an attack and navigating official pressure.
The San Francisco car chase is built around filmed streets, stunt driving, and award-winning editing.
Frank Bullitt prioritizes solving the case and protecting the witness despite Walter Chalmers's ambitions and demands.
The film is identified with New Hollywood and grounds its crime thriller in observational San Francisco police work.
Films like Bullitt, and why
The French Connection
shared police procedural structure, urban crime investigation, restrained protagonist, and kinetic chase filmmaking
The Seven-Ups
shared 1960s New Hollywood style, hard-edged detective work, procedural realism, and iconic automobile action
Dirty Harry
shared cool-headed law-enforcement protagonist, crime conspiracy, terse dialogue, and meticulously staged pursuit sequences
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
shared New Hollywood crime atmosphere, morally ambiguous institutions, and controlled, observational suspense
Movie Details
- Director
- Peter Yates
- Release Date
- 1968-10-17
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (1340)
Cast
- Steve McQueen
- Robert Vaughn
- Jacqueline Bisset
- Don Gordon
- Robert Duvall
- Simon Oakland
- Norman Fell
- Georg Stanford Brown
- Justin Tarr
- Carl Reindel
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bullitt about?
- A taciturn San Francisco lieutenant shields a mobster witness while outmaneuvering political pressure and pursuing the killers hunting him.
- What is Bullitt like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bullitt as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Bullitt violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Bullitt as mild.
- What did critics think of Bullitt?
- Critics broadly regard Bullitt as a stylish, exceptionally well-acted police procedural distinguished by its editing, cinematography, and landmark car chase.
- Which films are like Bullitt?
- Films with a similar feel include The French Connection, The Seven-Ups, Dirty Harry, and The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
- How long is Bullitt?
- Bullitt runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bullitt?
- In United States, Bullitt is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
