McQueen earns his chops as the coolest guy on the planet in this flick. His tough guy persona is tempered by his humanity that comes thru in two scenes: the first scene where his partner is making him coffee and he is just waking up; and in the scene with his girlfriend at the end. Two nice bookends for this story.

But this movie is a classic and revived the car chase thematic in modern films. It positioned the car chase as an expression of the comittment, to the exclusion of all else, that a dedicated 'cop' must have to play the game. In each of these movies, a car chase, sometimes multiple car chases, serves as a centerpiece to the story.  These movies trace the evolution of the cinematic car chase from humor to intensity and back.

Bullitt is notable for re-defining the car chase.  The cool car, the speed, the driving acumen, and icewater blood necessary to catch the bad guys.  The images in this film show up in all of the subsequent films while each of them is more than merely derivative, but try to raise the excitement and awe of the chase.  But each leaverages the basic formula.

I guess it goes without saying that Bullitt established, along with The French Connection what we expect a car chase to look like.

Slapstick at it's best. Drunks, bordellos, and car chases...and a love story too.

Interesting since this is one of many silent movie car chases. Car chases were always thought of as hilarious, and did not contribute to the 'action' genre like swashbuckling did. Still, many of the car chases from this era were marvelous examples of stunt driving and were calculated to make the audience gasp.

Similar to the Chaplin film, the car chase is seen as a hilarious element of the film. The Beatles loved to make a modern, sweet kind of comedy. Typical British techniques from Benny Hill and Monty Phyton.

An exciting story about a freelance CIA agent (never really confirmed) and a band of mercinaries hired by the IRA (never really confirmed) to steal a package (contents never revealed). The real story is about Ronin...warriors without a master and the sense of duty and loyalty they have to their master. Directed by the action director Frankenheimer. Great car chase on the winding seaside roads of France, into the even more winding streets and clastophopic streets of a South of France town. Finally, ends with a against-the-flow chase on an expressway. Fast and heartstopping at times.

A great sound track and more car crashing mehym than any movie before or after!

Builds on the car chase thematic revolutionized in Bullitt. A great chase to be sure, at obvious high speed through the streets of NYC, Popeye Doyle pursues his suspect (on the 'EL') with total disregard for the city & it's denizens. Shot mostly from the backseat of the speeding car, really gives the sense that you are in the car...and that you are going to hit that baby!

Gritty movie about counterfeiting, loyalty and treasury agents. Not such a great movie, but does have some great actors -- Willem Dafoe, John Turturro, Dean Stockwell. But none of these men talk very much. Notable because Friedkin is the director again (French Connection), and he sets out to out do himself. The car chase here is on an LA expressway going the wrong way against traffic! Several great minutes of ducking out of the way of oncoming cars... Surely more exciting than the O.J. Simpson car chase.

Hello from Austin