Bullitt

Still and all, "Bullitt" holds up as one of the best of its breed. Credit not only McQueen but director Peter Yates, producer Philip D'Antoni, and screenwriters Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner for turning Robert L. Pike's novel "Mute Witness" into a movie classic. Its ultracool hero; its dispassionate, semidocumentary style; its jazz-inflected musical score; and its mother-of-all modern car chases make it the archetypal forerunner of almost everything else we've gotten in the cops-and-robbers genre for the past four decades. It's hard to argue with success.

Incidentally, if anyone were to make another Bullitt, who would play the character today? OK, you're going to be surprised, but I would choose Daniel Craig. After seeing him as Bond, I think Craig possesses the same cool intensity as McQueen as well as bearing a slight physical resemblance to the man. Who knows; stranger things have happened.

Video:
Because of its popularity, "Bullitt" was among Warner Bros.' first DVD releases back in 1997, but it was a bare-bones affair; so it was about time the studio provided a more up-to-date transfer and added some bonus features. That first transfer looked more than a little peaked, with colors that were anything but vivid or deep, so the recent standard-definition Special Edition rectified those weaknesses with a new, high-bit rate, digital transfer.

The higher bit rate also helped to improve the SD's colors, with hues that became deeper and darker, although the video engineers may have overcompensated because the picture was too dark at times. Obviously, in the even-newer high-definition version what is most improved is the sharpness of outlines and refinement of interior detailing. They can't be beat. Yet the 1.78 ratio, widescreen HD image still remains too murky in its most-shadowy scenes, and they are many. Remember, this film was shot almost entirely on location, and that can be murder on the cinematography. I think both the SD Special Edition and this new high-definition version are probably as good as the original print from which they were made and as good as current technology will allow, but don't expect the most spectacular image you've ever seen. Indeed, the overall HD picture while well delineated remains a touch soft, with indoor scenes and outdoor ones in shadow suffering the most from the duskiness I just mentioned. Black levels are quite deep, which normally would be a good thing, but ironically they just add to the problem of too much darkness in too many shots.

Audio:
The sound is reproduced via Dolby Digital Plus 2.0. As with the Special Edition, I was hoping WB might enhance it by opening it up to full 5.1, but, alas, anything in the rear channels (and that would be almost nothing) is left up to your audio system's own surround processing. Oh, well. The front-channel spread is still so narrow that it more closely resembles monaural than anything stereophonic, so maybe WB were exaggerating when they labeled it "Surround Stereo" on the Special Edition keep case. The HD-DVD case merely says 2.0; maybe they're hedging their bets. I dunno.

What I do know is that there is a more pronounced difference between the Dolby Digital Plus sound on the HD-DVD and the regular Dolby Digital on the SD-DVD than there is between the HD and the SD picture. The DD+ in direct comparison to the Dolby Digital is much brighter, sharper, and crisper, with a tighter bass and better controlled transients. In contrast, the regular Dolby Digital sounds limper, soggier, and boomier. However, as a result of the increased clarity of the DD+ reproduction, it magnifies the soundtrack's deficiencies, too. Voices seem more nasal and pinched than before; the upper midrange is too prominent; and at volume the sonics can be almost harsh. What's more, there remains some small, occasional background noise intruding on the scene, which is now more evident than ever. So, sometimes with improvement comes added faults that one hadn't noticed before or hadn't bargained on.

Extras:
The HD-DVD contains the same bonus items that WB included in their two-disc Special Edition, with one of the items, "The Cutting Edge," now in 1080 high def and DD+ 5.1 sound. First and most important, though, is the audio commentary by director Peter Yates. He is a perfect English gentleman and an elegant speaker who is quite informative, refreshing, and entertaining. Without trying to be amusing or overly chatty, Yates is charming and fun to listen to.

Then, there are two fairly new documentaries. The first, produced in 2005, is "Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool," eighty-six minutes long and divided into twenty-two chapters. It covers McQueen's life from his early TV days through his death, with comments from practically everybody who ever knew him. Among those interviewed are actors Alec Baldwin, Robert Culp, Don Gordon, Robert Vaughn, Eli Wallach, Suzanne Pleshette, Richard Attenborough, Martin Landau, and LaVar Burton; plus directors Lawrence Kasdan, Norman Jewison, Peter Yates, and Robert Relyea; wife Neile Adams, publicist David Foster, stunt driver Bud Ekins, stunt double Loren Janes, photographer William Claxton, and film critic Charles Champlin. It's a fascinating study of a fascinating man, a fellow not always likable and not always easy to get along with. The documentary is honest enough to show us all sides of the actor.

The second documentary, "The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing," is the one in 1080 and 5.1. It's a tribute to film editors and explains the importance of film editing ("Bullitt" won editor Frank P. Keller an Oscar). It is ninety-nine minutes long, it was made in 2004, and it is divided into twenty chapters. Narrated by Kathy Bates, the documentary includes commentary from just about everyone in the movie business from Martin Scorsese and Walter Murch to Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg. I couldn't help thinking as I was watching it that if you were a filmmaker and were not in this thing, you might have considered it a slight. In any case, editing is an important subject that most viewers take for granted; but, as this documentary points out, editing makes or breaks a film.

In addition, the HD-DVD contains a brief, ten-minute vintage promo, "Bullitt: Steve McQueen's Commitment to Reality"; a widescreen theatrical trailer; twenty-three scene selections (but no chapter insert); English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; English, French, and Spanish subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. As always, the disc also includes bookmarks, a zoom-and-pan feature, an indicator of elapsed time, and an Elite Red HD case.

Parting Thoughts:
You think of "Bullitt," you think Steve McQueen and cars, no? But obviously the movie is much more than that, even if McQueen and the car are essentially the same character. Both are models of efficiency: reserved yet lethal, cool yet ready to move at a moment's notice. If there is any one of his many movie roles that best exemplifies the McQueen persona, it would have to be this one. It's nice to see it in improved high-definition picture and sound, even if there is not a lot really to rave about in either category.

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