So, Jill and I have have been terrible at blogging lately. But now that our trip is almost a week away, I'm starting to feel REALLY excited. I mean, I can't wait to go. We'll post later this week with more details about our place in Potrero Hill, but right now, we've got to talk about Bullitt.
In preparation of our trip, Jill and I have been trying to watch as many movies as we can that take place in San Francisco. First on our list was Just Like Heaven, which, um, well, that's about all there is to say about that. But next was Bullitt, one of the most well-known and influential thriller/crime movies ever made. Steve McQueen plays a Die Hard-type cop -- hates authority, breaks all the rules, gets all the ladies, and, most important, gets the job done. McQueen is great for this role, and the outfits are ridiculous. Made in 1968, this movie features what I think is the the quintessential 60s/70s outfit -- really, who would be caught dead today wearing a blue turtleneck with a brown sports coat (in California, of all places)?!? Check it out.
So, Jill hated the movie. It put her to sleep. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed it. I'm not surprised that Jill hated it, however. The appeal of this movie is very much like the appeal of noir films and novels. You have to find interesting a quiet, taciturn, macho cop/detective who treats women indifferently at best and who broods over the existential ugliness of the world as his works shows him the dirty underbelly of society. It's a very "guy" type of story. Well, despite the fact that I'm not really a macho kind of guy, I eat this stuff up. A few years ago, in fact, I wrote a long article (check it out here) about noir, 20s/30s writer Dashiell Hammett, one of my favorites. As was the case with Bullitt, Jill can't STAND noir stuff -- she thinks it's stupid, boring, and macho. In the article I wrote, I tried my best to defend my beloved genre, though I don't think I convinced her!
Anyway, back to the movie. The most famous part of this movie, by far, is the chase scene. Apparently, it was one of the first long, drawn-out, highly orchestrated chase scenes ever done, and it has influenced pretty much every chase scene that's come after. Well, let me tell you, it doesn't disappoint. It's awesome. It makes great use of the city, as well: these two cars are zooming down SF's insanely steep hills, pulling hairpin turns at the bottom of those hills, and, in the most well-know part, actually take flight, propelled by bump after bump on those crazy inclines and declines. Even better, the entire chase scene is available on YouTube. God, I love the Internet:
In preparation of our trip, Jill and I have been trying to watch as many movies as we can that take place in San Francisco. First on our list was Just Like Heaven, which, um, well, that's about all there is to say about that. But next was Bullitt, one of the most well-known and influential thriller/crime movies ever made. Steve McQueen plays a Die Hard-type cop -- hates authority, breaks all the rules, gets all the ladies, and, most important, gets the job done. McQueen is great for this role, and the outfits are ridiculous. Made in 1968, this movie features what I think is the the quintessential 60s/70s outfit -- really, who would be caught dead today wearing a blue turtleneck with a brown sports coat (in California, of all places)?!? Check it out.
So, Jill hated the movie. It put her to sleep. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed it. I'm not surprised that Jill hated it, however. The appeal of this movie is very much like the appeal of noir films and novels. You have to find interesting a quiet, taciturn, macho cop/detective who treats women indifferently at best and who broods over the existential ugliness of the world as his works shows him the dirty underbelly of society. It's a very "guy" type of story. Well, despite the fact that I'm not really a macho kind of guy, I eat this stuff up. A few years ago, in fact, I wrote a long article (check it out here) about noir, 20s/30s writer Dashiell Hammett, one of my favorites. As was the case with Bullitt, Jill can't STAND noir stuff -- she thinks it's stupid, boring, and macho. In the article I wrote, I tried my best to defend my beloved genre, though I don't think I convinced her!
Anyway, back to the movie. The most famous part of this movie, by far, is the chase scene. Apparently, it was one of the first long, drawn-out, highly orchestrated chase scenes ever done, and it has influenced pretty much every chase scene that's come after. Well, let me tell you, it doesn't disappoint. It's awesome. It makes great use of the city, as well: these two cars are zooming down SF's insanely steep hills, pulling hairpin turns at the bottom of those hills, and, in the most well-know part, actually take flight, propelled by bump after bump on those crazy inclines and declines. Even better, the entire chase scene is available on YouTube. God, I love the Internet:
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