BLU-RAY REVIEW

Bullitt

Featured In Issue 120, May 2007

Picture3
SoundNR
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number):
113687
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$28.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
114
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
1968
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
02/27/07
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Peter Yates
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
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(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

This razor-edged thriller features Steve McQueen as Detective Frank Bullitt, whose new assignment appears routine—protecting a star witness for an important trial—but turns deadly. Bullitt won't rest until he finds the criminals responsible for shooting his witness. With spectacular on-location filming in San Francisco, Bullitt features one of the most memorable car chases in cinematic history. Based on Robert L. Pike's novel.

Special features include commentary by Director Peter Yates, the ten-minute featurette Bullitt: Steve McQueen's Commitment To Reality, the 87-minute documentary Steve McQueen: The Essence Of Cool, the 99-minute high-definition documentary Cutting Edge: The Magic Of Movie Editing, and the theatrical trailer.

While the 1.78:1 Blu-ray Disc and VC-1-encoded HD DVD look dated, they do show deep black levels and well-rendered contrast. Fleshtones can have a slightly brownish hue, and details are not quite as well resolved as on the more recent films in high-definition. Shadow delineation is lacking, with details in the darkness often crushed. The source element is cleaned up very well, especially considering the age. Both versions look very similar, if not identical. (Danny Richelieu)

The Blu-ray Disc's Dolby® Digital 2.0-channel stereo encoding and the HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding both sound very similar, with dated fidelity that, while not as bad as I had expected, can have a tinny response. While not pristine, the soundtracks do not sound bad. (Danny Richelieu)