Peter Yates

Bullitt Peter Yates

The legendary Steve McQueen (THE TOWERING INFERNO, THE GREAT ESCAPE) stars as hard-as-nails San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt in one of his most memorable roles. Bullitt has just received what sounds like a routine assignment: keep a star witness out of sight and out of danger for 48 hours, then deliver him to the courtroom on Monday morning. But before the night is out, the witness will lie dying of shotgun wounds and Bullitt won't rest until he nabs the gunmen and the elusive underworld kingpin who hired them. From opening shot to closing shootout, fresh from his recent success with the British film, ROBBERY, director Peter Yates's edge-of-the seat thriller is packed with authentic touches--on-location San Francisco filming, crisp dialogue, and uncompromising to-the-letter police, hospital, and morgue procedures. But most realistic of all is BULLITT's celebrated car chase. McQueen, an expert automobile and motorcycle racer, does his own stunt driving as he propels his high-performance Mustang GT around and over San Francisco's fabled hills at speeds up to 115 miles an hour. The film was based on Robert L. Pike's book MUTE WITNESS.