LOVE & DEATH

As I was strolling across a field near my home, I suddenly felt a strange chill running through my spine and a weird sense of anxiety overcame me, when suddenly I turned around and saw this tall and mysterious figure standing right beside to me. A cold breeze swiftly encircled my entire body and I knew then and there I was next to Death itself.  Fortunately, the alarm went off and I woke up.  I then remembered I had fallen asleep a few hours before, watching Woody Allen's 1975 film "LOVE AND DEATH". Whew!

BULLITT

BULLIT, starring Steve McQueen as Lt. Frank Bullitt was released on October 17, 1968.

              It was directed by Peter Yates with a screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner, 

                                          based on the book MUTE WITNESS by Robert L. Pike.  

The plot was fairly simple and dealt with San Francisco police detective Lieutenant Frank Bullitt and his team, Delgetti and Stanton who are tasked by Walter Chalmers with guarding Ross over the weekend, until he can be presented as a witness to a Senate subcommittee hearing on organized crime on Monday morning.

BULLIT became one of my all time favorite films. I remember exactly the day I went to see it back in my hometown of Mexico City. I was 17 years old and I immediately bought the soundtrack LP and attired myself with a dark blue turtleneck sweater and a pair of boots similar to the ones worn by McQueen.

                                                              

I'm just glad I didn't own a car back then or I would've certainly totalled it trying to emulate the famous car chase which is still considered to be one of the greatest car chases in cinema history. 

Of course, as was the case with almost every great film of the sixties, MAD Magazine featured a very funny spoof of the movie, written by Al Jaffee and illustrated by the master of caricature, Mort Drucker.

And, as I frequently do whether the occasion fits or not, I shall celebrate this event by listening to Lalo Schifrin's excellent jazz score and watching BULLITT for the umpteenth time!

VA-ROOOO-OOOOOM!

                                                       The complete story of the film can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullitt

And more photos from BULLITT here:

https://www.pinterest.com.mx/ferllera/bullitt/

The Late, Late, Late, Late Show!

Has this ever happened to you? You are laying in bed, ready to watch a movie when suddenly, without you knowing why, the end credits appear rolling before your eyes...and you didn't see anything before that.

Was the movie too short?  Was this some sort of avant garde, experimental auteur kind of thing? Or was this the first time in the history of films that some studio just released the title and end credits without any footage in between?

No, stupid. You just dozed off as the film began!

STEVE McQUEEN : The King of Cool!

 

March 24, 1930 marks the birth of Steve McQueen, one of the truly great stars of the 60s and 70s. McQueen died in 1980 at the very early age of 50, due to a rare form of lung cancer, associated with asbestos exposure. However, his film legacy will keep his name alive for generations to come. 

BULLITT (1968)           McQueen in 1980

Today would have been his 92nd birthday and in his memory, I will post this list of some of my favorite McQueen films. I have already seen most of his filmography and, to be perfectly honest, I admire all of his performances, although these few here are the ones that stand higher in my very personal preference.

THE BLOB (1958)

WANTED : DEAD OR ALIVE  TV Series (1958-1961)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)

THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)

LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963) 

THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)

NEVADA SMITH (1966)

THE SAND PEBBLES (1966)

THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)

BULLITT (1968)

LE MANS (1971)

THE GETAWAY (1972)

 "Punch it, baby!" -

PAPILLON (1973)

THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974)

TOM HORN (1980)

THE HUNTER (1980)

STEVE McQUEEN

Forever, the King of Cool!