rclements3

This movie is a great example of how style can prevail over substance in a film. The story is straight-forward enough, but nothing outstanding - Det. Bullitt is assigned to protect a witness who will testify against the mob. He must protect him for about 40 hours, but somehow, hitmen discover the location of the witness and gun him down before he can testify. Then Bullitt must find the hitmen, as well as deal with an identity twist concerning the witness.

However, the music score, tight direction, the car chase, McQueen's performance, and especially Robert Vaughn's performance as a ruthless politician make "Bullitt" worth watching. In fact the performances are excellent all the way through the cast (with the exception of Jacqueline Bisset, who's there only for eye candy and brings nothing special to her role).

Of course, the car chase is the most famous aspect of the film. Simply put, it's the best car chase ever filmed, bar none. It's been copied, and with today's technology, should have been exceeded. Yet it still stands alone. Why?

First, the presence of Steve McQueen - who else could bring it off as well as he did? Second, the era it came from, the late 60's. Films in those days didn't have chases, so it set the standard. There's no camera tricks or special effects to screw it up, what you see is what you get. It's just wouldn't be the same if one of today's big stars got in his BMW to chase another guy in a Porsche, complete with special effects, the obligatory explosions and slow-motion techniques.

If you've never seen it, watch it. If you have seen it, it still holds up after repeated viewings. 9 out of 10.

All Bond movies should be taken with a serious grain of salt, but Goldfinger is one of the better ones. Connery is more confident in the role, and shows more humor. Goldfinger is one of the great Bond villains, as is Oddjob. The story and screenplay are good and hold your interest without many deadspots. The plot here is not quite as ridiculous as most Bond plots.

One liners became a staple in Bond films beginning with this one. After electrocuting a man in his bathtub, Bond says "shocking", and before killing one of his business associates and crushing the victim and his car in a metal crusher, Goldfinger tells Bond the soon-to-be victim has a "pressing engagement". One of the saving graces of "Goldfinger" is humor.

Honor Blackman is a beautiful Pussy Galore, but she is way too harsh in the role. It's not at all likely she would suddenly fall for Bond, but she does. It would have been more feasible to have Bond hit on one of Pussy's young pilots, and convince them to switch the nerve gas.

But, all in all, a great Bond movie. 8 out of 10.

I've seen this movie all the way through twice, and attempted to sit through all of it many other times. I think it's classic status owes more to all of the hype surrounding its production than anything contained in the movie itself - the search for the right actress to play Scarlett, the trouble with directors, Selznick's infamous memos, etc., etc.

This is not to say there are no good things about the film. Clark Gable is perfect, and so is Vivien Leigh. Hattie McDaniel, Thomas Mitchell and Olivia De Havilland are also excellent. There are some memorable images, such as the Atlanta fire, in fact the production values are good. The use of Technicolor is outstanding - by 1939 standards. And it stands as a great reminder of Hollywood's golden age.

But, the bad outweighs the good. First of all, about 45 to 60 minutes could be shaved off of the running time. Second, Leslie Howard is far too old for his role (Margaret Mitchell's quote - "(Howard) was dreadful beyond compare") and, really, how can anyone be as wimpy as Ashley Wilkes? Then, the alleged heroine, Scarlett, has no redeeming qualities whatsoever; she is dishonest, she steals a man away from her sister to get money, and she is lazy and petulant through most of the film. How can anyone root for her?

This film more than any other serves as proof of David O. Selznick's theory that hype and publicity can elevate the status of an average film to classic status. Those who think this is a "timeless classic" have been swept away by the hype. I'd give it 6 out of 10 points.