Parents' Guide to

Bullitt

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Great chase scene still works in violent, classic cop tale.

Movie PG 1968 114 minutes
Bullitt Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 9+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Nintendofan124
Nintendofan124 Adult
August 28, 2019
age 3+

More violent than others

was pretty bloody for The time. Two people in beginning were shot point blank with a shot gun, blood then squirts out in huge amounts. There was a surgical scene afterwards for the character with the shot gun wound. It felt very real and suspenseful! There were a few other shootouts in this film that were bloody "which I do not want to spoil" , but it was not as graphic as first mentioned above. The swearing is present here, but not constant, about 3 uses of H*** and 1 use of Bull***t. The main character "Steve McQueen " is seen in bed with his girlfriend " Sex is implied." There also was a make out scene. A poster in the background has a women mostly naked, and is shown in a sexual way. This movie would defiantly make a PG-13 rating today. The reason why that it has a PG rating was because back in the day, there was no such thing. there was G, PG, R, X. rating. I think this is a 3+ instead of 2+
Sircjalot
Sircjalot Parent of 18-year-old
November 27, 2018
age 14+

A classic movie that help changed action movies in general! But Beware of the PG rating!

it was pretty bloody for The time. Two people in beginning were shot point blank with a shot gun, blood then squirts out in huge amounts. There was a surgical scene afterwards for the character with the shot gun wound. It felt very real and suspenseful! There were a few other shootouts in this film that were bloody "which I do not want to spoil" , but it was not as graphic as first mentioned above. The swearing is present here, but not constant, about 3 uses of H*** and 1 use of Bull***t. The main character "Steve McQueen " is seen in bed with his girlfriend " Sex is implied." There also was a make out scene. A poster in the background has a women mostly naked, and is shown in a sexual way. This movie would defiantly make a PG-13 rating today. The reason why that it has a PG rating was because back in the day, there was no such thing. there was G, PG, R, X. rating.

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

San Francisco police detective Bullitt (Steve McQueen) is assigned to protect a star witness in a court case designed to bring down a crime syndicate. After a strange turn of events, the witness is shot and brought to the hospital. When he dies on the operating table, Bullitt decides to hide the body and keep the death a secret until he can catch the murderer and find out what's really going on. This will not be an easy task, as the ambitious, sleazy politician, Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) -- who stands to gain if the trial is a success -- is breathing down Bullitt's neck at every turn. Jacqueline Bisset co-stars as Bullitt's girlfriend.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (3):

Directed by English-born Oscar nominee Peter Yates, BULLITT takes a rather simple nugget of a story and turns it into a crime classic. It achieves this through the expert use of location footage, editing, music, mood, and timing, not to mention the laconic, stoic performance of ultra-cool star Steve McQueen. The movie seems to have stripped away most attempts at character development or artificial suspense, and focuses almost exclusively on details. Indeed, Bullitt's weekend on the job isn't always exciting or action packed.

Often credited with giving birth to the modern police movie, Bullitt is also the most famous today for its climatic car chase sequence, which feels fast and realistic, shot at ground level with hardly any musical enhancement. It's no surprise then that this movie won the Oscar for Best Editing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in the film. Why was the main character so nonchalant about looking at dead bodies?

  • The hero does some slightly shady things in order to solve his case and bring about justice. Is he a better person than the ambitious politician Chalmers? If so, why?

  • Is the famous chase scene still exciting? What makes it work? Is it realistic or cartoonish?

Movie Details

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