How Elements of the French New Wave Can be Seen in Pater Yates’s Thriller
In 1960 French film critic turned director Jean Luc Godard released his first feature film, Breathless. The film is a love poem to the Hollywood crime thrillers that filled the cinema screens of his youth. Yet, Godard was an integral part of a new cinematic movement, labeled the French New Wave, which changed the way some films were made and examined. They broke the rules of classical Hollywood by drawing attention to the craft itself, and allowing the director more freedom to express their own identity within the work. As this transformation slowly seeped into the consciousness of American filmmakers elements of this new style seeped through. It was not a sudden or a dramatic change, but one that filtered through over a number of years. Some critics say it began in 1967 as Bonnie and Clyde took the independent approach to film making, while a year later the manufactured pop group The Monkees joined with maverick film maker Bob Rafelson in an experimental film known as Head. However, in 1968 British born film-maker, Peter Yates, captured some of this new enthusiasm by directing superstar Steve McQueen in the crime thriller Bullitt. While ostensibly it could have been a generic affair Yates took some of the radical methods of film making from his European peers, and merged them with the techniques that are considered to be the hallmarks of classical Hollywood.
Naturally Godard wasn’t the only French filmmaker surfing the French New Wave. However, he is particularly important because of his idolization of American films. Breathless tells the story of a small-time criminal who after stealing a car kills a policeman, and turns to his one-time American girlfriend to help him escape from France. The film contains many references to Humphrey Bogart and to film-noir (a French term for an American style). Breathless also contains many of the tropes of the new wave. The editing is abrupt with a strong emphasis on jump cuts. These cuts have the effect of disrupting the chronological flow of the narrative. The camera work is mostly hand held which visually makes the film resemble a documentary and it is shot entirely on location and with only the aid of natural lighting. Because of the lack of directional sound equipment and the noise levels of the camera the audio had to be dubbed in afterwards.
At first glance Bullitt seems to be far removed from the raw artistic direction of Godard, but there are many similarities that can only be due to his influence. Yates’s thriller is about a no-nonsense San Francisco cop named Lt. Frank Bullitt, who is tasked to protect a mob witness. After an incident Bullitt becomes suspicious of his superiors and decides to take matters into his own hands. This was Yates’s first American film. Previously he had directed two British features, Summer Holiday, a Rock and Roll musical featuring Cliff Richard, and One Way Pendulum, a seemingly forgettable comedy starring Eric Sykes and George Cole. It is interesting that Godard’s first film is from the crime stable, and Yates’s first American film is also of a similar genre, and it would be Bullitt that would make his name.
The main character is played by Steve McQueen, and he is supported by established actors like Robert Vaughn, and Simon Oakland. The film is most recognized by its music, the setting of San Francisco, and the lengthy chase sequence that punctuates it halfway through. The green Ford Mustang GT involved has become an iconic image. Yet the film is far more than just those eye (and ear) catching elements.
In the opening sequence Yates sets up the tone of the film by alternating between grainy monochrome footage and color. The lighting is sparse, and the shots reveal very little exposition or contain many establishing shots. The mystery is not just derived from the narrative but in this sequence it is derived from the images themselves. While the film settles for a color palette many of the techniques exhibited in this credit sequence are explored further in the film.
One of the influences of the French directors was the Italian Neorealist movement which used nonprofessional actors and on-location shooting. Therefore, one of the most distinct features of Bullitt is that like Breathless it is filmed entirely on location. Even the interiors of apartments and hotels exist in San Francisco although their names have been changed (perhaps to protect the innocent). An example of this realism can be found when the narrative moves to scenes set in a hospital. Lt. Bullitt’s witness and his Police colleague have been wounded and are rushed to the Emergency Room. These interiors were filmed at San Francisco General Hospital rather than on a constructed set. The lighting relies on the murky fluorescents of the hospital corridors and rooms. In order to push the realism even further Yates insisted that all the medical staff and Police extras were actually non-actors, but people employed in the roles they were portraying. This is obvious in some of the ways that lines are delivered, but it also affects McQueen’s own style of portraying the character. He is subdued, almost laconic, with very little physical movement. It many ways it matches the lack of ‘performance’ that the non-actors are only capable of, and yet contradictorily it provides an even stronger character.
For a film that is famous for its memorable Ennio Morricone bass line there are a number of scenes that are devoid of any music or non-diegetic sound. One such spectacular scene occurs when Lt. Bullitt is waiting for an important teletype of a face to be sent through. The results of which determine whether his theory was right or wrong. If he is correct then all his actions have been justified, if he is wrong then it is likely that he would lose his job. In the room with him are Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn), who is an ambitious politician that is trying to control the investigation, Captain Bennet (Simon Oakland), and Baker (Norman Fell), who is Chalmer’s right-hand man. The scene is shot with a mixture of medium establishing shots, close ups focusing on each characters faces, and close ups of the teletype machine. Nobody speaks and there is no music. The only sound is the whirring and clanking of the machine as it warms up, receives the communication, and begins to print. All the tension and dramatic moments are portrayed in the actors’ faces. This dialogue free scene runs for only a minute but seems dramatically longer and more powerful because of the way it has been filmed. While Breathless was forced to recreate its diegetic sound in an artificial manner, Bullitt is able to utilize higher quality equipment to achieve the same documentary style effect.
One aspect that the French New Wave is famous for is its ability to comment on the film making process itself. This meta approach draws attention to the artificial nature of all narrative driven film. For the most part this is lacking in Yates’s film is understandable. While he is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in a mainstream Hollywood film, he still has to remember not to alienate the mass audience.
It is possible to argue that there is some level of meta awareness within the film due to Steve McQueen’s involvement. McQueen was one of the biggest stars of the time and had a huge interest in motor racing. To increase the realism it was decided that the car chases would be performed by the main actor himself. However, after a crash early in filming his driving was scaled back and some of the more arduous scenes were done by a stuntman. Still, the fact remains that when you employ a superstar who also races cars to play a character that drives fast, you are blurring the lines between reality and the myth.
While it is fair to say that there are other American films that break the rules of classical Hollywood to a greater extent than Bullit. This is clearly not Yates’s motivation. It is obvious that his intention is to create a symbiosis of the two film making techniques. Like Godard taking a traditional American crime storyline and infusing with his own particular style, Yates has done the same. Bullitt was just the first baby steps of the ever evolving life of cinema.
