SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 6.29.2025
Lalo Schifrin, whose soundtrack is an integral part of Bullitt, passed away at the age of 93. The soundtrack to Bullitt was one of his early musical creations. I have enjoyed listening to it for decades.
Bullitt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullitt is one of my favorite movies of all time. Set in San Francisco in the late 1960’s the film captures the mood of the City decades before its explosion into a hi-tech and venture capitol international hot spot.
The photography of 1960’s San Francisco, particularly downtown and North Beach are classic.
And the final scene at San Francisco International Airport is gripping.
What made Bullitt memorable is the chase scene which traverses the streets of the City and ends up in the fiery crash outside the City limits.
“Everybody tells me how great the music for the chase in “Bullitt” is. I didn’t do any music for the chase. Four minutes before the chase, where there is a foot chase in the hospital, I build and build the suspense and the tension. And finally when Steve McQueen finds a way to get to the freeway, at that moment the music stops suddenly. I told the director it would be a mistake to continue the music on the chase. What you have is two cars, the villain’s and Bullitt’s, and they have different sounds. Sometimes you put the camera in the corner of one of the hilly streets of San Francisco and you don’t know what car is coming, so the audience should hear the sounds of the car, so they know whether the villain or Bullitt is coming. You know what? It worked.” – Lalo Schifrin interviewed in 2003 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalo_Schifrin
Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 6.29.2025
Lalo Schifrin, the trailblazing composer whose music helped define the sound of 1970s action cinema and turned San Francisco into a sonic landmark for filmgoers around the world, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. He was 93.
Schifrin’s jazz-inflected, rhythmically daring scores for Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” (1968) and Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” (1971) helped establish the musical identities of two of the most iconic films ever set in the Bay Area.
With a deft mix of suspense, funk and atmospheric cool, Schifrin’s work elevated car chases down Potrero Hill and showdowns at Aquatic Park into unforgettable cinematic moments.
Top photo: Steve McQueen as SFPD Detective Frank Bullitt grabs a San Francisco Chronicle from the news rack.
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