Bullit

Music by Lalo Schifrin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would it be possible that there was an artistic dispute between Lalo Schifrin and Quincy Jones concerning film soundtracks in the 60s? The evolution in quality and quantity in the production of both composers is notable between 1964 and 1972.

This probably never actually happened and only this writer may have noticed (or imagined) that artistic competition. But fact is that at every innovative work of one, the other advanced a step further. Schifrin in Les Felins made the jazz explosive and sensual to the suspense of Rene Clement. Jones did Pawnbroker, dramatic and expressive. So did Schifrin came with Bullitt, elegant and virile. Shifting Gears! But then Jones came with They Call Me Mr Tibbs, throbbing, bold, foreshadowing the soul cinema. Schifrin followed with Dirty Harry, biting in angry! And Jones did The Getaway subverting the rules! Anyway ...

 

Bullit was very influential to cop movies for its use of jazz enhancing action scenes. The track Shifting Gears is remarkable in that effect with its circular motifs and increasing tension as an engine accelerating. It was this prelude to the famous car chase through San Francisco streets. The main theme already become jazz standart in film music and received several versions. Its claustrophobic tension, which dispensed virtuous writing – as in orchestral tradition – stablished a new standard for action movies. The soundtrack is complete with traditional jazz themes as Cantata For Combo, Room 26, and Hotel Daniels, besides the romantic The Aftermath of Love and The First Snow To Fall. Bullit was a very important chapter in jazz soundtracks and police cinema.