upper waypoint

Peter Yates, Director of 'Bullitt' and 'Breaking Away,' Dies

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

In San Francisco, "Bullitt" is a cult classic. Why? Well, the 1968 cop film is not known for its plot, acting, or memorable lines—not even so much as a "Do you feel lucky, punk?" or "A man's got to know his own limitations," or, to go back a ways and up several levels in class, "The stuff that dreams are made of."

"Bullitt" featured one of the most attractive stars of the day, Steve McQueen, to keep you watching. But the reason people remember it is the car scene. No one, before or since, has ever driven the streets of San Francisco the way McQueen and an ill-fated bad guy did in the extended chase—it goes on and on and on—that features cars vaulting down hills and and careering through many other (much-changed) San Francisco locations.

We mention it at all because of the news that Peter Yates, who directed the film, has passed away. (Yates should be better remembered, in our humble opinion, for the cycling/coming-of-age classic "Breaking Away.")

Here's Yates's San Francisco masterpiece, if you've got 11 minutes:

Sponsored

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Impact of California Fast Food Worker Wage Increase Still Too Early to GaugeMap: What You Need to Earn to Afford a Median-Priced Home in Your County in CaliforniaBerkeley Passes Legal Protections for Polyamory, Joining OaklandNewsom Eyes Cuts to California’s $500M Anti-Foreclosure Fund for RentersEarly Bay Area Heat Wave Brings Hottest Temperatures of the Year So FarNeighbors to Rally in Support of Black SF Man Who Received Racist ThreatsBerkeley Schools Chief Rejects Allegations of 'Pervasive' Antisemitism in Capitol Hill TestimonyUC Berkeley Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into Confrontation at Dean’s HomeInside Sutro Baths, San Francisco's Once Grand Bathing PalaceIs Hollywood’s New ‘Magical, Colorblind Past’ a Good Thing?