In certain ways, Steve McQueen had his deficiencies as an actor. He wasn't the go-to person if you wanted a role with great emotional range or farcical humor. Instead, McQueen was the King of Cool, an actor whose understated performances took nothing away from their greatness. In fact, it's hard to think of a worthy successor to McQueen; maybe the closest is McQueen's one-time contemporary, Clint Eastwood, but even that is not a perfect comparison. The Essential Steve McQueen Collection offers a good look at what made McQueen unique.
First in the six movie set (chronologically) is Never So Few, a WWII adventure story in which McQueen is in a supporting role. The star is Frank Sinatra as the American leader of a guerilla band in Burma. McQueen plays a subordinate whose sole combat experience is from the mean streets of New York. As is the case in other movies, McQueen's performance steals the show from Sinatra.
The Cincinnatt Kid has McQueen as the star, the title character who's a master poker player in Depression-era in New Orleans. The plot involves a showdown between the Kid and the best stud player in the country, played by Edward G. Robinson. The supporting cast in this one is really high-end, including Karl Malden, Joan Blondell, Tuesday Weld, Rip Torn and Ann-Margaret, and the movie itself is decent, though not great.
The next two movies show McQueen at his peak. Bullitt has McQueen again as the title character, this time a San Francisco cop assigned to protect a mobster who's going to be a witness for the prosecution. When the mobster is killed, Bullitt uncovers a sophisticated plot and gets involved in what remains one of the great car chases in movie history.
The Getaway, based on a book by Jim Thompson and directed by Sam Peckinpah, is the best movie in the set. McQueen plays Doc Ford, a bank robber out of jail on probation thanks to a wheeler-dealer who wants Ford to commit another robbery. After some double-crosses, Ford and his wife flee towards Mexico with lots of cash but both cops and crooks chasing them.
Papillon has McQueen as a man framed for murder and sent to Devil's Island off the coast of South America. It is a life sentence, but Papillon is determined to escape. A first, rash attempt lands in solitary confinement for a harrowing two years, forcing him to plot the next escape more cunningly.
The one bad thing about this set was the final movie, Tom Horn, not because it was a bad movie, but the disc was defective. And, of course, there are plenty of other movies that could have merited inclusion, including The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles and The Thomas Crown Affair. Despite these issues, this is a fine set, enhanced by commentary tracks on The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt and The Getaway, a biography on McQueen and a feature on film editing, one of the less appreciated elements of film making. McQueen lived hard and died relatively young (at 50), so his film career was not very long; this set shows why he remains a screen legend.
Frequently bought together
- +
- +
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
1:37
Click to play video
Tom Horn trailer
Merchant Video
Videos for this product
2:52
Click to play video
Bullitt trailer Video
Merchant Video
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 3, 2005
The Essential Steve McQueen Collection (Bullitt Two-Disc Special Edition / The Getaway Deluxe Edition / The Cincinnati Kid / Pap
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 10, 2011
