Watch Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool For Free

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Fans of actor STEVE McQUEEN will no doubt admire this compelling bio of his early days, through to his career highlights and untimely death from cancer--all of it helped by some insightful comments from co-workers, but particularly his wife NEILE ADAMS who divulges a lot of information about her marriage to the man who became a superstar and rugged hero.Especially good are the film clips including some from his early days on TV in "Wanted: Dead or Alive." His first breakthrough came with THE BLOB, never expected to be the major hit it became on a low budget--and then onward to films like THE GREAT ESCAPE, BULLITT and PAPILLION.Good contributions from Suzanne Pleshette, Martin Landau and several others make it a very watchable look at Steve's career. The final years are told in a way that is poignant and well documented.

With a running time of 83 minutes, this is the shorter of the two feature-length documentaries on the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of Bullitt. It consists of interviews(I liked the sort of "progression" in the on-screen graphic boxes that identify them) with those that worked with him, his friends and the like(not Ali McGraw, for some reason... and unsurprisingly, no one mentions why that is; maybe it had to do with something they experienced) and clips from his films(and yes, it spoils parts of several of them, obviously), a couple of times used to mirror the story being told, and done so really well. It's quite well-edited. This goes over his entire career and his personal life as well, from early on and throughout it. I have to admit, I barely knew anything about him before watching this, and now I might feel confident enough to describe him to someone else who is unaware of his personality. This keeps to a nice pace, if it doesn't seem to make efforts to mimic the energy of the man(honestly, that might have gotten straining to the viewer, what with this being an hour and a half). He is treated with respect, though the negatives of his behaviour are not ignored. The whole thing is interesting and the anecdotes are fun to hear. There is a little swearing, disturbing content and mention of drugs in this. I recommend it to any current or potential fan of McQueen, and anyone else who want to find out more about him. 7/10

This documentary offers a fascinating wealth of information on legendary tough guy actor Steve McQueen. Everything from McQueen's troubled childhood to his exceptional charisma to his cool masculine presence to his competitive nature to his involvement with sex'n'drugs to his brave struggle with cancer gets addressed. Among the interview subjects are his wives Neile Adams and Barbara Minty (Adams' amazing anecdote about McQueen ordering two steaks in a restaurant is quite revealing), fellow actors Don Gordon, Robert Vaughn, Robert Culp, Sir Richard Attenborough, and Eli Wallach, directors Peter Yates and Norman Jewison, Suzanne Plushette, and son Chad (his stories about his dad being a loving and generous father are especially poignant). Starting off with his humble beginnings as a struggling newcomer at the Actors Studio in New York City, with additional details on his first lead in "The Blob," his breakthrough role on the hit TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive," his star-making part in "The Magnificent Seven," confirming his iconic status in "The Great Escape," doing the lion's share of the driving for that extraordinary car chase in "Bullitt," his eventual interest in car racing, outstanding performance in "Papillon," becoming a recluse at the height of his popularity in the 70's, and his last two films "Tom Horn" and "The Hunter," this always compelling and perceptive documentary on the mesmerizing bad boy and former Marine with the piercing blue eyes who was a loner, a straight-shooter, an incredibly honest actor, and an extremely loyal friend makes you feel as if you actually knew McQueen by the end of the picture. Essential viewing.

As a MAJOR McQueen fan all of my life, I was eager to see this documentary and I was not disappointed. Many actors whom I have enjoyed and admired were interviewed and greatly added to the interest of the film. I especially enjoyed the interviews with his friends behind the camera and his relationship with them. I must agree with an earlier reviewer who commented on Neile Adams' statements but I also saw a woman who still loved that man after all these years. McQueen's last years as he battled with cancer were heart-wrenching but, I think, were handled with such honesty that it was bearable. Those last interviews were awesome and is this beautiful film available on DVD yet?