With regards to the infamous "slapping" scene in the movie---I seem to remember reading an article some years back (I believe it was in Newsweek, on the occasion of McQueen's death) that it got McQueen so aroused sexually that; at the end of the day's filming he couldn't wait to get back home with Ali and they had to stop off at a motel.
Has anyone else seen/heard/read about this?
Hahaha..! really?
Doesn't seem like something TV Guide would print!?:) Can't blame McQueen though.. he problably got a boner at the thought of Ali being married to Bob Evans at the time.
What can you say? wild stuff..
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Sure. McQueen was a real class act. He has one redeeming quality though, he's dead.
I thought her and Robert Evans made a more handsome pair than her with McQueen.
I thought this movie and McQueen were very good in this movie, but I believe the slapping was a big mistake. It took away the "McQueen Cool." I don't think it's too cool to slap a woman, especially repeatedly, for a minor offense. It was disturbing and decreased my empathy for the hero.
A minor offense?
*Spoiler*
She slept with Benyon (which he had to have known, just was in denial) and made a deal to kill him.
I see what you're saying, but McQueen added that himself. He apparently felt it was in character. I think one hard slap would have worked better, not many like he did.
I think that Ali's character in the movie got her revenge though---in the classic woman's way. In the scene in the garbage dump, she has a devastating cut for McQueen: "I thought prison was supposed to make men tough, but it made you a wimp!" "Doc" is speechless--he has no reply!
But I agree, it was a startling and brutal scene---totally unexpected. It would have been great if they would have shown Ali giving him a kick in the balls.
It wouldn't fit the character or the film though, it'd just be for your femanist ego.
"NILBOG is Goblin spelt backwards!"
Why dont you all get over yourselves...this thread is just like any other...dont bother watching films, tv, reading books or going to galleries if you cant deal with the real world...its not always about heros and villians, love and betrayel...life is complex...people are complex...good/bad/morality is all relative...people should stop judging/moaning/critisising...waste of your time and everbody elses...stop trying to convert everyone to your way of thinking...who cares if Mcqueen slaps her once or a bunch of times...you dont know mcqueen, you dont know Peckinpah...just keep quiet if you dont have anything constructive or sensible to say...
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Maybe Doc just sat through a viewing of Love Story...I'd slap her too.
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"Maybe Doc just sat through a viewing of Love Story...I'd slap her too."
Cruel and unusual punishment to prison inmates is supposedly prohibited.
But what's with all the speculation? The scene called for McQueen to slap her around so he did, although MacGraw later commented she was expecting McQueen to hold back a little and was surprised when he didn't.
Maybe Doc just sat through a viewing of Love Story...I'd slap her too.
Now, that's funny!
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Every time I watch that scene, I always got the impression that it was a turn on for McQueen, but if you look at the scene closely, I think MacGraw is just as aroused as McQueen. Anyone agree?
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I definitely don't condone abusing women, but the slap scene was very powerful to me. It seemed brutal, even by today's film standards. And I think it did match Doc's character (and to a certain extent McQueen's overall super macho image).
As far as the number of slaps is concerned, we wouldn't be having this discussion if it was just one. It doesn't stretch my imagination that McQueen was "turned on" during the scene (surely just looking at Ali MacGraw turned him on!!)
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I'm watching the Steve McQueen bio on the "Bullitt" 2-disc set and it says that he was really hitting her full force. It wasn't in the script ... McQueen and Peckinpah discussed the notion before they shot it and he just whaled on her. So ... her reaction is real because she's really getting the crap slapped out of her.
Pretty unbelievable, but it honestly works for the film. And it obviously didn't make her hate him at all. So I think there was a bit of a "two-way street" thing going on.
I'm watching the Steve McQueen bio on the "Bullitt" 2-disc set and it says that he was really hitting her full force. It wasn't in the script ... McQueen and Peckinpah discussed the notion before they shot it and he just whaled on her. So ... her reaction is real because she's really getting the crap slapped out of her.
Doesn't look that way to me. The first time he hits her, he doesn't even touch her at all, and Ali immediately responds with a dramatic cry. The next few hits don't seem full force at all, and she still responds with wailing. Maybe she caught on immediately and played along, or maybe it was just totally staged.
I'm watching the Steve McQueen bio on the "Bullitt" 2-disc set and it says that he was really hitting her full force. It wasn't in the script ... McQueen and Peckinpah discussed the notion before they shot it and he just whaled on her. So ... her reaction is real because she's really getting the crap slapped out of her.You can hit someone & have it appear full-force, depending on getting the right camera angle, and it's not entirely as endangering as it looks. I find it veeeerrrry hard to believe that he whacked her as hard as he could. McQueen going full-force on McGraw, even with an open hand, could have resulted in a broken jaw, broken nose, shattered eye orbits, smashed cheekbones, concussion, loose/lost teeth...any one or combination of those outcomes. Does anyone truly believe the movie production company would EVER allow McGraw to walk off set that day so that she'd return the next day potentially with black eyes &/or a fat/split lip for when they resumed shooting?! HELL NO. That's absurd! Nevermind the issues with the insurance company! You have someone who's a former model who makes a living (basically) on her looks, and the production co. & insurance co. is ok with McQueen not holding back? Not in a million years!