In life, and in death, there are few Hollywood a-listers who ever even came close to approaching the level of coolness exuded by the late great Steve McQueen. The former Marine and motorcycle mechanic lived life to its fullest both on and off the screen and since passing away from lung cancer in 1980, still manages to top lists of 'coolest' and 'sexiest' movie stars even now, twenty-five years since his death. He was one of those rare performers, like Bruce Lee or Elvis or James Dean, who passed from actor to icon – a status that he truly does deserve as there really was no one like him.

Warner Brothers has no released a boxed set of six of their finest Steve McQueen titles under the title The Essential Steve McQueen Collection (which is not to be confused with the recently released The Steve McQueen Collection which features The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Junior Bonner and The Thomas Crown Affair) featuring some truly classic films and some excellent extra features. Here's what's in the set, and how it plays out:

Peter Yate's fantastic and stylish 1968 cop drama remains McQueen's best known and most recognizable role. Whenever you think of Steve McQueen, you think of this film and for good reason, as it is the one film out of all of his true starring roles that best explains what he's all about.

McQueen plays Lt. Frank Bullitt, a cop selected by a politician named Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) to protect a witness named Johnny Ross (Pat Renella) who will play a key part in an upcoming mob boss' trial. Bullitt's partner, Carl Stanton (Carl Reindel of The Andromeda Strain), and the informant are both shot and hospitalized when some unidentified men find out where they're hiding. Unsure how they were found out, Bullitt decides to take on the case solo, and he heads out into the streets of San Francisco to find the killers and bring them to justice – but Chalmer's has got other things on his mind, and seeing as he's the kind of politician who has ties that no politician should really have, things aren't going to be easy for Frank.

With a fantastic cast (Robert Duvall, Jaqueline Bissett and personal friend of McQueen's, Don Gordon all have nice supporting roles) and atmosphere to spare, Bullitt is a tense and gritty cop movie that could only have been made in the late sixties. Based on the novel by Robert L. Fish, the film makes excellent use of it's scenic San Francisco locations, with parts of the city seeming to close in on the characters as the tension escalates and the excitement mounts.

Yates, rather than knocking down the door with both guns blazing, wisely lets the story build slowly and deliberately for the first half hour or so and then, once the plot is in motion and the motives set up, allows McQueen to do what he did best – act cool and drive fast. The signature car chase, widely considered to be the best one in Hollywood history (and I'm prone to agree with this) is a prime example of how strong editing can truly make or break a movie. This scene in particular took the filmmakers three weeks to film – quite a lot of time for just under ten minutes worth of footage, but it made history. Frank Keller (who also edited the sorely underrated Rolling Thunder) took home an Oscar for his work on Bullitt and the movie set new standards for excellence in that department. Considering that the entire film is edited using cuts (except for two dissolves) it's quite an accomplishment in simplicity and style.

The cinematography by William Fraker (of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind) is tense and gritty, using lots of shadows and light tricks to build atmosphere and create mood. Influenced by a lot of the early crime noir films, the camera lets the sets and actions tell the story without the need to whirl around at 360 angles or extreme close ups.

The real reason to watch the film though, despite the fact that it looks absolutely great and is paced extremely well, is McQueen. He gives a tough as nails and cool as ice performance. In his black shirt and quick draw holster, there's never been anyone as bad as Bullitt during the last half hour of this movie and McQueen's screen presence and calm, collected ability truly do steal the show.

Sam Peckinpah's most accessible film is also the reason that Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw became an item. The movie was supposed to be directed by Peter Bogdonavich, who was dating Cybil Shepherd who he wanted for the female lead, but when the studio placed Shepherd with MacGraw, Bogdonavich left the project all together. Peckinpah came on board, and MacGraw left her husband, producer Robert Evans, to be with her co-star and the pair were married the next year.

Backstage gossip aside, The Getaway is a great little movie. While it's not up there with the nihilistic masterpieces that Peckinpah had made before like Straw Dogs and The Wild Bunch, nor is it as unique as his later era bloodbath Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, it still gives you a good idea of just how good a director Bloody Sam could be when he wasn't overwhelmed by drink and drugs.

Based on the novel by Jim Thompson and scripted by Walter Hill (director of The Warriors), the movie follows the exploits of Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) who, after convincing his wife Carol (Ali MacGraw) to sleep with the warden, Jack Benyon (Ben Johnson) is let out of prison on parole. This doesn't come without a catch, however, as the crooked lawman expects McCoy to rob a bank for him, each man getting a cut of the booty.

McCoy wants to work alone, but Benyon insists on putting some of his men in there with him. After that job is pulled and the cops give pursuit, one of Benyon's men is killed but the other, Rudy (Al Lettieri), makes it out alive. When Rudy and Doc meet up at the hook up point, Rudy shows his, and Benyon's, true colors and tries to shoot him. Doc draws first and puts Rudy down, then heads off to meet Benyon to settle things up properly, but Rudy isn't dead and after taking a couple named Harold and Fran (Jack Dodson and Sally Struthers) hostage, chases Doc and Carol across the state to get the money back no matter who gets in his way.

While this one has a surprisingly happy ending for a Peckinpah movie, the director's touches are still all over the film. Multiple instances of children witnessing violence, plenty of slow motion gun play, and a gritty, dirty atmosphere remind us who's calling the shots on this film and while it might seem like Peckinpah-lite at times, it's still Peckinpah and it's still damn good. Of course, like most of Sam's films, it all leads up to a bloody shoot out at the end, and again, like most of Sam's film, it's shot and edited extremely well.

McQueen and MacGraw make a fantastic team and it's no wonder that their chemistry developed even further once the cameras stopped rolling. Doc's a cold and calculating man, he's all business but he does love his wife and one of the more interesting elements in the story is his jealousy over her encounter with Benyon, despite the fact that he put her up to it in the first place. It makes for a more interesting film when you're able to see the more human elements in the characters and Doc and Carol are developed very nicely as the film plays through.

Aside from the two leads, the movie benefits from an exceptional supporting cast. Sally Struthers' character is interesting once she meets Rudy and 'cuts loose' and although it has dire consequences, it's interesting to see her come out of her shell when given the opportunity. Al Lettieri is amazingly sleazy as Rudy, and anyone who enjoyed his work in The Godfather Trilogy and Mr. Majestyk should enjoy seeing him dirty it up in this film. Ben Johnson, who worked with Peckinpah and McQueen on Junior Bonner is as dependable as ever as the warden, and you feel nothing but pity for Jack Dodon's (another Peckinpah alumni, this time from Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid) character. Keep your eyes out for Bo Hopkins (of Peckinpah's The Killer Elite) and Slim Pickens (of Dr. Strangelove) in some neat supporting roles too.

Though it was remade in 1994 by Roger Donaldson (of Cocktail) with Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger playing the leads, the original remains the better film even if it does have a slightly slower pace. The remake wasn't a bad film, but you can't replace Peckinpah, MacGraw or McQueen and I'm honestly not sure what possessed them to even try in the first place.

This prison film which is very loosely based on a true story was shot directly after the success of The Getaway, and joined McQueen with another popular actor of the time, Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Franklin Schaffner (of Patton and Planet Of The Apes), it's a tense and moving film that lets McQueen stretch his arms a bit as an actor.

Henri Charriere (McQueen), nicknamed Papillon (French for butterfly) is a small time crook who is accused of killing a man, despite the fact that he had nothing to do with the murder. The courts come down hard on him and he's sentenced to life in prison in the harsh penal colony in French Guiana. Not wanting to spend the rest of his life rotting in a horrible cell, he decides to plan his escape but as soon as he makes a break for it, he's captured and thrown into solitary confinement. This doesn't crush his plans though, it just makes him think of sneakier and better ways to make it out of the big house. When Charriere meets Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) he finds a kindred spirit and the two work together to escape.

This one's a bit of a gut wrencher. It's a solid drama with a truly touching and emotional ending that really lets Hoffman and McQueen strut their stuff. While the cinematography does a great job of capturing the darkness of the bleak prison, it's these two actors that make this movie as great as it is. They're both completely believable in their respective roles and the interplay between the two of them is fantastic.

Schaffner's direction is strong and steady, never over the top and never burying the performers in the visuals, instead letting them subtly build an on screen relationship that ends up being incredibly effective by the time the movie finishes. Their characters are so lonely, so desperate and so tired of being locked up in a hell-hole that all they really have is each other. When certain events play out in the film, keeping this key point in mind makes them all the more devastating. This is one of those rare dramas where everything just gels together seamlessly and even at over two hours in length it flies by thanks to some great visuals, great performances, the strong pacing of a great story.

Originally slated to be directed by Sam Peckinpah (he was fired when the studio found out he intended to film a nude scene using a female extra – Sharon Tate), Norman Jewison's The Cincinnati Kid teams a young McQueen up with some older Hollywood stars such as Karl Malden, Edward G. Robinson, Rip Torn, Cab Calloway, and the lovely Ann Margaret.

In the New Orleans of the 1930s, a young poker player named Eric Stoner (McQueen) shows up on the scene to prove his stuff by taking on the reigning king of the game, Lancey 'The Man' Howard (the legendary Edward G. Robinson). Stoner's all on his own as he goes after The Man, and soon there's a high stakes game set up with a sizeable amount of money on the line for the winner. Luckily, Stoner soon makes friends with a dealer named Shooter (Karl Malden) and his wife Melba (Ann Margaret), and a lovely young lady named Christian (Tuesday Weld). Stoner sets out to win the game without cheating, without the help of anyone else, and with more at stake than just his money – he's playing for his honor and for his integrity.

This film is all about the price of victory. The main conflict in the movie isn't so much between Stoner and The Man, but between Stoner and himself. He wants desperately to steal his opponent's crown but has to wrestle with his inner self to decide whether or not winning is worth the guilt he'd feel over cheating. The Man may or may not be the better card player, but The Cincinnati Kid has got Shooter on his side and that does change things a little bit. Ultimately, it's seeing McQueen's character deal with his personal issues that makes the film as interesting as it is. Yeah, ok, there's a lot of money on the line and the high stakes of the game do make for a lot of great tension but this one is all about character development, not about making the big score – that's simply a device used to allow Eric Stoner to come to terms with what he's thinking of doing.

Jewison deserves a lot of credit for making the big money showdown in the hotel at the end of the film as good as it is though. With the Kid's mind made up and the game against The Man in full swing, you know the film has to resolve the ongoing conflict between the two card players and this film does it in style. While it might not provide the same kind of excitement as the shoot out at the end of The Getaway of the car chase in Bullitt it certainly provides the same level of tension as those two films do, just in a very different form. If you're not cheering for McQueen by the end of the movie, at least on the inside, there's probably something wrong with you.

Like a lot of the films in this set, the great supporting cast makes this one a lot of fun. Cab Calloway shows up, Jack Weston too, and Ann Margaret is as sexy as she ever was in any of her films with Elvis. There's also plenty of great music throughout the score that really pulls you into the movie, and lots of moody and evocative New Orleans scenery to look at too.

This war time drama from director John Sturges (who would later direct McQueen in The Great Escape) was more of a Frank Sinatra film than a Steve McQueen starring vehicle but it's nice to have it in the set regardless. Sinatra was so impressed with McQueen's small part that he told people it was a 'Steve McQueen movie, not a Frank Sinatra movie' which is interesting in that Sammy Davis Jr. was to have had the role originally. The only reason he didn't get it was because Sinatra got made at Davis for claiming on a radio interview that he was the better singer. Ah.. the rat pack. God bless'em, wherever they may be.

Getting back on topic, Frank Sinatra plays Captain Tom Reynolds, a skilled soldier leading a team of special operatives through some training exercises in Burma during the Second World War. Their mission is to get the natives up to speed in the tactics of modern day combat so that they'll be able to defend themselves and their jungle lands against the Japanese forces intent on taking them over.

Soon though, Reynolds and his crew are thrust into active combat when the Chinese launch an initiative to take out the Americans soldiers. They go on the initiative and Reynolds goes a little rogue, killing Chinese prisoners and disobeying direct orders from his commanding officers so that he can get himself and his men out of there alive.

Never So Few isn't exactly a great film but Sinatra's scenery chewing performance as the whiskey drinking, chain smoking man in charge is a lot of fun and there are some great people supporting him in this film. Aside from McQueen, who plays Corporal Bill Ringa, a rough and tough rebel of a soldier who Reynold's becomes quite found of, there's also the Charles Bronson factor and fellow Rat Packer, Peter Lawford playing members of Reynold's troop. McQueen gives the only really good performance in the movie, but everyone else at least gives it a shot and the end result is a poorly scripted film with plenty of really bad dialogue offset by a great ensemble cast and some nice jungle scenery.

Also worth pointing out is that Gina Lollabrigida is literally smoking hot in her role as Carla Vesari, the exotic apple of Sinatra's eye. Never on screen without a cigarette she just exudes sex appeal and it's now wonder she was tagged as 'the most beautiful woman in the world.' Yowza.

McQueen's second last film, made the year of his death, was directed by William Wiard and once again had the actor playing a cowboy, this time alongside Linda Evans (of Dynasty fame), Richard Farnsworth (of Misery), and once again, Slim Pickens. He was sick with lung cancer when the film was made, but as was his style, he stuck it out and made sure it was finished properly. McQueen produced this one as well.

McQueen plays the real life title character of the film, a cowboy named Tom Horn, living and working in the Wyoming of the early 1900s. John Coble (Farnsworth) is a cattle rancher who meets Horn and brings him to one of the association meetings where they tell Horn about the problems they've been having with cattle rustlers as of late, and how it's affecting their livelihoods. Despite objections from the local Marshal (Billy Green Bush), Horn is brought on to investigate the rustlers and the cattle rancher's association gives him carte blanche as far as how he wants to deal with them. He can bring them in and see they stand trial, or he can shoot them on sight, it's up to him.

After twelve months, Horn's methods have pretty much put a stop to the thieves and the ranchers are quite pleased with his results but some of the members of the association feel he's gotten too powerful. When Horn is forced to kill a man in self defense the Marshal and a few of the prominent committee members see this as their chance to take him down and make sure that they're not connected with the killing of the rustlers. Horn is set up and arrested and framed for the murder of a teenage ranch hand. When his trial begins his life, his honor, and his integrity are on the line.

McQueen gives a rugged performance with plenty of charm and grace that perfectly captures the honor his character takes so seriously. Despite the fact that this film wasn't a box office smash nor did it win critical accolades, he's exceptionally good in this film and his range here is quite remarkable. His character is, like the members of Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch or Clint Eastwood's character in Unforgiven, having trouble changing with the times and he does a fine job of portraying the complexities and emotions involved in such a predicament. Horn's just looking for a job to put a roof over his head and food on his table, he doesn't realize that his ways are no longer the ways of society and when he realizes how he's been used, McQueen makes sure we empathize with him.

The violence in the film, the bloodiest in the set, is harsh and unflinching in its realism but never crosses the line to become exploitative or sensational. Thanks to some sure and confident direction from Wiard the movie's atmosphere suits the storyline and McQueen's understated performance very nicely.

Video:

Each of the six films in the set is presented in their original aspect ratio as follows: Bullitt is presented in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen; The Getaway is presented in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen; Papillon is presented in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen; The Cincinnati Kid is presented in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen; Never So Few is presented 2.40.1 anamorphic widescreen; and Tom Horn is presented in 2.40.1 anamorphic widescreen.

For the most part, all six films look great. Sure, there's some noticeable grain on all of them but it's never too heavy or distracting. Bullitt and The Getaway look the best of the bunch but they all hold up really well on DVD in terms of looks and color reproduction. You're likely to notice some minor edge enhancement throughout the films but there aren't any issues with mpeg compression artifacts and all six films are very clean looking with only hints of print damage here and there in the form of the odd scratch of speck on screen.

Flesh tones look very nice throughout, very lifelike and natural, and color reproduction on each of the features is very distinct and bold. Black levels are strong in every one of the movies and while there are a few spots where things in Never So Few look a little closer to dark gray than true black, it's a minor complaint and unless you're looking for it, odds are good it will go right past you. In short, there's little to complain about. Most of the films in this set are in and around the forty year old mark and Warner Brothers has done a very nice job with these transfers.