The French Connection (1971)

8/10

Dirty, real, harsh--cops after big drug dealers in New York, 1971.

secondtake3 December 2010

The French Connection (1971)

Director William Friedkin would make it impossible to see his career straight two years after "The French Connection" by directing "The Exorcist," which took on a life of its own. But prior to that, this was the movie that defined his career. It was the New Hollywood answer to film noir, and the lead male (Gene Hackman) is presented without glamour, the gritty city (New York) without dramatic shadows and light, and the plot (about modern drug dealing) without hyped up dramatics. This is a movie as down in the mouth as the world it represents, and it's all deliberate, and smart.

This is the stuff of a breakthrough movie. It isn't quite as gripping now, I think, but it still sucks you in. There are lots of scenes in cars, including the famous car chase, and lots of good old street stuff in Manhattan, very 1970 (when it was shot). The plot and pace of things is more steady than exciting, usually, not cinema verite but a kind of camera work that is unglamorous with the idea that this really is the way it is, and it works great. It would have been easy to push this farther and make it truly boring, but it doesn't go there. Instead we see the details of a couple of cops out to break a huge dope ring.

Most of the movie (I'm going to guess three quarters) is simply the cops trailing the bad guys, on foot or by car. There are very brief interspersed personal dramas, and there are conversations that keep the plot clear, but the overall big vector here is one direction, and the cops get closer in spurts and jerks to their prey. The velocity does increase gradually in the second half, with a kind of brilliant building to a finale, and by the end it's a thrilling climax.

In a way, this kind of film is the exact opposite of something like "Die Hard," which is all exaggeration and excess. And if those other kinds of movies are more fun, this is not only edgy, it's pertinent. And the music is by jazz great Don Ellis. Look for a scene with the World Trade Center towers under construction in the distance.

Check this film out. A special movie that actually reveals something about police life, hard core, no glitz.

62 out of 72 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

An important film due to its impact on the genre

planktonrules28 October 2007

While the 1960s brought us a slew of anti-heroes that even made their way to police films, predecessors such as BULLIT and MADIGAN are tame compared to this ground-breaking film. While these previous films gave a much bleaker view of police work and corruption, THE FRENCH CONNECTION was unique in the intensity of the sleaze that permeates the film. In most ways, this serves to heighten the realism, though even today some viewers will blanch at the films frequent use of the f-word and the general griminess of the city. Fortunately, in recent trips to the city, I was pleased to see how clean and safe the New York has become, but for the New York City office of tourism, this film must have been a nightmare!! Junkies, garbage, murders and the lowest elements frequent this interpretation of the Big Apple--making it look a bit worm-eaten and squishy!

The lead of the film is Gene Hackman and his quiet partner is Roy Scheider. Hackman's character, in particular, made it hard to differentiate him from the criminals because he played fast and loose with some people's rights and because he was prone to getting drunk and picking up one night stands. This was definitely NOT the cop your daddy would have seen in films in the good old days and I am pretty sure Jack Webb didn't approve of this Popeye Doyle character!!!

Despite the seaminess of the film, it was a great detective film because of its exceptional action sequences that made up for the very mundane nature of the job. Long periods of wire tapping and grunt work were punctuated with some of the most exciting scenes in film history--including what most experts would concede is the best chase scene on film. Additionally, the script and direction made the film quite exciting and gritty--thanks also to improvisations to spice up the cop lingo. In so many ways, this film helped create a new type of police film and led to movies such as SERPICO, THE BLUE KNIGHT and the DIRTY HARRY films. See this film and see where it all began--as this was the first rated-R cop film to win the Oscar for Best Picture and STILL today is a film you don't want to let your kids watch (unless you are an irresponsible idiot).

44 out of 53 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Gallic Traffic...

Xstal21 February 2023

You observe some dodgy characters while out drinking, it makes you curious and really gets you thinking, you and Buddy are both cops, and drug dealers are your crops, you pursue them, just to follow up your inkling. Your interest starts to pay some dividends, transpires a shipment of white stuff, will soon descend, more surveillance is acquired, telephones are bugged and wired, you know the kingpin, and you plan to apprehend.

An abrasive and coarse story of its time, following the exploits of two policemen and their quest to prevent a large consignment of heroin hitting the streets of New York, while capturing those bringing it in, and those that would deal. A legendary and iconic performance from Gene Hackman as the unstable and volatile Popeye Doyle, it's still a rewarding watch today.

8 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Slow, but worth it.

Bastian Balthazar Bux19 September 2002

The French Connection is number seventy on the AFI's list of top 100 movies, right before Forrest Gump. But why is it known as such a great film? Why did it win Best Picture at the 1971 Academy Awards? Why was it so important?

The French Connection was made in 1971, starring a then 41-year-old Gene Hackman in the lead, and directed by William Friedkin, who started his directing career with `Alfred Hitchcock Presents' in 1955. The film follows an aging but truculent `bad-boy' police officer Popeye Doyle and his slightly kinder partner (Roy Schneider) in their journey to bust a drug-smuggling ring of French origin. The movie itself is basically one big chase scene, following Popeye on his cat and mouse game of catch the crook.

The film has been classified as both an action and drama movie. Both are right, in their own way. The film at its core is a tense, slow-moving thriller, dramatic in its musical score and over-acted brutality. Scenes are left to their own devices, moving forth indeterminately, in a very drama-characteristic fashion. However, there's plenty of chasing and violence to satisfy an `action' classification. This action, however, is played so that it's less about the adrenaline rush (so common in today's big-budget action flicks), and more about that tense underlying heartbeat. The style of the film then, is a very paced and dingy chase scene. By today's post-Matrix standards, the film is slow. But in its own way, it's subterrainiously charged.

The camera is mastered by cinematographer Owen Roizman, whose previous film, Stop, is essentially unheard of, and who went on to make The Exorcist with Friedkin two years later. Shots are varied. There are handheld shots of the streets, coupled with static medium wide, along with crane shots, along with close-ups and wide shots. And even though the shots are extremely eclectic, one common theme shines through-realism. Every shot composed is just a little bit shaky, a little bit unclean. There's no truly innovative lighting used, simply that yellow coarse light that everything is eternally bathed in. It succeeds in making the movie that much more tangible to the eye. The mood created within is one of belief. You can believe the movie, because it's shot in such a rugged manner. The car scenes, filmed at night, use the same technique; red and white car lights with a subtlety lit car. It is clear that the film Taxi Driver, made 5 years later, contained car shots obviously influenced by the ones in The French Connection. Furthermore, actors' faces are lit without any superfluous shine or luster-they are simply real human faces, and are not hyped up. This influenced cinema in the way that it brings the mood and story above the actors' egos.

The editing, done by Gerald Greenberg, is, in the same manner, very real. Characteristic of films made pre-computer based editing, shots are held for longer periods of time, and not as many cuts are used. The editing is almost unnoticeable, because it seems to pass by so soft, especially during dialog. However, conversely, it cuts much more often (but never frantically) during action sequences, like the bar roust or the car chase under the train tracks. But still, drama is tensed out by holding shots long during action sequences, and it works. But this never comes to fault. The few times when quick cuts are needed, they are used, such as the train crash. In general though, the editing satisfies the mood of the film.

It is said that silence is golden, and in The French Connection, it seems to be just as valuable. While the tense, stringy score (by Don Ellis) is important to the film in some aspects, its not used very often, and instead, director Friedkin employs simple background noise. For instance, most of the scenes in the movie simply work with dialog and city noise. This all goes back to the pre-established mood: realism. The music is used only when it wont get in the way of the framework of the film. So therefore, background noise suffices wonderfully for most action and dialog scenes. Some of the music is setting-based as well, and so, comes from the movie's plot itself, and doesn't break the reality theme. Modern audiences might be surprised by the lack of `action-music', but car chases and fight scenes sans pumping bass are surprisingly welcome, and help the film, as well as add an aire of classiness.

Director William Friedkin is a director who knows what he wants out of a film. For The Exorcist, it is told he violently slapped an actor who wouldn't cry, and, with The French Connection, he establishes his premise, and lets the story tell itself. It is a different style of filmmaking. The French Connection is important to modern cinema not only because it taught modern directors the art of silence and visual suspense, but because it artfully embodies its theme. Its story, rough characters, locales, color, and pace all bleed a very dark, yet very familiar reality; one that has shaped nearly every cop movie since its making. While the film is at times hard to follow, simply because the story is left to its own devices so much (there are 15 minute periods of no dialog), but in the end, it succeeds admirably. While not the best film ever made,

The French Connection is a classic, and worthy of the honors it has received.

177 out of 217 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

A masterpiece of NYC hard-edged realism

mstomaso29 April 2005

This is an intense, unremitting, intelligent and incredibly fast-paced film which blends action, cinematic realism, art and humor into a masterwork of hard-edged crime drama. But to categorize this film as drama, suspense or action really does violence to it. This is just a great film, and it doesn't fit comfortably into any category with which I am aware.

Don't look here for any sense of fantasy-justice or n'er-do-wrong comic book heroism. Look here instead for gut wrenching nihilism, frustration with the unfairness of criminal justice in the hands of bureaucracy, and a solid, plot-driven story about a couple of cops who are just trying to do their jobs as best they can.

And by all means, don't watch this film if you aren't fully awake and willing to be taken down the electric, ambiguous, and compelling roads it leads to. If you watch this film with any part of your brain turned off you'll end up asking questions like "plot, what plot?" The fact that some people can't find it reflects more on them as film-watchers than it does on this film. This film does not offer passive entertainment like most of the contemporary action market does. It makes you pay attention, though, at times you might not want to.

Hackman and Scheider are incredible, with some of the greatest chemistry I have ever seen between two young actors. They play two hard-ass NYC detectives looking to end the war on drugs more-or-less permanently by taking down an international conspiracy which they have just barely sniffed out. And make no mistake, they, particularly Hackman's "Popeye Doyle" are at war, and treat their jobs as a battlefield. Doyle pursues his quarry with utterly wreckless abandon, endangering the lives of dozens of people along the way. While both men are absolutely terrific, this stands out as one of Hackman's greatest performances, and his Oscar is well-deserved (not something you will see me say often). Backed by a strong supporting cast, and some of the best live-action cinematography of the late 20th century, this film does not allow you to turn away, get popcorn, or even deal with bodily functions for its entire duration.

Considered in the early 70s to be 'shockingly violent', this film does not even reach a tenth the degree of passive violent repulsion of the average Tarantino film, and it relies, instead, on amazing performances, flawless direction, a phenomenal post-modern soundtrack and edgy, tense camera-work. Unlike contemporary action film garbage, it also gives you complex characters who you can care about, but never fully understand. I will cut this review short because I am running out of superlatives. Anybody remotely interested in expanding or just appreciating the artistic breadth and depth of mainstream film needs to see this.

233 out of 290 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

The first of many to come!

Percivalx6 December 2005

In most movies, the good guys are portrayed as models for others, examples for a better life. The bad guys, on the other hand, are usually dirty rat scums. What a refreshing surprise to see that The French Connection has the roles loosely interchanged. Set against the backdrop of bleak New York City streets, ill-tempered narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle and his partner 'Cloudy' Russo intercept a drug shipment coming in from France led by urbane master criminal Alan Charnier. The two cops, however, have a hard time capturing the drug lord as he outwits them throughout the city. Popeye and Charnier make an interesting contrast. Popeye is portrayed as an obsessive, racist drunk while Charnier is the mellow, European sophisticate. This is, of course, an action thriller and the sequences are gritty, tense, and heart-pounding. It features one of the best car chase scenes ever filmed. What makes it so effective is the fact that it was shot in real-time, heavy traffic and we vicariously experience moment-by-moment. The acting is strong and believable. Gene Hackman's portrayal is exact and deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar. William Friedkin did a superior job in giving us a diverting and realistic look of cop life and the raw work they undergo to clear the streets of illicit activity. Great action thriller!

52 out of 76 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Pretty Good Drug Smuggling Story With A Somewhat Anti-Climactic Ending

sddavis6313 February 2010

Be prepared! This movie will be most entertaining for those who like to watch extended scenes of police surveillance - in other words, people who like to watch people watching people will love this. Probably 75% of this movie revolves around police surveillance or various chases. That's not particularly a criticism - just know that it's a primary focus of the movie when you go in; it's not the now typical action-adventure type of movie. The surveillance is portrayed rather well, and it does lead to a gradual but deliberate buildup of the story, which revolves around a major shipment of drugs coming into New York City from France, and the efforts of a couple of NYPD detectives to stop it.

Gene Hackman won an Oscar as Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Det. Popeye Doyle - and he was deserving. He was first-rate as a totally obsessed cop who's out to get the bad guys at whatever cost. His obsession probably reaches its climax (as does the movie as a whole in many ways) with the wild car chase scene, as Popeye commandeers a civilian's car to chase a train carrying a sniper who had tried to kill him. It's obvious in that chase that Popeye has no regard for his own safety - or for anyone else's on the road, so obsessed is he with catching this guy. That chase scene was exciting. The movie as a whole isn't particularly exciting, although it does provide a fascinating look at the methods of both the drug smugglers and the cops trying to stop them.

The movie is "based on" real events and real people, although all the names have been changed. My biggest criticism of the movie is the last scene. This seemed to be building up to a truly climactic resolution; instead, I found the ending to be a classic example of anti-climax, as it just seems to come to an end at a point that didn't make much sense as the ending, with the viewer suddenly being told in script what happened to all the main characters (which was a bit misleading, since the characters in this movie were only "based on" actual people.) It's a very good movie, but it did leave me a bit dry at the end. 6/10

19 out of 26 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

The ultimate cop movie.

Boba_Fett11385 February 2005

My favorite movie of all time "A Clockwork Orange" lost at the best picture Acadamy Award ceremony against this movie. However looking at this movie I can't say that it's undeserved, for "The French Connection" truly is one of the best movies from at least the seventies and maybe of all time. It most certainly is the best cop movie ever made, in my opinion!

The movie has a perfect gritty and realistic kind of atmosphere and an unmistakably seventies feeling. I love it! The seventies truly were the golden age of film making and they simply don't make movies like this anymore.

The characters are perfectly realistic and director William Friedkin and the actors most certainly don't attempt to portray them as being heroic or 'good cops'. Gene Hackman really in a way is an anti-hero and he seems to be born to play 'Popeye' Doyle, who by now truly has grown into a classic movie character. Roy Scheider also is really great as his partner 'Cloudy' Russo, even though his character at times disappears too long out of the story. A shame because he and Hackman were a perfect screen duo. Both got an Oscar nomination but only Hackman got to take the statue home with him. The movie also won Oscar's for best director, best film editing, best picture and best writing, screenplay based on material from another medium and got nominated for three more.

The movie might have a slow pace by today's standards but the wonderful story and acting really make up for this, "The French Connection" has stand the test of time well. The slow pace even makes the famous car chase scene even more energetic and thrilling enough to make your adrenaline run.

Truly in my opinion, the ultimate cop movie!

10/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

58 out of 89 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

One Kinky Cop

bkoganbing3 June 2009

The French Connection and Bullitt have had so many imitators over the past 40 years it's almost impossible to remember that the clichés about police films had their start with these two. Still they did set a standard and should be remembered for that.

My basic problem with The French Connection is the lack of any character development other than Gene Hackman's role. Even his opposite number Fernando Rey is presented as a cool counterpoint to Hackman's Popeye Doyle, narcotics detective who lucked into one of the biggest heroin busts of all time.

Popeye is one of the most unlikely heroes ever portrayed in film. He's a racist bigot, a chauvinistic pig, he's even got a couple of kinks in his sexual persona. I don't think it's an accident that around the time Gene Hackman got his Best Actor Oscar, All In The Family debuted on television with its more lovable version of Popeye. Archie Bunker and Popeye Doyle would have hit it off great. I could see the two of them at Kelsey's Bar in Queens.

Some surveillance at a candy store pays off big time for Hackman and his partner Roy Scheider, but they don't even know how big. Over in Marseilles, Fernando Rey is planning to bring in one big shipment of pure heroin for mobster Tony LoBianco to sell. It's just a question of waiting and watching.

Hackman's not even good at that as Rey gives him the slip on a subway surveillance. Later on in a scene that rivals the car chase in Bullitt, Hackman commandeers a car and chases down one of the gang who holds a subway hostage, I think it's the Sea Beach train a stop or two from Coney Island if memory serves.

The French Connection is based on a book written Green Berets author Robin Moore as told to him by Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, the cops who did the actual bust. Both appear in the film in supporting roles. If Popeye is supposed to be Egan, all I can say is that this man told his story in the Cromwell tradition, warts and all.

Big warts at that.

20 out of 29 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

9/10

Great drama

gbill-748778 February 2019

Highlights:

The ending, my god. Plus a half tick in my rating for that.

The street scenes. The film absolutely immerses us in 1971 New York, and director William Friedkin effortlessly blends well-framed shots with those that show us seamy street life as it is.

The tension in those chase scenes. The pace of the film is great, showing patience in long stakeouts but gradually working its way up to a crescendo during the pursuits. The cat and mouse game in the subway is fantastic, as is the car chase following the elevated train.

Great storytelling. The plot is tight and while we may not always believe some of the events, they're credible and there aren't giant plot holes or irrelevant subplots. The criminals are pretty clever too, and the car teardown searching for where the drugs might be was great.

The nuance in the lead detective (Gene Hackman). He initially comes across as an idealized view of the gritty, macho cop, even though he's got some serious issues (see lowlights). However, as it plays out, he's not idolized as characters like Dirty Harry, and is instead shown as being as obsessed and out of control as Captain Ahab, and in a subtle, smart way by Friedkin.

Hey, isn't it nice that the country the drugs are coming in from, what a moron might call a s***hole country, is France? Apparently that's where most of the Heroin came into America from at the time, and there's a lesson in there somewhere.

Lowlights:

The treatment of African-Americans. Hackman is toxic towards them early on, quipping "never trust a n*****," and also aggressively shaking them down. His partner (Roy Scheider) points out in the first instance that the person he's talking about could have been white, but none of this part of what he does is truly challenged. We can say this is what makes Hackman a real person and an anti-hero, but unfortunately I think filmgoers probably saw this as part of the positive side of him.

I also get the 'get tough on crime' vibe from this film, and shudder a little over the direction this would take the country in over the following decades. 'Dirty Harry' was made in the same year, and both films show the frustrations Americans had with drug use and violent crime in cities, so part of it understandable. The overreaction that this film advocates, though in a more indirect way, seems to be police brutality and much stiffer sentences, both of which would balloon into real problems in the decades which followed.

19 out of 26 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Uh... What was that?

Foopy-227 October 2002

I didn't enjoy this one much.

The film featured very little character development--for instance, Gene Hackman acted pretty well, but I had no idea where his character's motivations were coming from, so I couldn't understand him or relate to him at all. By the end of the movie, most of the characters were still in the exact same psychological state that they started in (they had no "arc"). Since everyone was incredibly boring and flat, I never really got attached to any of them or cared about their fate.

The plot was so-so; there weren't really any big "twists" in it and it wasn't particularly unique or provocative, which would be OK with me if it weren't for the fact that there isn't much else of interest in the rest of the film.

Sure, the movie is "gritty", but that alone doesn't make a movie worth watching. There are plenty of detective dramas I've seen that weren't as gritty as this, but the fact that they had excellent plots and/or interesting characters whom I came to care about made those movies vastly more entertaining than this one. Put simply, there was very little in this film that drew me into its world, besides some beautiful cinematography and a great car chase scene--possibly one of the best car chase scenes I've ever seen, actually, but it still didn't redeem the movie for me.

40 out of 71 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

Classic thriller with an excellent Gene Hackman giving an Oscar winning performance

ma-cortes19 September 2007

In the great tradition of American thrillers , this famous movie concerns ¨Popeye Doyle¨(Gene Hackman) , an unorthodox narcotics undercover police following the Marsella French connection about a smuggling ring connected with a New York crook (Tony LoBianco) . He teams up with cop Buddy Russo, ¨Cloudy¨(Roy Scheider) , following the trail to hunt down the ringleader named Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) , a suave gentleman but astute baddie , and his hoodlum (Marcel Bozzuffi). The time is just right for an out and out thriller like this . When "Popeye" cuts loose, anything goes! Doyle is bad news - but a good cop. A $32,000,000 chase turns into the American thriller of the year! .There are no rules and no holds barred when Popeye cuts loose!

In this highly rated film there is noisy action , suspense , thrills , violence and being extremely entertaining . Gene Hackman as the rebel and non-conformist Popeye is magnificent , he won a deserved Academy Award . His nemesis , Fernando Rey as the drug smuggler , plays perfectly his role as the cunning and elegant villain . Furthermore , a splendid support cast , such as : Roy Scheider , Tony LoBianco , Marcel Bozuffi , among others . The movie contains one of the best car chases ever shot with another prize for the professional film editor (Greenberg) and one of the most gripping pursuits between Popeye Doyle and Alain Charnier. Aproppiate and realistic cinematography by Owen Roizman , Friedkin's usual cameraman (The Exorcist) and adequate music score by Don Ellis . Interesting screenplay by Ernest Tidyman , an expert writer on thrillers and action movies (Shaft) . This is a great film , professionally directed by William Friedkin and followed by a nice sequel ¨French Connection II¨ by John Frankenheimer and again with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey. Rating : Above average and well worth seeing , as it is an authentic classic movie .

18 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Over-rated movie

IMSandman29 June 2003

The American Film Institute rated this as the 70th best movie of all time. I highly disagree. While the movie wasn't horrible, it certainly wasn't one of the top 500 movies that I have ever seen. Even the famous "chase" scene wasn't all that exciting for me. Maybe back in 1971, this was cutting edge, but today it just didn't cut the mustard. I actually really enjoy older movies, but this was not one of them. It was like watching a serious episode of "Barney Miller" or an episode of "The Streets of San Francisco." 6 Stars.

35 out of 62 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

4/10

Best Picture? Really?

hall89510 June 2008

The French Connection won five Academy Awards including best picture. Must not have been a very good year for movies. Because "best" is certainly not a word I would associate with this movie. This movie is slow, dull and full of contrivances that will insult your intelligence. Let's have our "hero" cops completely strip a car looking for drugs. Well, completely strip it except we'll leave just one part intact. Because after we've torn the whole car apart and found nothing the drugs couldn't possibly be hidden in that one remaining part could they? Sigh.

Anyhow, the threadbare plot here involves a couple of New York City narcotics cops investigating a shipment of drugs coming into the city from France. The movie immediately establishes who the bad guys are and exactly how their smuggling operation works so there's no mystery here. This is no whodunit. We know who the bad guys are, the cops know who the bad guys are and then...nothing. The bad guys drive around the city and the cops follow them. For an occasional change of pace the bad guys get out of their cars and walk around the city...and the cops follow them. Not a whole lot of anything going on here. Until THAT scene. The "greatest chase scene ever". Well, you call it greatest if you want, I'll call it completely ludicrous. First off anyone driving like our "hero" through the streets of New York would have gotten himself killed about 37 times over during this chase. And innocent bystanders would certainly have been plowed over as well. But forgetting all that the whole chase is completely unnecessary because our "hero" is chasing a subway train. Which of course is on tracks. Which means it's only going one place. Which means any cop with half a brain would simply have called for backup and had officers sent to all the stations along the route. Did he think the train was going to make a sudden, unexpected turn and head for Poughkeepsie? Our "hero" cop risked lives for what? For nothing. This completely illogical scene exists for no reason other than to have an exciting scene in the movie. Which I guess is understandable because this movie was sorely lacking exciting scenes. But this scene ends up being much more laughable than exciting.

Gene Hackman does pretty well in his role as obsessive, abrasive, bigoted cop Popeye Doyle who you get the sense is always a moment away from completely losing his mind. It's a pretty interesting character in a film mostly devoid of interesting characters. Playing Doyle's much more reserved partner Roy Scheider doesn't get to chew scenery like Hackman. Scheider's character is much more believable if not particularly compelling. This film's problems don't lie with its two lead performers. Hackman and Scheider were fine. It's everything around them which disappoints.

93 out of 146 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

One of the 1970s best crime movies, and yes, that means one of the best ever.

Infofreak15 June 2003

'The French Connection' has really stood the test of time. William Friedkin is one American director who has almost been forgotten about, despite making some excellent movies like 'The Birthday Party', 'The Exorcist' and 'Cruising'. 'The French Connection' is his best movie by far, and one of the 1970s best crime movies, which means it's one of the best EVER. The lead actors are first rate, and the script by Ernest Tidyman ('Shaft') is a good one, but Friedkin makes this something special by applying documentary film techniques to this gritty and realistic detective story. 'The French Connection' was groundbreaking in this respect and influenced just about every subsequent cop movie, all the way up to contemporary TV shows like 'NYPD Blue' and the like. Gene Hackman is just terrific as Popeye Doyle. Hackman had been around for about ten years, and impressed many with his supporting role in 'Bonnie And Clyde', but this movie made him a major star. Along with 'The Conversation' and 'Scarecrow' it's still one of his most impressive performances. Roy Scheider was almost a complete unknown prior to this but he's also very good as Popeye's partner Buddy Russo. Scheider went on to some fine work in movies such as 'Jaws', 'Marathon Man', 'Last Embrace', '52 Pick-Up' and 'Naked Lunch', but never quite became the big name star that Hackman did. Bunuel regular Fernando Rey (cast by mistake after a misunderstanding, Friedkin thinking he was hiring a different actor!) and the underrated character actor Tony Lo Bianco, who had recently appeared in the cult classic 'The Honeymoon Killers', lead a fine supporting cast who really add to the movie's success. The exciting car chase sequence in this movie is now legendary, and is arguably the best one ever filmed, but there is so much more to this film than just that. 'The French Connection' is a superb movie, and still better than just about any similar Hollywood crime thriller made in the last few years. Highly recommended!

156 out of 195 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

8/10

Gene Hackman's Show!

gab-1471218 October 2017

I remember watching The French Connection for the first time several years ago. I knew people regarded it as an instant classic, so I was expecting to love it. But the power of subjectivity appeared, and it turned out I didn't like it all too much. In discussions with cinema lovers, I was lambasted because people see this as one of the all-time greats. I watched this for a second time recently, and how about that! My opinion changed. While not calling this film an all-time great, I do respect and like it very much. The film fits the definition of a 70's American film. It is dark, gritty, and features some heavy violence. Also, the film happens to be home of one of cinema's greatest car chases. Essentially, the movie is a giant chase but that particular car chase is something else. I'll discuss it more later on in this review.

This Oscar-winning film takes us onto the streets of New York City following two detectives, Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner, Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider). Popeye is infamous for taking in street-level drug dealers, and at best his policework can be described as shady. He's violent drunk cop with low ethical standards, and his career is rapidly falling apart. But he seizes his biggest opportunity when he learns of a huge heroin shipment coming from France. Now we have an interesting contrast between Popeye and the heroin smuggler, Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey). I just mentioned Popeye has low moral standards, but he still is a dedicated cop. On the other hand, Charnier is a smooth gentleman that no one can predict he is a criminal. Now the standoff between the two men begins when Popeye does all he can to bring Charnier in.

Now going back to that car chase! It was a wonderfully executed car chase and what I like is that it is all real. There was an actual chase filmed in Brooklyn exactly how you see it on screen. It's crazy too because the chase is about a simple car trying to outrun and outmaneuver a moving train which eventually has a dead conductor at the wheel. So then it turns into a psychologically-crazy man versus machine kind of chase. The chase also proves the recklessness of Popeye. He held no regard for the common people as he had close calls with them during the chase. He was basically using the people for his benefit.in an oddly positive way. Some of the camera techniques are very effective. They filmed in a way where the subjects are actually further away from the cars than shown on screen.which must have been a relief for some of the actors. But yes, this is one of the biggest car chases to have ever been filmed so this film is a must-see just for that.

Speaking of actors, well yes let's talk about the acting. Director William Friedkin famously did not want Gene Hackman in the lead role. Hackman, by 1971 was already a bankable star, but Friedkin did not think so. Luckily, they decided to cast Hackman anyway and it's a good thing they did. Hackman is one of those actors who can do any genre and always gives his best effort. I loved his performance here and his character was perhaps the only three-dimensional character in the film because the film spends so much time on him. But I was won over by Hackman almost right away. The scene where he enters a bar and violently asks everyone to turn out their pockets in the search for drugs-well, I knew I would be in for a treat. I was happy to see his performance win Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Roy Scheider does a solid job as Popeye's partner, but I didn't feel the same way for him as I did for Popeye. There was nothing much to do for him except to act as a backup. Same goes for Fernando Rey. A very solid performance, but his character was also under-utilized.

The French Connection is a violent, fast-paced film. I said in my opening the movie plays like one giant chase, but I liked the frenetic pacing of the movie. My favorite scene is no doubt that car chase, but I loved the smaller scenes especially the ones where Popeye is up to no good. I also loved the actual photography of the film. Sure, the movie is over forty years old but seeing the streets of my favorite city in the world always makes me happy as it brings back some fond memories. The film has a violent nature and it may take you by surprise, but this film is heralded by many as an instant classic. I may not think so, but I did enjoy it very much.

My Grade: B+

22 out of 32 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

"The Godfather" of Cop Movies ...

ElMaruecan8219 March 2011

Warning: Spoilers

No other thriller has ever matched the quality and originality of "The French Connection", one of the most heart-pounding realistic cop movies that ever enriched the silver screen. Only in the early 70's, such a masterpiece could have been made, at the creative pinnacle of Hollywood's New Wave that brought a new fresh air in American cinema, an air made of politically incorrect excitement and gripping realism. A masterpiece of realism indeed, whose heart and soul rely on one of the most unforgettable cinematic antiheroes, Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, superbly played by Gene Hackman.

It's not even a performance, Gene Hackman is simply natural as Doyle, aka "Popeye", he embodies the rousing realism of the film which thanks to William Friedkin's accurate and methodic directing, makes it the equivalent of Zola's naturalism in literature. This naturalism gives an incredible documentary feeling that strangely provided better thrills than an exaggerated cinematic dramatization. The protagonists in this film are New York City cops from the Narcotic Bureau, but they're also friends and colleagues, making crude jokes, drinking, eating, and interacting more than acting. They're not even characters since everything feels so real only one fear kept my mind a little anxious: that at one point, something ruins this desensitized boldness. Thankfully, it didn't and from beginning to end, "The French Connection" combined the excitement of a cat-and-mouse thriller and the realism of a fascinating character study.

These two elements are the fundamentals on which relies the excitement, working in total complementarity: never there is a moment in the film where it tries to focus only on "Popeye", or where the chase doesn't highlight a new aspect of his personality. Everything goes so fast anyway, there's not enough time to focus on other characters, they're not underdeveloped but "The French Connection" IS Doyle. His strong feeling that there's a foreign drug smuggling operation going on, confirmed with the scenes featuring the French antagonists, is a proof that he's got the competence AND the instinct. We know he's not just charismatic, he's also right.

And the chase that starts at the bottom of the gang (when from a simple intuition, they followed Sal Boca) has the suspenseful excitement of a chess game, where we just wait for the moment they'll finally meet the King, the mastermind, Alain Charnier aka Frog One, in a great performance, all in nuance, by Bunuel's fetish actor: Fernando Rey. Indeed, it's like a chess game where the King is protected by the 'bishop', Pierre Nicoli, the hit-man, the real villain of the film, whose killing becomes almost a subplot. A subplot that will contribute to one of the most thrilling car chases ever . And whenever I watch this sequence, I realize how this must have been an excitement at the time of its release, in the theaters. There's something almost personal in that chase, driven by the first killing of the mother with the baby carriage, starting with a shocking death to end on a more satisfying one, the iconic killing in the stairs. The hit-man looks so helpless; it's like a cold-blooded murder. But we're definitely on "Popeye's" side at this point, and the case became personal.

This empathy to "Popeye" is driven by the character study which makes us follow step by step (in the true meaning of the word) his investigation. We see him efficiently handling an interrogatory with his classic "Have you ever picked your feet in Poughkeepsie?", harassing the drug smugglers in an almost entertaining way, with his inseparable pork-pie hat, getting news from his informer etc. He's just so dedicated and competent in his job that his private life, in contrast, is less appealing, totally diluted in sex rides with one-shot girls met in the corner of a street or accidental sleeping in a bar Only, in the exercise of his duty, "Popeye" is like a fish in water, charismatic, powerful, outside he's no better than the people he chases. There's even a strange contrast between him and Charnier, sophisticated, distinguished ... here is a sleazy cop against big shots. When Charnier and the hit-man are in a restaurant, savoring a good wine, a delicious food and a tasty dessert, "Popeye" freezes his ass waiting for his partner Russo to bring him a slice of pizza, honorable mention to the late Roy Sheider in a great supporting performance. The film revealed the cops' underworld like "The Godfather" did for gangsters, but from the cops' perspective with Doyle in an extraordinary portrayal of an ordinary cop dedicated to his job. He's the Michael Corleone of the film and like him, his dedication to his duty will ultimately alienate him.

"Popeye's" alienation is foreseen in the early scenes, where he's so convinced he's right, we share his perseverance, as we share his frustration when he loses the track of Charnier, waving bye-bye to him, in the memorable subway scene. We want him to shut the mouth of his colleague who can't stop reminding him that he already screwed up before, but we're so with "Popeye" that we never suspect that he could fail, we want him to get the baddies and the scene of the car crash reminds us that drug is no play or no fun. He's the law, he's here to protect the good citizens, he must win. That's why we share of course, his satisfaction where he owns Charnier, by waving back to him in the memorable climax. And after the shootout, where the game seems over, the last minute of the film leaves us stunned, wondering is this the guy we cheered for. "Popeye" screwed again, victim of his persistence, of himself, killing the very colleague who warned him

A shocking ending incarnated by the last scary gunshot, which makes Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, one of the most unforgettable cinematic antiheroes, and "The French Connection" a milestone never equaled

10 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

What a disappointment

Bored_Dragon6 April 2020

A cult thriller, one of the best films in the genre, eight Oscar nominations, five of which were won and a bunch of other awards and honors ... Besides Hackman's Oscar-winning performance, this is a totally mediocre narco-crime movie that I watched until the end only because it was too late to start something else, and given how it ends, it wouldn't make much difference if I gave up halfway through.

6/10

18 out of 29 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

In a league of its own!

alexanderdavies-9938222 June 2017

"The French Connection" needs no introduction. Along with "Dirty Harry," it set such high standards for how a cop thriller should be made. The above film strives for realism and achieves this and more. Almost every camera shot was on location.The fact that "The French Connection" won major Oscars just about says it all. The film wisely has a documentary feel to it, seeing as the film is based upon real life events Gene Hackman became an overnight sensation in the lead. He was born to play Popeye Doyle, no one else could play that character. By turns, he is jolly, determined, obsessed and volatile. He has fine support from Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco and Fernando Rey. A film like "The French Connection" benefited immensely from having technical advisors on hand, including the very two police officers whose careers this film is based. The car chase scene is one of the best I've ever seen. One of the ultimate masterpieces.

20 out of 30 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

7/10

Gritty And Hard Hitting At The Time ...

Theo Robertson18 January 2005

... But perhaps a little bit dated now This must have shocked audiences at the time . Anti hero cop Popeye Doyle doesn't bend rules because he doesn't understand the concept of rules , catching scumbags is all that matters and if that means beating information out of a small time scumbag so be it . Hackman is really intense in the role and you feel glad that Popeye decided to join the force instead of turning to crime himself . This movie reaches new heights of social realism via Friedkin's directing , it's filmed almost as a documentary with hand held cameras and abrasive jump cuts to other locations . Like I said this must have shocked audiences...

... but only in the 70s . That's the problem with watching THE FRENCH CONNECTION more than 30 years after it was made - we've seen too many similar things in the intervening period . Every cop show as a sort of fascist good guy who would happily torture confessions out of suspects who are always invaribly guilty . When a snitch gives information to Detective Fascist he must be ruffed up a little to keep his cover going . when pursuing a villain Detective Fascist must pursue him in a vast car narrowly missing passers by etc etc . Name every cop show or detective movie and they all have the same type of story

That's the main fault of THE FRENCH CONNECTION - it's let far too many genies out of too many bottles , it's been imitated ( Usually in a far inferior manner ) a myriad of times that it seems almost run of the mill now . But despite the familiar subject matter it's still a very effective and hard hitting thriller mainly down to the director and star . I wish I'd seen it in the early 1970s when it seemed like radical film making

12 out of 23 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

9/10

The first film to go deep inside the perils of being a maniacal and sadistic narcotics cop

Nazi_Fighter_David11 May 2005

Warning: Spoilers

The dividing line between tough cops and mad mobsters is often so slim it could be inscribed on the rim of a steel-jacketed .45 bullet

When Gene Hackman, as Popeye Doyle is hot on the trail of that illegal load of heroin, he lets nothing and nobody get in his way If one stands aside from the sheer excitement of the film and examines it dispassionately, it becomes apparent that here is ruthlessness which, under normal circumstances, would be regarded as the actions of a crazy man

Under the arches of the elevated railroad, the Doyle character drives a car like a character gone berserk; if the number of innocent bystanders sent flying and the total of wrecked cars were calculated, it might have been cheaper and more humane to let the villains and the heroin escape

But it's only movies While the picture's running it is not necessary to wonder whether all this mayhem is morally right or wrong Indeed, it would be a sorry day for the entire thriller industry, both written and screened, if ever we did!

This is a world of fantasy into which the audience is content to follow the action for less than two hours There are the goodies and the baddies; the policeman may act like a baddie, but he's really on the side of the angels

The really tough cop is a comparatively new type of cinematic character When the gangster film was young, so were the policemen That detective of the 1930's, might have knocked a hoodlum or two around in self-defense, but would never have been so careless as to shoot a fellow cop through being too cynical or quick on the trigger The New York film cop, of the 1930's would not have coldly broken a mobster's jaw, as Sterling Hayden did in "The Godfather."

29 out of 46 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

Very overrated film

gangstahippie11 July 2007

Rated R for Strong Violence,Language and Drug Content. Quebec Rating:13+ Canadian Home Video Rating:R(should be 18A)

I saw The French Connection a few days ago and I must say, I was disappointed.Everybody says this is an excellent movie.It won Best Picture of 1971 at the Academy Awards.It beat Clockwork Orange which in my opinion is a far superior film.The acting is good,the storyline is alright and the soundtrack is pretty cool but I found the film to be a bit slow and boring.Gene Hackman plays a good role.The car chase scene that everybody talks about is pretty overrated and not that good.Overall, The French Connection is an overrated and very mediocre movie.

11 out of 21 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

10/10

Superb cop flick

TheLittleSongbird24 November 2010

Whether it was the best movie of the year is up for debate, but that does not mean The French Connection is a bad film. In fact, it is a superb film. It is very well made, it has a hard edge, is well directed, has a fine script, some very memorable sequences, is well scored and Gene Hackman once again is superb in the lead. I like cop flicks just as much as the next person, and I have to say The French Connection is one of the best of them. Not only does it have all the things I mentioned above, but I think it has aged well and it is definitely worth seeing more than once. All in all, superb, worth seeing for Hackman. 10/10 Bethany Cox

17 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

6/10

highly overrated

sonny3017 April 2003

I have absolutely no idea why The French Connection is in the top 250. Nothing really wrong with the acting or the cinematography; the story is just too simple and it never gets to you. It doesn't even come close.

I happen to like movies that have some emotional effect on me: unfairness, pity, revenge and (unreachable) love are themes that I usually appreciate.

The French Connection didn't have these elements and neither does it have other interesting themes. It's not Hackman's fault or any of the other actors, the story is just too average. If you want to see an excellent movie with Gene Hackman, I suggest "Mississippi Burning".

11 out of 21 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

1/10

Doyle is bad news - And a bad cop

kombinat23 July 2002

Like many other reviewers, I wonder what the fuss is about. I can't believe this movie made the Top 200 by AFI. There is no coherent plot, the little pieces of the story told in the particular 'jazzy' way, the trick that attracts some attention at first, but then it becomes dull and predictable. The director obviously strived for 'tell it like it is' approach, but all he managed to create is dull and chaotic movie. The movie heavily borrows from "Bullitt", which I found dull as well. There is no suspense in "The French Connection".

Gene Hackman's performance as a lead was a dud. I couldn't relate to his character at all - there's no internal drama, or really anything. The tagline - "good cop"? The drinking, whoring, racial slurs, shooting unarmed people? No wonder NYPD is knee-deep in lawsuits up to this day.

And a little bit of science fiction made it into the movie. It's clear that NYPD at the time made use of the time machine, because there is no possibility that you can rip apart the luxury car, including interior and the engine, and then put everything back so the car seemed untouched, all in 4 hours (!!!).

The much talked-about car chase is just a long, long, very long car chase. The 'near-collision' scenes are so heavily cut and edited, that all appearance of the continuous chase is gone, and one might be reminded of the editing style of the 'made for TV' films. It wasn't worth to block all that traffic in Brooklyn to shoot it.

One of the most overrated movies of the 70's.

71 out of 128 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

User Reviews

See also

Opinion

Details

Storyline

Did You Know?

Photo & Video

Related Items

User Lists

Recently Viewed