The French Connection

I saw this once before, but so long ago that I've remembered truly nothing about it. I also think I was just too young to give it a fair shot in the first place, with too little real appreciation for cinema at that time. It didn't make a big impression on me all those years ago, and having watched thousands of movies since then, I've been overdue to revisit a picture that I plainly recognize is very highly esteemed. Sitting for 'The French connection' with fresh eyes, having watched innumerable flicks of every genre, every era, every style, and every level of quality, I now believe this celebrated 1971 classic is: good. It's good. It is, indeed, a very good film, and it boasts a lot to admire. However, I continue to think that my first impression of so long ago was perhaps not so far off after all. I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do, but for as much as I do like it, it just doesn't majorly resonate with me.

William Friedkin's direction is tight and focused, lending a certain intensity to even quieter and less dramatic scenes. That intensity is reflected in the performances, for there's a vitality in the acting I can only describe as fervor. It's not unreasonable to say that Gene Hackman especially stands out - with an explosive performance in an explosive role, there's a reason he was singled out for awards - but his co-stars earn much the same praise. I love Don Ellis' original music as it only ever lends sharp tension to the proceedings; it seems to me that his themes are sometimes almost more appropriate for a horror feature than for a crime thriller, which I think really says something about how effective they are. I believe this was smartly and sometimes beautifully shot, a credit to both Friedkin and cinematographer Owen Roizman; from camera movement in action scenes, to how shots are framed in small interior spaces (e.g., lots of car interiors), to shot composition generally, a lot of these 105 minutes is eye-catching on a fundamental level.

All just as much to the point, the stunts and practical effects are outstanding, above all including the premier chase sequence that is unquestionably one of the top highlights of the whole length. For that matter, no few individual scenes are fantastic. From lighting and production design, to the way the writing just throws us viewers into the thick of things, to the last stretch that is full of careful detail, there's a lot to love all throughout and down to the ending. So how is it that with so many odds and ends that are so excellent, this didn't have me sitting upright from start to finish? Why did I actually fall asleep halfway through? At no point do I think this title does anything wrong. Somehow, purely as a matter of personal preference - and not even a conscious one - 'The French connection' just doesn't ring my bell, even as I greatly enjoyed it. It's everything I would hope for out of a crime thriller; for something that has effectively received unanimous, lofty praise since its release, well, that's another matter.

I'm glad I watched this again, and I like it more upon review than what I vaguely recollect from the first time around. Maybe in another twenty years or so I'll check it out again, and maybe I'll come closer to holding the sort of opinion that so many others seem to. Until then, though I'm not about to shout its praises from the rooftops, I'm glad to give this film my solid recommendation. Do watch, and have fun, and may you find it to be the revelation I do not.

'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!

"The French Connection" is an excellent film in every way imaginable. Gene Hackman (Oscar-winning) stars as a tough New York cop who is obsessed with stopping the flow of heroin into the city from France. Fernando Rey is perfect as the ring-leader of the smuggling. Tough, gritty, and realistic, "The French Connection" is an intense character-study that is never short on suspense or action. The film won five Oscars in 1971, including the Best Picture Oscar and one for William Friedkin's (only 32 at the time) intense direction. In a year that produced "The Last Picture Show" and "A Clockwork Orange", this film's win makes it even more impressive than it was nearly 30 years ago. Excellent. 5 stars out of 5.

Following a mix of hunches and leads, two tough NYPD narcotic cops set up surveillance on a candy store in the belief that the owners of the store are somehow involved in drug dealing on the side. Putting the squeeze on the store leads them to a couple of new people, specifically a smooth French criminal called Alain Charnier who is trying to orchestrate a massive drug sale in New York. The pressure looks like bringing success to Detectives Doyle and Russo, but Charnier's organisation has tight time targets and decides to take action to remove the heat from the job.

Sometimes with "classic" films it is easy to get sucked into the hype and reputation and just love it before you have even seen it; for that reason, although I have seen it several times, I decided to give it a fresh viewing before I dared try to write my thoughts on it – it finished ten minutes ago, so my memory is still fresh. Although I feel that it has remained well known thanks to "that" car chase, I think that recalling only that scene is to do a disservice to a film that is an enjoyable thriller in a tough, typically 1970's mould. The plot sees a minor hunch turn into a bigger police job and it would be easy to pick holes in some of the logic within it, it still grips and provides a nicely gritty cop thriller. It isn't as clever or as original as those coming to it on the back of its reputation might expect it to be, as it does pretty much what the rest of the genre does. Now I'll be fair and acknowledge that I don't know whether this film was the first to create this type of film or if it was just part of the development of them, but certainly watching it now it does blend in with others in the same genre.

The direction makes it better than the material as Friedkin injects real tension and grit into the story keeping it exciting while also being rather sombre and low-key. The acting also makes it and, rightly, Hackman carries much of the film with a great performance as Doyle. Grizzled, bigoted and apparently heartless, it is interesting to contrast his character with Rey's Charnier, who is much cooler and effective. Scheider is, as always, reliable in support and he gives a good performance throughout while the rest of the cast play their roles well enough. There is no doubt though, that Hackman is the heart of the film and his performance reflects this and makes the audience emotionally involved with his story from the very start.

Overall this is a great 1970's cop thriller with all that comes with that genre. It is enjoyably gritty and fast paced with "heroes" of questionable morality and smooth criminals. People will always hark on about that car chase and, yes, it is good, but there is more to this film and it stands out as one of the best of the genre.

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.