The French Connection (1971)

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/

Fmovies: 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.

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!

The French Connection fmovies. "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.

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 benefitÂ….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 screenÂ….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

This famous movie concerns on ¨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).

In this highly rated film there are noisy action, suspense, thriller, violence and is extremely entertaining.Gene Hackman as the rebel and nonconformist 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 as Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Marcel Bozuffi, among others. The film contains one of the best car chases ever shot with another prize for the 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 about thrillers and action movies( Shaft). This is a great film, professionally directed by William Friedkin and so is its sequel ¨French connection II ¨ by John Frankenheimer and again with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey. Rating : Above average and well worth seeing but is an authentic classic movie.