The French Connection (1971)

Alcoholic but dedicated New York police officer “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) find themselves pursuing one of the biggest narcotic smuggling rings in the world when refined Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) attempts to facilitate major heroin shipments to New York from France.

Following the example set by In The Heat of the Night, The French Connection explores the gritty, seedy parts of urban life propelled by William Friedkin’s brave, pull-no-punches direction that elevates what could have been an exploitative thriller into art. This may be the only balls-to-the-wall action movie to win Best Picture; it’s fraught with foot chases and a righteously famous car chase that is one of the best you will ever see. The handheld camerawork (many years before Jason Bourne) brings an element of urgency and excitement to the film rarely seen before, and the acting and attention to detail are so authentic you would swear that a documentary is unfolding in front of you. After some minor TV appearances and a brief but memorable breakout performance in Bonnie and Clyde, Gene Hackman’s Oscar-winning performance would make him a big star for the next several decades. He hasn’t been in a film since 2004, and I really wish he would come back soon. To be completely honest, I think that fellow nominee A Clockwork Orange is a better film that lost over being too gratuitous and ahead of its time for many people and that Dirty Harry from the same year is arguably more intense and powerful. But there’s no denying The French Connection and its far-reaching influence on virtually every cops and robbers drama in film or TV today.

First time seeing this film as well and it is very evident that many action films used this as a template.  The chase scene in particular was very suspenseful.  So suspenseful that it actually caused a real  unplanned car accident.  Gene Hackman is basically trying drive thru traffic in New York and beat the subway system to catch a perp at the next stop.  Needless to say, he was driving like a maniac.  Throughout this whole movie you are wondering if Gene Hackman is really the good guy.  He's definitely a loose cannon and while he has good cop moments, he also has some shitty cop moments.  The ending is what makes the movie a game changer.  It ends so much differently than you would expect.  When it's over, you'll be scratching your head but it leaves you thinking about Hackman's morality.  At the end of the day, he's not really a good guy and he might not even be a good cop.  It's pretty unexpected and interesting.  I recommend it!  Definitely worth a watch or two.   

The car crash during the chase sequence, at the intersection of Stillwell Ave. and 86th St., was unplanned and was included because of its realism. The man whose car was hit had just left his house a few blocks from the intersection to go to work and was unaware that a car chase was being filmed. The producers later paid the bill for the repairs to his car.

Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: Now I'm gonna bust your ass for those three bags and I'm gonna nail you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie.

Patton (1970)

This film tells the story of General George S. Patton, tank commander and controversial military genius during his WWII career, including the invasion of Europe and the end of the Third Reich.

Half biopic and half war movie, Patton is a great film that is more interesting and entertaining than I remembered. Scott’s charismatic Oscar-winning performance is fantastic, even if he spends the majority of it calling everyone a bastard or a son of a bitch. In many ways, Patton the man feels like the opposite of Best Picture compatriot D.H. Lawrence of Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence was a reluctant and self-conscious man that never wanted to be an icon. Patton conversely wants the heroic spotlight as often as possible (I mean seriously, he fires a revolver at a fighter jet and made Nicholson’s Joker firing at the Batwing look like a pansy) and believes through reincarnation that he has been a warrior through the ages. His arrogance rubs some people the wrong way and he finds himself in the wrong decade when he faces immense fallout after kicking a “coward” out of a military hospital, and Patton’s faults and rude awakening at the changing of the times are the soul of this great film, even if it feels more like a throwback to films of decades past than a film of it’s own time. Even so, I highly recommend you check it out… you bastard.

Patton.  I was very self-conscious on how to say it.  PaTTon, Pa'en (like cockney style), Paddon, I don't know.  It was hard for me.  I'm not going to lie, I also was sick of war movies.  I dislike Oliver! but at least that was a change from all the war movies.  Because of this, it took a while for us to get to this movie.  I simply needed a war break.  This was a very good movie that started with the iconic scene of George Patton standing in front of an American flag, calling people bastards and giving them a memorable pep talk.  So any time you see a pep talk in front of a flag (a humorous looney tunes episode comes to mind), you know where it comes from. Patton also disliked or mistrusted anyone who wasn't american.  He's not a man who enjoys diversity and that leads to his demise.  I'm not sure if I'll watch it again but it was definitely worth viewing once.  

The movie begins without showing the 20th Century Fox logo, or any other indication that the film is starting. At military bases across the U.S., theater owners reported that soldiers in the audience would often stand up and snap to attention when they heard the movie's opening line ("Ten-hut!"), assuming it to be a real call to attention. 

Patton: Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.