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.