The French Connection

 

When The French Connection screeched into theaters in 1971 it set a new bar for cop movies. This tough, gritty movie showed that police thrillers could be tense and exciting, but also surprisingly realistic.

The film revolves around two New York City cops investigating a heroin shipment headed to the United States from France. The film stars Gene Hackman as Detective “Popeye” Doyle and Roy Scheider as his partner, Buddy “Cloudy” Russo. Fernando Rey plays the ringleader of the drug operation.

What makes the movie so effective is the way that it fuses the realism of the characters with the tense, streetwise action of the plot. Director William Friedkin is also able to make the action feel The french connection left over real because he pays attention to detail. He uses a lot of low-key camera work and he doesn't overuse music. The tense stringy score by Don Ellis is important to the movie, but for the most part Friedkin lets the scenes work with their own background noise. This is a smart choice because it builds on the film's pre-established mood of realism.

During the chase scene at the end of the movie, the French Connection truly earns its reputation as one of the greatest car chases in cinematic history. It's not just that the scene is fast and furious, it's that the chase seems to be happening right there in front of you. That's because Friedkin had created a world of realism that made the outrageously over-the-top stunt seem plausible.

While this kind of realism wasn't new for Hollywood at the time, The French Connection was unique in how intensely it depicted corruption and sleaze on the streets. It is the kind of movie that some viewers today will find offensive because it is so unrelentingly sleazy. Still, it's important because it shows how far a modern movie can go in bringing true realism to a genre that had often been faked or exaggerated on screen.

The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture in a year that also saw classics like A Clockwork Orange and The Last Picture Show take top honors. The French Connection also won an Oscar for Best Director for William Friedkin, who was only 32 at the time. It was the youngest winner in that category at the time.

This CD features the original soundtrack to the movie and includes a bonus track of Ellis' score for the 1975 sequel, French Connection II. It is a terrific example of 1970s crime scoring, fitting snugly alongside the cutting edge work by Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin and Quincy Jones. All of this helps to explain why The French Connection is a true classic that stands the test of time. It is definitely a must-see movie for any fan of either classics or contemporary action. So grab your copy of the french connection hello and check it out for yourself! You won't be disappointed. Then, once you've seen it, tell us what you think in the comments below.