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Rated: R
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, et al.
Director: William Friedkin Review
William Friedkin's classic policier was propelled to box-office glory, and
a fistful of Oscars, in 1972 by its pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking and
fashionably cynical attitude toward law enforcement. Gene Hackman's Popeye
Doyle, a brutally pushy New York City narcotics detective, is a dauntless
crime fighter and Vietnam-era "pig," a reckless vulgarian whose antics get
innocent people killed. Loosely based upon an actual investigation that
led to what was then the biggest heroin seizure in U.S. history, the
picture traces the efforts of Doyle and his partner (Roy Scheider) to
close the pipeline pumping Middle Eastern smack into the States through
the French port of Marseilles. (The actual French Connection cops, Eddie
Egan and Sonny Grosso, make cameo appearances.) It was widely recognized
at the time that Friedkin had lifted a lot of his high-strung technique
from the Costa-Gavras thrillers The Sleeping Car Murders and Z--he even
imported one of Costa-Gavras's favorite thugs, Marcel Bozzuffi, to play
the Euro-trash hit man plugged by Doyle in an elevated train station.
There was an impressive official sequel in 1975, French Connection II,
directed by John Frankenheimer, which took Popeye to the south of France
and got him hooked on horse. A couple of semi-official spinoffs followed,
The Seven-Ups, which elevated Scheider to the leading role, and Badge 373,
with Robert Duvall stepping in as the pugnacious flatfoot. --David Chute
----------- Not only is The French
Connection the movie that became a model for such films in later years, it
still stands out from the rest for its blistering true-to-life screenplay
and powerful performances by the leads. Hackman as Doyle is gritty and
urgent, exuding bulldog tenacity and robust charm. Scheider is fantastic,
his deadpan, streetwise humor the perfect foil to Hackman's
hot-under-the-collar performance. Fernando Rey shines as the clever
"importer" whose fine wardrobe and luxurious tastes provide a stark
contrast to the tired and frustrated cops tailing him. Don't expect the
film to compete in action thrills with some of the films made today
(except for the much-vaunted car chase scene); do know that it stands head
and shoulders above most of them with top-notch writing and top-level
acting.
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