The French Connection [Blu-ray]

Director: William Friedkin William Friedkin

Overview

This gritty, fast-paced, and innovative police drama earned five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (written by Ernest Tidyman), and Best Actor (Gene Hackman). Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Hackman) and his partner, Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), are New York City police detectives on narcotics detail, trying to track down the source of heroin from Europe into the United States. Suave Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is the French drug kingpin who provides a large percentage of New York City's dope, and Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi) is a hired killer and Charnier's right-hand man. Acting on a hunch, Popeye and Buddy start tailing Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) and his wife, Angie (Arlene Faber), who live pretty high for a couple whose corner store brings in about 7,000 dollars a year. It turns out Popeye's suspicions are right -- Sal and Angie are the New York agents for Charnier, who will be smuggling 32 million dollars' worth of heroin into the city in a car shipped over from France. The French Connection broke plenty of new ground for screen thrillers; Popeye Doyle was a highly unusual "hero," an often violent, racist, and mean-spirited cop whose dedication to his job fell just short of dangerous obsession. The film's high point, a high-speed car chase with Popeye tailing an elevated train, was one of the most viscerally exciting screen moments of its day and set the stage for dozens of action sequences to follow. And the film's grimy realism (and downbeat ending) was a big change from the buff-and-shine gloss and good-guys-always-win heroics of most police dramas that preceded it. The French Connection was inspired by a true story, and Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, Popeye and Buddy's real life counterparts, both have small roles in the film. A sequel followed four years later.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/06/2012
UPC:	0024543793144
Original Release:	1971
Rating:	R
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	3,068

Special Features

Commentary by director William Friedkin Commentary by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider Isolated score Track Trivia track Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director William Friedkin Anatomy of a chase Hackman on Doyle Friedkin and Grosso remember the real French Connection Scene of the crime Cop jazz: the music of Don Ellis Rogue cop: the Noir connection Making the Connection: the untold stories of the French Connection

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gene Hackman	Jimmy `Popeye' Doyle
Fernando Rey	Charnier
Roy Scheider	Russo
Marcel Bozzuffi	Nicoli
Tony Lo Bianco	Boca
Eddie Egan	Simonson
Bill Hickman	Mulderig
Ann Rebbot	Marie Charnier
Harold Gary	Joel
Arlene Farber	Angie
Sonny Grosso	Klein
Andre Ernotte	La Valle,Actor
Patrick McDermott	Chemist
Alan Weeks	Drug Pusher
Ben Marino	Lou Boca,Lou Boca
Al Fann	Undercover Agent
Maureen Mooney	Bicycle Girl
Robert Weil	Auctioneer
Frédéric de Pasquale	Devereaux
Irving Abrahams	Police Mechanic
Randy Jurgensen	Police Sergeant
William Coke	Motorman
Frank Adonis	Bidder at New York Car Auction
Gilda Albertoni	Uncredited
Robert Dahdah	Man
Sarina C. Grant	Hooker on the Street
Joe Lo Grippo	Tollbooth Collector
Melonie Haller	Schoolgirl
Eric Jones	Little Boy
Charles McGregor	Baldy
Lora Mitchell	Woman with Baby Carriage
Silvano Nolemi	Dock Worker
Burt Richards	Auction Bidder
Andre Emotte	La Valle
Fat Thomas	Mutchie
Arlene Faber	Angie Boca
Don Ellis	Conductor,Composer

Technical Credits

Ernest Tidyman

William Friedkin	Director
Ernest Tidyman	Screenwriter
Sass Bedig	Special Effects
Philip D'Antoni	Producer
Bill Hickman	Stunts
G. David Schine	Executive Producer,Producer
Christopher Newman	Sound/Sound Designer,Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Theodore Soderberg	Sound/Sound Designer
Sonny Grosso	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Five Academy Awards (including one for Best Picture) went to this critical and commercial smash from 1971-- a tense, action-packed melodrama whose gritty, uncompromising realism raised the bar for police dramas and continues to influence them even today. Based on the real-life attempts by NYPD detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso to bust an international heroin-smuggling ring, The French Connection highlighted dependable character actors Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider as the top cops -- and its success made stars of them both. Hackman's Oscar-winning turn as Egan's fictional counterpart, the gruff and profane "Popeye" Doyle, remains one of the actor's most dynamic and best-remembered portrayals; his character's single-minded pursuit of French drug lord Fernando Rey still enthralls viewers. Doyle's crusade culminates in the film's unforgettable action set-piece -- a perilous car chase beneath one of New York's elevated trains that earned editor Jerry Greenberg a well-deserved Oscar for his split-second splicing. Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist), shooting on location, never lets his dedication to verisimilitude overshadow his storytelling sense, which is why The French Connection remains perhaps the most gripping urban cop thriller to date. The DVD sports scene-specific commentaries from Hackman and Scheider, and a full-length commentary from Friedkin; other extras include two documentaries (covering both the film's production and the real French Connection case), seven deleted scenes, trailers, and a photo gallery.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

The French Connection became the blueprint for many action films that followed and, as such, is regarded among the most influential films of its era. Oscar winner Gene Hackman plays the prototype psycho cop, overly dedicated to results even when it means disregarding public safety and common sense. His partner (Roy Scheider) is the good cop counterpart, and they are constantly at war with each other, with the bad guys, or, more commonly, both. Unlike Lethal Weapon and other films it influenced, The French Connection has more street realism and a generally unhappy ending. The dialogue is intelligent, and the film features one of the most riveting automobile chase scenes of its era, rivaled only by the legendary stunt work in Vanishing Point. Overall, the film captured five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (William Friedkin).

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam