Product: French Connection [VHS] (1971)
Rating: 5.0
The French Connection should disturb all American patriots
The French Connection is among the best films of all time. It easily earned those five major Academy Awards. I personally rate this particular work of Director William Friedkin in the top fifty. Unfortunately, it also has much in common with the infamous racist Birth of a Nation. I hesitate to compare the French Connection to Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi Triumph of the Will, but others might legitimately make this case. In other words, a moral person, after viewing this movie, should come away with a conclusion possibly not intended by its creators. The French Connection, loosely based on a real series of events, was filmed in 1971 when many people naively thought that a victory on the war on drugs was right around the corner. Many excused the disgraceful behavior of "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner "Cloudy" (Roy Schieder) as simply necessary in combatting the international drug cartels. The ground breaking car chase was wildly cheered and few considered whether it made sense for Doyle to risk the lives of innocent citizens in pursuit of the fleeing criminal. In another disturbing scene, the two detectives violate the rights of bar patrons who may not have necessarily been involved in illegal activity. The fact that these folks were Afro-American may be a commentary on the racial attitudes of that period. One does not need to be a political leftist to be appalled by such disgraceful police behavior. The editors of the conservative National Review also decry our nation's ludicrous war on mind altering drug use.There is something that was deliberately left out of the film: the French Connection case accomplished essentially nothing! The seized heroin were soon found missing in the police evidence room. Almost certainly, these drugs were eventually sold on the streets of New York. It is now thirty one years later, and we have yet to realize the foolishness of prohibiting people from choosing to indulge in self destructive activity. Our current laws have only made matters worse. I strongly recommend that you see a few other films devoted to the same theme. Rush, Blow, Traffic, and the most recent Narc, also deserve your time and interest.