Product: French Connection [VHS] (1971)
Rating: 4.0
Hackman/Scheider take on drug traffickers
The French Connection is a great police thriller from 1971 with great performances from its cast and a realistic feel to the whole thing. Connection follows New York narcotics officers Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo as they try and track down several men involved with a drug deal that will bring in as much as $32 million dollars. As sure as Popeye is that something is going to happen, his superiors don't believe him. This is a gritty, no-nonsense cop thriller that has aged pretty well since 1971. Always well known for the car/train chase with Hackman speeding along under the L train, Connection belongs up there with Bullitt and the Dirty Harry movies as one of the best cop movies ever. Don't miss this classic or its sequel which is almost as good.In the performance that won him the Oscar, Gene Hackman plays Popeye Doyle, the obsessed narcotics officer who will stop at nothing to bring his man in. Doyle is not a likable character, and this is part of what makes this movie more enjoyable because nothing is straightforward, everything is open for interpretation. Fernando Rey is perfectly slimy as Alain Charnier, the organizer of the drug deal that will bring in $32 million. Roy Scheider is excellent in a supporting role as Buddy Russo, Popeye's partner on the case. The movie also stars Tony Lo Bianco and Marcel Bozzuffi, two men involved with Charnier. The Five Star Collection DVD features a ton of worthwhile features. Disc One features the movie in widescreen presentation, two commentary tracks, and a trailer. Disc Two offers two making of documentaries, both very good, deleted scenes, director William Friedkin talks about those scenes, and a still gallery. The DVD is a must have for fans of the movie. For an exciting, tense and very realistic cop thriller, check out Gene Hackman in The French Connection!