Product: The French Connection I & II (1975)
Rating: 4.0
Good boxed set - but 1 is better.
I dont know that I can offer much more to what has already been said, but to me this boxed set is superb.Another reviewer stated that the picture ,sound and lighting was poor - one assumes that he/she was watching a very worn out VHS copy or his/her equipment was faulty - as both the DVD's in this set are perfect in terms of picture & sound quality.French Connection 1 was,to me,certainly the better of the two and the gritty realism was excellently portrayed. Lets make no bones about it though - Popeye Doyle was not the most likeable hero - although he did seem to get results.The car chase is legendary, but to me, my favourite scene is when the camera is on Alan Charnier eating in a plush restaurant - and then pans through across the street to Popeye Doyle in a shop doorway, in the cold, eating a burger. A masterful piece of cinematography.French Connection 2 was okay,and Gene Hackmans' performance,particularly in the rehab sequence,was absolutely brilliant.But the overall scenario was a bit hard to swallow.First, we are asked to believe that the New York Police have sent Popeye Doyle over to Marseilles to track down a criminal to whom he is known to bear a grudge - on his own - without speaking a word of French - and,knowing that his attitude problems would aggravate the French,in whose country he was in - err, no - that is stretching credulity a bit too far! Because of this, the whole film was downgraded somewhat to pure nonsense.French Connection 1 was believable. French Connection 2 was not.