Product: French Connection [VHS] (1971)
Rating: 5.0
Cinematic Masterpiece
A fresh-faced Gene Hackman picked up one of this movie's five Oscars way back in 1971. As with music, this movie is evidence if any is needed, that good art doesn't grow old and this crime drama is one of the most influential movies of a decade that was choc-a-bloc with good American cinema.Hackman plays a ruthless and unscrupulous New York cop "Popeye" Doyle, who's out to bust a drugs ring operating between France and the United States. Doyle's partner Buddy Russo, is ably played by Roy Scheider and the chemistry between the gung-ho Doyle and the more circumspect Russo is something to see. Doyle was apparently based on a real-life detective, Eddie Egan, who, with his partner Sonny Grosso, seized $32 million worth of heroin in 1961. A record at the time.The language is colourful, as one would expect perhaps from a movie of that era, (not least when Doyle is squeezing the African American brothers for information) and there is violence. The movie is shot on location in New York City, Marseille and Washington D.C. and the urban landscapes gives that added realistic and gritty edge to the proceedings. We get to see the mundane and non-glamorous side of real police work.This is a classic cat and mouse chase between the good and bad guys and Fernando Rey plays the part of the smooth Frenchman Alain Charnier, perfectly. This is a five star classic crime caper, without a doubt. A genuine urban thriller.Loads of extras on this special edition DVD, including a documentary called "Making The Connection: The Untold Stories of The French Connection", deleted scenes, a featurette with director William Friedkin discussin the deleted scenes and still galleries.