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Signature Classic |
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The French Connection Best Picture 1971 1971 | R | Action, Thriller | d. William Friedkin Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco |
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| Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider became household names after their portrayals of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Det. Buddy Russo (based on the real-life NYPD narcotics detectives, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso) in the groundbreaking early seventies thriller, The French Connection. Egan and Grosso both consulted on and appear briefly in the film, which depicts a fictionalized version of the actual French Connection narcotics bust that netted a record amount of heroin at the time of the original case (1961). The first R-rated movie to win Best Picture, The French Connection is acclaimed for its hard-edged realism (Hackman and Scheider spent weeks patrolling with real New York narcotics detectives to get the feel for their roles), its unrelenting pace, and its signature car chase beneath New York’s West End train line, considered by many to be the greatest car chase ever filmed and to have surpassed Steve McQueen’s famous chase scene in Bullitt (1968). Hackman won the Best Actor award for his tough, unglamorous Doyle, a street cop committed to the dogged pursuit of his prey, a high-end heroin smuggler played with perfect arrogance by Fernando Rey. Recently included on the American Film Institute’s list of Greatest Movies of All Time, The French Connection earned a total of five Oscars, set the standard for all cop movies since, and continues to amaze audiences with its taut performances, realistic action and unflinching look at the good and bad of the NYPD narcotics division of forty years ago. - Tom Schmid | ||