The French Connection (Widescreen) [2 Discs]: Amazon.ca: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Fr�d�ric de Pasquale, Bill Hickman, Ann Rebbot, Harold Gary, Arlene Farber, Eddie Egan, Andr� Ernotte, William Friedkin, G. David Schine, Kenneth Utt, Philip D'Antoni, Edward M. Keyes, Ernest Tidyman, Howard Hawks, Robin Moore: DVD

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

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William Friedkin's classic policier was propelled to box-office glory, and a fistful of Oscars, in 1972 by its pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking and fashionably cynical attitude toward law enforcement. Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle, a brutally pushy New York City narcotics detective, is a dauntless crime fighter and Vietnam-era "pig," a reckless vulgarian whose antics get innocent people killed. Loosely based upon an actual investigation that led to what was then the biggest heroin seizure in U.S. history, the picture traces the efforts of Doyle and his partner (Roy Scheider) to close the pipeline pumping Middle Eastern smack into the States through the French port of Marseilles. (The actual French Connection cops, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, make cameo appearances.) It was widely recognized at the time that Friedkin had lifted a lot of his high-strung technique from the Costa-Gavras thrillers The Sleeping Car Murders and Z--he even imported one of Costa-Gavras's favorite thugs, Marcel Bozzuffi, to play the Euro-trash hit man plugged by Doyle in an elevated train station. There was an impressive official sequel in 1975, French Connection II, directed by John Frankenheimer, which took Popeye to the south of France and got him hooked on horse. A couple of semi-official spinoffs followed, The Seven-Ups, which elevated Scheider to the leading role, and Badge 373, with Robert Duvall stepping in as the pugnacious flatfoot. --David Chute

Gritty but not Glamorous Jun 23 2009

By Neil Olsen

Format:DVD

You may not like the characters in this movie, but it totally captures the seedy underbelly of New York in the early 70s. Gene Hackman plays the part brilliantly. I didn't actually expect to like this but was hooked from start to finish. Only disappointment was sound quality. Found I had to have the volume way up to properly follow the dialogue. But other than that a classic of early 70s cinema.

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another bore fest masquerading as a movie Oct 25 2007

By falcon TOP 1000 REVIEWER

in my opinion,The French Connection is one long bore.Gene Hackman is a
gifted actor,but even he can't save this mess.William Friedkin has
managed to create a movie in which all of the action scenes(as well as
the rest of the movie)seem slow and boring.and in case you don't know
what the movie is about,here's a brief synopsis the way i saw it.cop
movie with bad dialogue,punctuated by boring action sequences,followed
by more bad dialogue and on and on.the writers should not escape notice
for their part in this disaster,either.i know this movie is considered
a classic,but i don't see it.this is just my view and i'm probably in
the minority,but that's how i saw this movie.i can only give The French
Connection 1/5.

the 4th time viewing got even better experience July 2 2004

By justareader

simply fantastic! the 2nd dvd got lot of significant details about this great movie making. the quality of the dvds are so crispily sharp. very very good viewing experience. gene hackman admitted it set off his career and confessed the difficulties to bring himself into playing the popei role. by viewing his performance only proved that he's one of the greatest modern time actors. think back....almost all of his movies roles were great, no matter how lousy the movies themself was. gene hackman is a national treasure.

Groundbreaking

After two decades of watching squeaky clean LAPD Sergeant Joe Friday on "Dragnet", and decades of Chicago's favorite fed, Elliot Ness on "The Untouchables", and... Read more

Published on Jun 10 2004 by Rocco Dormarunno

A Five Star Package

More than 30 years after its release, "The French Connection" has become one of the signpost cop dramas of American cinema. Read more

Published on Mar 10 2004 by Brian D. Rubendall

non stop action

If you like a gritty, non-stop action movie, you will love what you see here. Popeye, the psycho cop who cares about nothing except getting his prey, was a defining role for... Read more

Published on Jan 30 2004

measure others against this one.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION is hands-down my favorite police movie. Gene Hackman set a standard as Popeye Doyle. This movie is completely satisfying as a thriller. Read more

Published on Dec 3 2003 by W. K. Miller

"Never trust a n$%$er."

William Friedkin is really underrated in terms of direction. This movie, The French Connection, has a great documentary feel to it, and is very realistic. Read more

Published on Oct 13 2003 by Nick Bobraton

4.2 out of 5

Adapted from Robin Moore's fact-based novel, THE FRENCH CONNECTION was the breakthrough film for both direction William Friedkin, who later went on to direct THE EXORCIST, and Gene... Read more

Published on Sep 18 2003 by Tom Benton

Spinach or Omelets?

To a significant extent, this film is based on a real-world situation in which hundreds of law enforcement officials worked for many months to locate and eliminate the connection... Read more

Published on Sep 12 2003 by Robert Morris

The French Connection (Widescreen) [2 Discs]

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