The French Connection (1971) (R)
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco
Daddy Says:
1971 was a really good year for cop movies. It was the year Dirty Harry came out, as well as this great film. The French Connection starts off with a bang. The credits and the music come blaring out at you, just to get your attention. Then we're off to France where we see someone tailing someone else, then he gets murdered in a very graphic scene.
Then we're off to Brooklyn, where we're introduced to detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman in a career defining role) and his partner Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider). They're undercover outside a bar waiting for a drug deal to go down: Cloudy pretending to sell hot dogs from a stand, Popeye entertaining the children on the street corner dressed as Santa Claus. This movie is based on an actual police case (the detectives it is based on actually appear in the film as the actor's superior officers), and this was an actual way for the police to catch drug dealers in the act.
We learn many of the ways detectives work. We see the methods they use to follow cars, we see how to properly tail someone who's walking down the street. The film has an almost documentary quality to it. We're right there with the detectives, seeing what they see. But we are also privy to the workings of the criminals: the people they use to cover their crimes, the methods they use to transport their stolen goods.
And then there's the chase scene. If you know anything about this movie without having seen it, you know there's a famous chase scene where Popeye borrows a citizen's car in order to chase after a suspect who has escaped on an elevated train. Popeye drives fast and nearly out-of-control beneath the elevated train tracks, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the train. It doesn't always work out well. It's an amazing feat of editing and cinematography, and some of it was unplanned (the car that slams into Popeye's car was not a stunt driver). If you watch this movie for the chase scene alone, you won't be disappointed.
But there are so many other good parts. The scene where Popeye shakes down a bar filled with African-American drug dealers, for instance, just so he can get some information from his informant who is undercover with them. This same scene was done in reverse in Eddie Murphy's first movie 48 Hrs.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I think it's a classic film from one of history's best decades for movies, and I can't wait to see what my daughter has to say about it below.
Rating for The French Connection: *****.
Daughter Says:
The French Connection was an interesting movie. It wasn't your typical action movie. I won't tell why but it did surprise me in the end. I was on the edge of my seat (so to speak) most of the time.
There were some things that I found wrong with the movie, but over all it was rather good. I found that the movie was just a little out of date for some reason. Technology has taken over so much of the world that when I see an older movie, I find that it's just not as good. There aren't any special effects, so its not good (supposedly), but I don't think that way. Being in art at the moment and wanting to major in it during high school, I just can't tolerate bad coloring; and this movie being old had faded coloring.
Other than that the movie was overall really good (like I said above). I found the script and the actors worked well together. I also was connected to the main character and wanted the good guy to catch the bad guy. (But who doesn't want that?).
Rating for The French Connection: ***1/2.
Directed by William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco
Daddy Says:
1971 was a really good year for cop movies. It was the year Dirty Harry came out, as well as this great film. The French Connection starts off with a bang. The credits and the music come blaring out at you, just to get your attention. Then we're off to France where we see someone tailing someone else, then he gets murdered in a very graphic scene.
Then we're off to Brooklyn, where we're introduced to detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman in a career defining role) and his partner Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider). They're undercover outside a bar waiting for a drug deal to go down: Cloudy pretending to sell hot dogs from a stand, Popeye entertaining the children on the street corner dressed as Santa Claus. This movie is based on an actual police case (the detectives it is based on actually appear in the film as the actor's superior officers), and this was an actual way for the police to catch drug dealers in the act.
We learn many of the ways detectives work. We see the methods they use to follow cars, we see how to properly tail someone who's walking down the street. The film has an almost documentary quality to it. We're right there with the detectives, seeing what they see. But we are also privy to the workings of the criminals: the people they use to cover their crimes, the methods they use to transport their stolen goods.
And then there's the chase scene. If you know anything about this movie without having seen it, you know there's a famous chase scene where Popeye borrows a citizen's car in order to chase after a suspect who has escaped on an elevated train. Popeye drives fast and nearly out-of-control beneath the elevated train tracks, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the train. It doesn't always work out well. It's an amazing feat of editing and cinematography, and some of it was unplanned (the car that slams into Popeye's car was not a stunt driver). If you watch this movie for the chase scene alone, you won't be disappointed.
But there are so many other good parts. The scene where Popeye shakes down a bar filled with African-American drug dealers, for instance, just so he can get some information from his informant who is undercover with them. This same scene was done in reverse in Eddie Murphy's first movie 48 Hrs.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I think it's a classic film from one of history's best decades for movies, and I can't wait to see what my daughter has to say about it below.
Rating for The French Connection: *****.
Daughter Says:
The French Connection was an interesting movie. It wasn't your typical action movie. I won't tell why but it did surprise me in the end. I was on the edge of my seat (so to speak) most of the time.
There were some things that I found wrong with the movie, but over all it was rather good. I found that the movie was just a little out of date for some reason. Technology has taken over so much of the world that when I see an older movie, I find that it's just not as good. There aren't any special effects, so its not good (supposedly), but I don't think that way. Being in art at the moment and wanting to major in it during high school, I just can't tolerate bad coloring; and this movie being old had faded coloring.
Other than that the movie was overall really good (like I said above). I found the script and the actors worked well together. I also was connected to the main character and wanted the good guy to catch the bad guy. (But who doesn't want that?).
Rating for The French Connection: ***1/2.
Finally, something Daddy and I agree on: Gene Hackman in a career defining role. I hate him in this film and every other film he has been (with the exception of Hoosers - LOVED the movie -- Hated Hackman!!). Like all of Hackman's movies, I am so bothered by him, I can't focus on the rest of the movie.
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