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The Connection

  • 19611961
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
930
YOUR RATING
The Connection (1961)
Drama
A director tries to film a group of junkies in Leach's room while they are waiting for Cowboy to bring their heroin connection.A director tries to film a group of junkies in Leach's room while they are waiting for Cowboy to bring their heroin connection.A director tries to film a group of junkies in Leach's room while they are waiting for Cowboy to bring their heroin connection.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
930
YOUR RATING
    • Shirley Clarke
    • Jack Gelber(based on Jack Gelber's play)
  • Stars
    • William Redfield
    • Warren Finnerty
    • Garry Goodrow
    • Shirley Clarke
    • Jack Gelber(based on Jack Gelber's play)
  • Stars
    • William Redfield
    • Warren Finnerty
    • Garry Goodrow
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 16User reviews
    • 30Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

    The Connection (1961)
    Freddie Redd in The Connection (1961)
    The Connection (1961)
    Carl Lee and Barbara Winchester in The Connection (1961)
    William Redfield in The Connection (1961)
    Jim Anderson in The Connection (1961)
    Warren Finnerty and Carl Lee in The Connection (1961)
    Shirley Clarke in The Connection (1961)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Redfield
    William Redfield
    • Jim Dunn
    Warren Finnerty
    Warren Finnerty
    • Leach
    Garry Goodrow
    • Ernie
    Jerome Raphael
    • Solly
    • (as Jerome Raphel)
    Jim Anderson
    • Sam
    • (as James Anderson)
    Carl Lee
    • Cowboy
    Barbara Winchester
    • Sister Salvation
    Henry Proach
    • Harry
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    Roscoe Lee Browne
    • J. J. Burden
    • (as Roscoe Browne)
    Freddie Redd
    • Piano Player
    Jackie McLean
    Jackie McLean
    • Sax Player
    Larry Richie
    • Drummer
    Michael Mattos
    • Bass Player
    Linda Veras
    Linda Veras
    • Siren
    • (uncredited)
      • Shirley Clarke
      • Jack Gelber(based on Jack Gelber's play)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film was held up for release after the Board of Regents of the Motion Picture Division of New York State's Dept. of Education viewed the film and refused to grant it a license to be commercially shown. This was mostly due to the repeated use (seven times) of a four-letter word that rhymes with "hit" and is used as a slang synonym for heroin. The film was judged obscene but opened without a license anyway at the D.W. Griffith Theater on October 3, 1962, only to receive several bad reviews from the major N.Y. film critics. Director Shirley Clarke sued and a month later, the highest court in the state reversed the decision of the Board of Regents. However, the reputation of the film was already damaged and to this day, it has never recouped its original $167,000 budget.
    • Quotes

      Cowboy: Man, I believe anything that's illegal is illegal because it makes more money for more people that way.

    • Connections
      Featured in Cinéastes de notre temps: "Rome brûle" (Portrait de Shirley Clarke) (1970)

    User reviews16

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Staged, grungy, bleak, experimental, and despite it all quite entertaining.
    A remarkably tense and anxious little film about a group of junky musicians "waiting for their man" in a New York flophouse loft. They're joined by a documentary film crew (just a director and a cameraman) whose goal seems to be some sort of cinéma vérité about the life of junky musicians who wait in flophouse lofts.

    After a few introductions, and comical "act natural" type instructions from the documentary director, the characters take turns addressing the camera. They nervously rant, philosophize, and insult each other, interrupted occasionally by improvised jazz from several legitimate musicians in the cast (most notably pianist Freddie Redd and tenor sax player Jackie McLean). The anxiety they feel as they wait for their fix is brilliantly conveyed by both the actors and the director (this time I mean the real director, Shirley Clarke, not the actor portraying the documentary director, got it?)

    Much of this conveyed anxiety comes from the fact that the film is a strange and slightly unsettling mix of stark realism and stage acting (it is a filmed version of a play from the New York theater scene of the day). This is an unusual film and it honestly takes some getting used to, though probably less now taking into account the glut of nauseatingly self-conscious "mockumentaries" and hyper-stylized "reality shows" we are plagued with today.

    The Connection is something different, matching edgy subject matter with edgy film-making the producers were working very much without a net. Consequently some might think it ends in disaster, I think it's a highly interesting experiment that's well worth watching.
    helpful•12
    2
    • Ham_and_Egger
    • Jul 8, 2006

    FAQ1

    • Where Can I Find This?

    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 11, 1996 (France)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Allen-Hodgdon Productions
      • The Connection Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 50 minutes
      • Black and White
      • Color

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