The French Connection (1971)

A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (screenplay by), Robin Moore (based on the book by)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey

Won 5 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Jimmy Doyle
Fernando Rey	...	Alain Charnier
Roy Scheider	...	Buddy Russo
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Sal Boca
Marcel Bozzuffi	...	Pierre Nicoli
Frédéric de Pasquale	...	Devereaux (as Frederic De Pasquale)
Bill Hickman	...	Mulderig
Ann Rebbot	...	Marie Charnier
Harold Gary	...	Weinstock
Arlene Farber	...	Angie Boca
Eddie Egan	...	Simonson
André Ernotte	...	La Valle (as Andre Ernotte)
Sonny Grosso	...	Klein
Benny Marino	...	Lou Boca
Patrick McDermott	...	Chemist (as Pat McDermott)

Storyline

William Friedkin's gritty police drama portrays two tough New York City cops trying to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. An interesting contrast is established between 'Popeye' Doyle, a short-tempered alcoholic bigot who is nevertheless a hard-working and dedicated police officer, and his nemesis Alain Charnier, a suave and urbane gentleman who is nevertheless a criminal and one of the largest drug suppliers of pure heroin to North America. During the surveillance and eventual bust, Friedkin provides one of the most gripping and memorable car chase sequences ever filmed.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on true story | triggerman | heroin | smuggling | new york city | 

---

Taglines:

A $32,000,000 chase turns into the American thriller of the year!

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two trains crashing was achieved by using camera movement and trick photography, as the production didn't get permission to actually crash two elevated trains.

---

Goofs

It is never explained exactly why Sal drives the Lincoln Continental packed with millions of dollars worth of heroin from the garage and parked it on the street where it could be vandalized, as it almost was.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: Merry Christmas. What's your name, little boy?
Little Boy: Eric.
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: Uh-huh, Eric. What do you want for Christmas Eric? Hmmm?

---

Crazy Credits

The 20th-Century Fox logo fades in in black and white and then dissolves to color.

---

Alternate Versions

A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround remix was created for the 2001 2-disc Special Edition DVD from Fox Home Entertainment. Aside from creating stereo effects from the original mono elements, all the gunshots were replaced with more contemporary sound effects.

---

Connections

Referenced in Jacob's Ladder (1990)

---

Soundtracks

Again
(uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman
[Played on piano at the restaurant where Charnier and Nicoli dine]

User Reviews

Classic thriller with an excellent Gene Hackman with an Oscar winning performance

This famous movie concerns on ¨Popeye Doyle¨(Gene Hackman)an unorthodox narcotics undercover police following the Marsella French connection about a smuggling ring connected with a New York crook (Tony LoBianco).He teams up with cop Buddy Russo, ¨Cloudy¨(Roy Scheider)following the trail to hunt down the ringleader named Alain Charnier(Fernando Rey), a suave gentleman but astute baddie, and his hoodlum(Marcel Bozzuffi).

In this highly rated film there are noisy action, suspense, thriller, violence and is extremely entertaining.Gene Hackman as the rebel and nonconformist Popeye is magnificent,he won a deserved Academy Award .His nemesis, Fernando Rey as the drug smuggler, plays perfectly his role as the cunning and elegant villain. Furthermore a splendid support cast as Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Marcel Bozuffi, among others. The film contains one of the best car chases ever shot with another prize for the editor( Greenberg) and one of the most gripping pursuits between Popeye Doyle and Alain Charnier. Aproppiate and realistic cinematography by Owen Roizman, Friedkin's usual cameraman(The Exorcist) and adequate music score by Don Ellis. Interesting screenplay by Ernest Tidyman , an expert writer about thrillers and action movies( Shaft). This is a great film, professionally directed by William Friedkin and so is its sequel ¨French connection II ¨ by John Frankenheimer and again with Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey. Rating : Above average and well worth seeing but is an authentic classic movie.

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Studios [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

9 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doyle

Filming Locations:

Château d'If, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$51,700,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$51,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Philip D'Antoni Productions, Schine-Moore Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1