French Connection II (1975)

"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseille to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler who eluded him in New York.

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Alexander Jacobs (screenplay), Robert Dillon (screenplay)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Doyle
Fernando Rey	...	Alain Charnier
Bernard Fresson	...	Barthélémy
Philippe Léotard	...	Jacques (as Philippe Leotard)
Ed Lauter	...	General Brian
Charles Millot	...	Miletto
Jean-Pierre Castaldi	...	Raoul (as Jean - Pierre Castaldi)
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	'The Old Lady' / The Old Lady
Samantha Llorens	...	Denise
André Penvern	...	Bartender
Reine Prat	...	Young Girl on the Beach
Raoul Delfosse	...	Dutch Captain
Ham Chau Luong	...	Japanese Captain
Jacques Dynam	...	Inspector Genevoix
Malek Kateb	...	Algerian Chief (as Malek Eddine)

Storyline

New York narcotics detective Popeye Doyle follows the trail of the French connection smuggling ring to France where he teams up with the gendarmes to hunt down the ringleader.

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Plot Keywords:

organized crime | drug traffic | detective | sequel to best picture winner | american abroad | 

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Taglines:

This is the Climax. Gene Hackman continues his Academy Award winning role.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The heroin processing lab was built by the Corsican mafia, and was so realistic that the entire set had to be guarded by French police when it wasn't being used by the film crew. The mafia also advised on the methods used by drug smugglers to get heroin in the US (concealing the drug in freighter weights) and, according to John Frankenheimer, organized the permits for the traffic jam during the chase at the end of the film.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the movie, when Doyle arrives with his suitcases at the dock, a girl in a flowered dress and a boy in a yellow shirt run past him towards his right-hand side. In the next shot, when we see Doyle from the front, the same girl and boy are climbing up on a fence on his left-hand side.

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Quotes

Jimmy Doyle: Jack Daniel's.
French Barkeeper: Jacques qui?
Jimmy Doyle: Jackie, yeah, Jackie Daniel's.
French Barkeeper: ?
Jimmy Doyle: Scotch, right there, El Scotcho.
French Barkeeper: Whisky?
Jimmy Doyle: Here we go.
French Barkeeper: Avec glace? (With ice?)
Jimmy Doyle: Yeah, in a glass.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: MARSEILLES

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Alternate Versions

For the first few showings of the film, it was approximately 8 minutes longer. 20th Century Fox took out a couple of scenes without director John Frankenheimer's consent. One scene involved Doyle and the girl who played beach volleyball. This footage has yet to be found, and was not included on the 2001 DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in Rémy Julienne: 50 ans de cascades (2013)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(uncredited)
(aka "National Anthem of France")
Music by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
Performed by the Band during the money exchange

User Reviews

Unnecessary but still very good sequel.

The masterpiece that "The French Connection" was and still is, never needed a sequel. "The French Connection" and its mysterious ending were fine as it was. "French Connection II" focuses on 'Popeye' Doyle who takes revenge on the drug smuggler Alain Charnier, not in New York this time but Marseille, France. It's unnecessary all but still this movie is a very good one!

Although the visual style is pretty much similar as in "The French Connection" the movie here relies more on a faster pace and also has just a bit more action, thanks to action specialist director John Frankenheimer. The atmosphere however is not as good, simply because Marseille, although it has its charm, simply ain't no New York.

I also really missed 'Cloudy' Russo in this movie. Sure, 'Popeye' Doyle's character is strong enough to carry the entire movie but he just ain't the same without 'Cloudy' by his side.

There are more than enough good moments that make up for these losses, the ending for example is really brilliant and I absolutely loved it!

Once you've seen "The French Connection" this isn't really a must see but nevertheless, it's a very good movie and perfectly watchable.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

21 May 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

French Connection II

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

$4,340,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,484,444

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,484,444

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1