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Summary: Spinach or Omelets?
Review: 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 between the source of heroin in France and its underworld contacts in the United States. As examined in Robin Moore's book, 112 pounds of heroin (with a then street value of about $90-million) were scheduled to arrived in the United States. Narcotics detectives Eddie ("Popeye") Egan and Sonny Grosso completed a lengthy investigation to learn who, when, where, how, etc. In the film, Hackman plays re-named Jimmy ("Popeye") Doyle and Roy Scheider plays his re-named partner Buddy Russo. (Both Eddie Eagan and Sonny Grosso have small parts in the film.) Other variations from the book are relatively insignificant. The situation remains essentially the same. The film carefully follows the extended and tedious period of surveillance which reveals the NYC source; preparations are then completed in anticipation of the shipment's arrival; finally, the connection is consummated and....Under William Friedkin's brilliant direction (which resulted in an Academy Award for him), this film weaves several separate but related plot threads, both within and beyond the United States, which involve criminal activities in meticulous coordination with efforts by law enforcement officials to respond to them. I was fascinated by the juxtaposition of elegance and luxury in affluent (albeit criminal) society with the squalor and decay of the world within which the heroin will ultimately be distributed. I was also fascinated by the style and temperament of Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) who supervises the shipment in striking contrast with his principal adversary, Doyle, who resembles an enraged bear wearing ill-fitting hand-me-down men's clothing. (FYI, Hackman received an Academy Award for his performance.) Doyle becomes obsessed with destroying the French connection, no matter what. This is most evident during a car chase through the streets of New York which remains the most harrowing ever included in a film. (Even better than the car chase in Bullitt three years earlier? Yes.) All of the acting is outstanding as are the cinematography and editing. The Academy Award for best film was one of five received and each was well-deserved. It is probably impossible to measure accurately the nature and extent of this film's impact on subsequent films as well as on programs produced for television. Seeing it again recently, I was again struck by the fact that it has lost none of its "edge" and that Hackman's performance has even more power now than it did in 1971.
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Summary: "The Tuminaro Case"
Review: The Tuminaro Case. That is what the law enforcement community calls "the French Connection" case of 1968. Two rough-and-tumble NYPD Narcotics detectives named Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso stumbled on a heroin-smuggling ring which spanned the Atlantic and linked the New York Mafia with a French mob operating out of Marsailles, which, if you are not familiar with it, is a great port city in the Mediterranean famous for, among other things, being a stop on the great heroin pipeline between Turkey, Siciily, Corsica, Continental Europe, and the Big Apple. This discovery was the birth of the understanding that the heroin trade was big international business, being conducted on a breathtaking scale, and the efforts of local cops and a few federal agents to stop it by busting junkies and street dealers was as ludicrous as handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
In the end, somewhere between 100 - 300 kilos of pure heroin were seized, the ring was smashed, two cops sprung to fame by making the big case ("Went through The Door", in NYPD Narc lexicon), and the soon-to-be legendary NYPD Special Investigations Unit was created. But at what cost, and to what end? This is what the film version of "The French Connection" examines, changing the names of the players (to Popeye Doyle, played by the great Gene Hackman, and Cloudy Russo, played by the criminally underrated Roy Schieder, respectively) but leaving the basic facts of the story intact. Very few movies have attempted to show the methodology and mind-set of Narc detectives without either glamorizing them or apologizing for them; "TFC" does neither. Doyle is a truly disgusting human being, but a [darn] good cop. He has the ego, the spleen, the recklessness, and the obsessive won't-let-go mentality of a pit bull, which more or less typefied the Narcs of the pre-Knapp Comission years. If you want a cop like Doyle off your case, you pretty much have to kill him. And if you try, don't miss. The SIU, an elite branch of the Narcotics Division, was born during this investigation. No police unit in history probably bagged more hard drugs, busted more big-name dealers, or wrought such havoc with the drug trade in the Big Apple. On the other hand, no police unit in history ever broke so many laws doing it:
the tactics used by Doyle and Russo in "TFC" became standard procedure for the SIU: Illegal wiretaps. Shakedowns. Theft of money. Distribution of heroin to informants. Perjury. Extortion. Entrapment. You name it, they did it, and operated with virtually no supervision for about ten years before another famous cop, Bob Leuici, who got his own movie ("Prince of the City") brought down the house by exposing its inherent corruption. About seventy detectives served in SUI and of them, more than fifty ended up being indicted, and most went to prison. A number killed themselves. In a moment of true irony, several SIU detectives were fingered in the theft of 300 pounds of heroin from the police evidence lockup. The heroin in question was the evidence seized by Egan and Grosso in the Tuminaro Case. So in the end, it was largely for nothing. The H hit the street anyway. I read some review of this film which question its morality, its supposed affirmantion of the 'war on drugs' and even liken "Connection" to the Nazi propiganda film "Triumph of the Will" because it seems to endorse the ends-justifying-tactics of Doyle and Russo. These people are missing the point entirely. The French Connection is not politicized fiction, like "Blow." It is a real case, the detectives were real people, and these were the real methods they used to crack it. The scene where Hackman chases his would-be assassin all across New York, endangering the lives of about 100 people in the process, says more than any dialogue could about his personality. In other words, this movie isn't about the drug trade, it's about the cops who fight it.
"TFC" is NOT an endorsement of the war on drugs; it simply lays out what happened here in a dramatized fashion. Like all great movies, it does not tell the viewer what to think but allows him/her to come to his own conclusion. And by the way, the movie most certainly DOES imply that the drug war, or at least this particular battle in it, was futile. The 'what happened to them' blurbs at the end of the film demonstrate this in no uncertain terms. Looking back I see this is not a proper review of the film but more of a rant. ... I'm through venting. Sorry. I'll make up for it with this: "The French Connection" is a great crime drama, brilliantly acted, superbly directed, and deserves every bit of its reputation as one of the greatest films of all time. I'm going to buy it on DVD today.
Rating:
Summary: if i had thumbs i'd raise em
Review: this is one of the few movies that escaped alive from the 70's rut, i still think the decade was a waste. but this movie keeps a good hold on the story and doesn't let go. obviously styles and stuff "you!" "talkin to me baby?" but if your a true fan of film it shouldn't bother you.
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Summary: My personal favorite
Review: I just can't get enough of this movie. The first time I watched this I was plain dazed. It all made sense to me. I've seen it four times since. I want the movie poster.
The car chase is the best ever, I think better than the one in 'Bullitt.' You must see it to believe it. I think this movie made me crazy.
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Summary: A film involving the French which is good..
Review: This is a really enjoyable film thats relativly discreet (at times) in what it portrays i've watched it a number of times since buying the DVD and have enjoyed it every time i have seen it so far so what more can i say if you want a good well plotted film then this is one at the top of the scale.
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Summary: If you like this film you will love the DVD
Review: This DVD is a great collection of film and features that make it worth buying a DVD player. While you may and seen the movie over and over again, the documentaries that come with the DVD are thrilling as well. One feature lets you listening to the voice over of the director who talks about how he did the scenes while you watches the film. After listening to him, you understand much better all the details included in the film. The second CD has a BBC and a special docu about the background of the movie. I find it very interesting how careful the interviews with various participants of the film making (producer, director, actors) were cutted. The director Fridkin is a outgoing, very direct character while Hackham is just the opposite of what he played in the film. These docus proof that this was indeed a milestone in filmmaking.
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Summary: Where did Gene get that great hat?
Review: Ooooooooh those Frenchie are at it again. You can smell the hairy ladies armpits in this film as a cop notices a huge drug operation happening right under his nose! First time I saw this film was on the History channel since the film is based on true characters and a true story and it was right into the car chasing the subway train. I was locked and never blinked watching this unbelievable chase. I found the title out now I have a copy and I love this movie more. It is a good crime story but I suggest getting the sequel collectors box set which is just two movies if you don't like being put into a state of total inconclusion! The movie is good overall and after all these years even a nunce like me can watch it and enjoy it.
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Summary: Popeye Doyle Makes The Show
Review: Voted as one of the top 10 films of all time, this DVD does not disappoint. Plenty of extra features, including some interesting film that did not make it into the final version, plus the great flick make this a must buy for serious film buffs. Hackman is perfect in the role, yet interestingly, according to the documentary, really struggled with some of the raw toughness that makes his performance so wonderful. Scheider is the perfect partner and Fernando Rey plays an excellent Frenchman.
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Summary: Amazing score
Review: Typical Don Ellis genius. Worth watching it for the music.
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Summary: Innovative Crime Drama Set the Stage For Many to Come
Review: Along with the less-gritty, fashionably crafted "Bullitt," "The French Connection" set the stage for many crime dramas that followed, and epitomized the genre of the brutal detective story.
A slightly fabricated account of a true drug bust made by real-life New York City narcotics officers Eddie "Popeye" Egan and "Sonny" Grosso in the early 60s, "The French Connection" stars Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle, a gruff cop who hates drug pushers with a passion, paired with his loyal, sensible partner Cloudy Russo (Roy Scheider in one of two breakthrough roles landed in 1970). After a "hunch," the two ruthless narcotics officers tail a greaser (Tony Lo Bianco) whom they find is connected to a big-time drug broker (Harold Gary). Soon, Popeye and Cloudy have stumbled onto what appears to be an imported heroin deal headed by French gentleman-brute Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), dubbed Frog One. The plot unfolds to reveal a complicated conspiracy to smuggle 120 pounds of heroin into New York City from France. Once Popeye grabs the case, he doesn't let go, even at the discouragement of his boss (played by the real-life Popeye Egan), all leading to a vigorous and relentless investigation.
"The French Connection" is brilliantly directed by the then-great William Friedkin (he won the Best Director Oscar), using a unique 'induced-documentary' style that captures the seedy underbelly of New York City, and the real-life story itself. The flawless improvised dialogue is what makes the film so real, topped off by the gritty Oscar-winning performance of Hackman, aided faithfully by nominee Scheider. The movie is one of the most realistic, genuinely engaging crime dramas ever made, capturing the tension among the officers in the beareau, and sheer passion and frustration of the 'good guys,' obsessed with getting their man. Though "The French Connection" seems heavily fictionalized when compared to the real case, it remains as real as a crime drama can get...despite a gripping pure-Hollywood car chase that sent the film over-budget.
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