Rating: 
Summary: Eh... Kind Of Boring
Review: The French Connection has a great plot, but the car chase is very weak. The French Connection is about a cop, wonderfully played by Gene Hackman, who teams up with a french cop to take down a drug cartel. It has a very good plot that paved the way for one of the best drug related films Traffic and the miniseries Traffik. However, I believe A Clockwork Orange deserved that award. Rent this first, don't expect much from the car chase. Then if you like it, buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Snapshot
Review: This 1971 movie shows the powerful Gene Hackman as the narcotics cop Popeye Doyle. Although he is a central character, I would be hard pressed to say the movie was about him. Instead, the movie covers a particular drug deal that Doyle and his partner come across. You see a seasoned policeman following his hunches and a terrific chase scene.The best part of the movie is that nothing is over-explained. If you are used to having the movie go into detail to show you why a character is angry about life, then you will probably not follow this movie. The script keeps to the snapshot of Doyle's life, but particular scenes will tell you volumes about Popeye Doyle. The writer did not think it was necessary to spend long segments on the background. This is a more intelligent film. I would recommend this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I definitely recommend the "4-star" DVD of this film. I hadn't seen THE FRENCH CONNECTION in years and, after watching it on disc, I felt that it was as fresh and well-done as it was back when it was made. Movies today wish they had the impact this one has. A lean, grainy documentary look, characters that come right off the streets. And all the extras make it that much more compelling (the fact there was really no script going into production and the filming of the famous car chase sequence are as eye-opening as anything I've seen on special edition DVDs).
William Friedkin was definitely at the top of his game with this film and his next film, THE EXORCIST (another outstanding film on a DVD loaded with fascinating extras).
Not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: A Master at the Top of his Game
Review: What a film! The action is incomparable, the chase sequence has never been duplicated, and Freidkin's direction deserved wide praise. Gene Hackman is amazing, and anyone with a penchant for crime drama should own this superb film. Hackman never ceases to surprise, and Scheider makes a terrific supporting character. Want to see geniuses at work? Own this one of a kind classic!
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: This movie is almost as old as I am, and it shows. I just don't have an hour to invest in getting interested in a movie. I just about gave up at the hour mark, but pushed through it. This is just a snoozer of a film. The ending is just ridiculous, there's no tension, Roy's character barely speaks. If not for Hackman this movie wouldn't even be watchable.
Rating:
Summary: For all its acclaim, this film turned me off.
Review: I am well aware of this film's status as a classic, as well as the numerous awards it's gotten. I bought this DVD and decided to give it a try, but within only minutes I was completely turned off. We see Black people get chased, kicked, beaten, and verbally assaulted by white cops. There is not one single African American in this movie with any redeeming qualities, and they all fall victim to Doyle's racist tactics. The drug bust at a Brooklyn nightclub, for example, was absolutely shameful. There's no denying Hackman as a talented actor, but check him out in "The Conversation" instead. As for director Bill Friedkin, "The Exorcist" is far better than this.
Rating:
Summary: My Ideal Movie
Review: In my humble opinion, one of the best movies ever made. The criminal (Fernando Rey) is cooler than either of the cops, there is the obligatory stomach-churning chase sequence, everything feels slightly early-70's not-quite-glues-together and out of focus, the main character is a brown 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark 3 and you have the most overbearing, maniacal, evil-hearted director of the last 50 years (Freikin) presiding over the whole thing. A supremely satisfying movie experience from any angle your heart desires.
There are several other films that surpass French Connection in one way or another, but this film is truly one of the greats. In my opinion there are only a select few movies (Kane, Godfather I, Nashville, Raging Bull, perhaps a few others) that do better than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE.
Review: C'mon people! How fun is it to watch a racist, lewd, borrish, and dumb person beating up people for no (...) reason. As little as possible. All the film does is show two unorthadox sleep in car all night, hold up bars just because there are black people there, and reapeatedly getting the same food as 24 minutes ago. And a point that should go out, THERE IS NO CAR CHASE! Just someone chasing a train! I will end by saying that this trashy film deserved no oscars! BYE!
Rating:
Summary: TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE.
Review: C'mon people! How fun is it to watch a racist, lewd, borrish, and dumb person beating up people for no f-----g reason. As little as possible. All the film does is show two unorthadox sleep in car all night, hold up bars just because there are black people there, and reapeatedly getting the same food as 24 minutes ago. And a point that should go out, THERE IS NO CAR CHASE! Just someone chasing a train! I will end by saying that this trashy film deserved no oscars! BYE!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Product of its time
Review: The FRENCH CONNECTION is a gritty, realistic crime drama. It follows a pair of police detectives (GENE HACKMAN and ROY SCHEIDER) as they look to bust a French Drug Lord. But, this is no buddy film. The characters (especially Hackman's POPEYE DOYLE) are realistically and (coming out with the end of the Vietnam War) cynically. These guys don't play good cop/bad cop to get things done. They are good cop/bad cop. Ironically, Hackman's bad cop is the main character so we see a lot of sensitive and questionable techniques. Today, I find the storyline extremely tight and focused, even simple compared with todays cop dramas. Becuase of hat, it might not be as 'exciting' as expected. The film includes the classic 'car chase' which is loud, quick, dangerous and intelligent but, again, might not be as 'exciting' as stuff that we have seen since. It's nice to see this BEST PICTURE get the complete DVD treatment even if the commentary is less than stellar and teh deleted scenes are best for one thing - deletion. Otherwise it gets a great DVD transfer. This can also be purchased in a box set with its official Sequel, THE FRENCH CONNECTION II. Followed by a couple un-official sequels as well, THE SEVEN-UPS and BADGE 373.
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