French Connection Collection

Gene Hackman

Roy Scheider

Fernando Rey

Tony Lo Bianco

Marcel Bozzuffi

Frédéric de Pasquale

Bill Hickman

Ann Rebbot

Harold Gary

Arlene Farber

Eddie Egan

André Ernotte

Sonny Grosso

Benny Marino

Patrick McDermott

Alan Weeks

Al Fann

Irving Abrahams

Randy Jurgensen

William Coke

Charles McGregor

William Friedkin

Edward Garzero

Owen Roizman

Ben Kasazkow

Ernest Tidyman

Gerald B. Greenberg

Philip D'Antoni

Irving Buchman

Kenneth Utt

William C. Gerrity

G. David Schine

Nicholas Sgarro

Joseph Fretwell III

Terence A. Donnelly

Sass Bedig

Robin Moore

Paul Ganapoler

Theodore Soderberg

Chris Newman

Robert Weiner

Jerry Summers

Joe Pronto

Alex Stevens

Harry Daley

Cliff Cudney

George Fisher

Fred J. Lincoln

Carey Loftin

Joe Finnegan

Hal Needham

Robert Ward

Don Ellis

Norman Gay

Fat Thomas

William Ward

Enrique Bravo

Thomas Wright

Joseph W. Dehn

Florence Foy

Action

Crime

Thriller

The French Connection

D'Antoni Productions

Schine-Moore Productions

20th Century Fox

United States of America

CinemaSerf

Though he's not top-billed here, I found it's Fernando Rey who delivers best in this brutal and authentic-looking story of trans-Atlantic drug smuggling. Popeye (Gene Hackman) and his pal Russo (Roy Scheider) are detectives in New York determined to bring down a network of cocaine importers who are bringing the lucrative white powder in from Marseille. They suspect that it's Charnier (Rey) who is masterminding the whole enterprise, but they can't pin anything down on him. He hides in plain sight, clad in cashmere with a distinctive hat and dining in fine establishments - but always beyond their grasp. He almost teases the increasingly frustrated policemen who stray ever closer to the line as they try to apprehend him. Will either of them ever crack? Hackman is on great form as the exasperated cop and the drip-roast effect of the plot development from director William Friedkin makes that even more potent, especially when coupled with the flagrant nonchalance of his quarry, with a powerful score from Don Ellis and one of the best city car chases you'll ever see on a big screen. Scheider does enough, and there are also quite a few effective supporting contributions from the likes of Ann Rebbot as Mme. Charnier and from the odious henchman "Nicoli" (Marcel Bozzuffi). Gradually we are exposed to the ruthlessness of both sides as the stakes become higher, life becomes cheap, and the denouement again offers us a degree of palpable realism as no simple or convenient solutions are provided. It's a quickly paced and gritty representation of life amidst a culture of addiction, dependency and quite a fair degree of innovation that's still as strong today as it was in 1971.

English

Français

Working with Gene Hackman

Casting the Film

Everything is Cinema

The Look and the Score

Permits and the Car Chase

The French Connection Wins Film Editing: 1972 Oscars

Trailer

The French Connection Wins Best Picture | 44th Oscars (1972)

William Friedkin ‪Wins Best Directing | 44th Oscars (1972)

The French Connection Wins Adapted Screenplay: 1972 Oscars

William Friedkin On The Car Chase In THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Gene Hackman Wins Best Actor: 1972 Oscars

William Friedkin on Casting Fernando Ray In THE FRENCH CONNECTION

William Friedkin on the Car Chase Scene In THE FRENCH CONNECTION