The French Connection Hello
In 1971, William Friedkin made the defining film of his career with a neo-noir thriller about a pair of New York cops on the hunt for wealthy heroin traffickers. It paved the way for Dirty Harry and The Exorcist two years later, but there’s something uniquely shrewd about Friedkin’s mix of realism and dynamism: he could stage a white-knuckle caper for a mainstream audience while making it seem raw and uncommercial.
This movie is a real indictment of the ways in which those who have money win out over those who don’t, and that’s something that’s pretty hard to argue with. Thankfully, it’s also one of the most entertaining movies of all time.
If you’re not familiar with The French Connection, the plot is simple: NYPD detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) are in pursuit of a wealthy heroin smuggler named Alain Charnier. The film is based on a true story, and was inspired by the work of Narcotics Detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso during their investigations into the French Connection drug ring in the 1960s.
It also stars Fernando Rey and Tony LoBianco, and was adapted from Robin Moore’s 1969 book of the same name. In addition to being a well-made movie, it was the first neo-noir to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
The movie is filmed in black and white, with the only color being the red lights that are used to illuminate the cars during the nighttime scenes. This method is similar to the technique used by Taxi Driver five years later, and is a clear influence on cinema in general.
Despite the fact that The French Connection has been remastered, the print still shows signs of damage with plenty of grain and dirt present throughout most of the movie. While this can sometimes be distracting in certain scenes, it is still an impressive quality for such a old movie.
When I watched it for the first time, The french connection fact or fiction I was blown away by how good it looked. In the beginning scenes there is plenty of grit and dirt showing up on the print, but after that it shows some real depth and clarity.
The French Connection is a must see for anyone interested in film noir or modern crime dramas. It also shows the influence of the New Hollywood movement, as it is presented without glamour and in gritty and realistic settings.
There are lots of great scenes in this movie, including the car chase that is arguably the greatest sequence in film history. The action is brutal and physical, as Friedkin calibrates the action to maximum visceral effect.
This was a huge influence on the way in which we look at films today, particularly in terms of camerawork and lighting. The car shots in The French Connection are incredibly rugged and the faces of the actors are not overly hyped or lit up, so it really makes you feel like you’re watching the real thing.
