When Twentieth Century-Fox released this gritty police thriller in 1971, it made a big splash both commercially and critically. Based on the real story of two New York City detectives who busted a major heroin smuggling operation, The French Connection spawned the cliche of the tough, street-wise cop, and launched both the careers of stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.
Its reputation for toughness and realism has only grown over the years, and it's still a great movie. Unlike most of its cop film predecessors, which offered a bleak view of police work and corruption, The French Connection is more effective at creating a feeling of immediacy and urgency. That's partly because it cuts out a lot of the usual foreshadowing and repetition of exposition that you're used to seeing in most cop movies. The script is more akin to a documentary in its approach to the material, and it requires audience members to pay close attention to the material.
The movie's street realism also owes something to Gillo Pontocorvo's The Battle of Algiers and Costa-Gavras' Z, which both used documentary realism as a way to assert their authenticity. The film also benefits from a pair of excellent technical advisors, who provide input on the realistic camerawork and editing. The French Connection's cat-and-mouse sequences are impressive for the amazing choreography of movement and camerawork involved in them. The chase sequence where Popeye and Buddy elude their suspect by running around a seedy backlot tour while the criminals pretend to window shop is particularly notable.
Lastly, the movie's ambiguous ending makes it one of the best and most interesting cop movies ever. This gives the film a more complex and honest feel than many other police stories, which tend to offer up happy endings and gloss over the fact that the crook is usually going to get away. Ultimately, the film also points out the wastefulness of the War on Drugs, which hadn't even been declared when The French Connection was made.
The Blu-ray version of the film is packed with extras, including an audio commentary by Friedkin and a video interview with the officers who inspired the movie. There's also an extensive documentary on the making of the film, which includes interviews with Hackman and Scheider, as well as photos and excerpts from the book that the movie was based upon. Owen Roizman's cinematography looks better than ever, and the new lossless transfer also makes the film look more vibrant and detailed. Don Ellis's
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