Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

1971's French Connection is sometimes called a groundbreaking film. It shouldn't be. It didn't really break new ground, it just hit the right buttons at the right time with critics and audiences to become successful at the box office and deservedly win several Oscars. It pretty much set in stone the formula for a new kind of buddy-cop picture. It's psuedo documentary and in-your-face film-making style and authentic locations were often duplicated but rarely duplicated with the effectiveness French Connection has.

Bullitt (1968) was the film that popularized the elements of this kind of filmmaking in a modern day setting - -the authentic locations, the 'unclean' protagonist. And both Bullitt and French Connection are known for their chase sequences and were produced by Phillip D'Antoni. But low budget films have explored this territory for many years-- Director Sam Fuller, films by Jack Webb and others throughout the late 1940's, 1950's and early 60's combined the documentary and theatrical film pretty successfully. Webb of course moved the idea to TV. with Dragnet, and the elements of film noir metamorphisized into several films and TV shows. The tone, the idea of an un-clean hero, the authentic locations have been around for a while too and you can see it real clearly in some Anthony Mann Westerns from the 50's.

The French Connection took the true story of the biggest drug bust of its era (1962) and updated it slightly changing the names of those involved. It used authentic locations, tough street slang and language (remember the first major studio film to use the F word was 1970's Mash -- and hey Epinions still hates us using it) were not elements audiences were overly familiar with (as they are now). The relentless in your face narrative perspective is tough and macho. The French Connection does with it's style and acting and direction what a special effects film would later do-- It pounds at the audience without mercy. It's in your face much like Popeye Doyle's style of interrogation. Friedkin maintains the pace relentlessly without apology, without mercy. A lot of films that tread similar territory compromise it's tone and style to make it's central character a little more likeable, a little more redeemable as a hero and person. None of that is done here.

In real life Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso were two narcotics officers who had the impossible job of busting drug dealers. Impossible because the only people they normally caught were the penny ante dealers and the users and the laws were easy for criminals to manipulate. However, Egan and Grosso wound up uncovering the biggest drug smuggling operation ever (in 1962) in the history of the United States when they discovered THE FRENCH CONNECTION. The story was turned into a book by Robin Moore, which became the basis for the film, though director Friedkin never read the book prior to making the movie.

Every major studio rejected the screenplay and film. Who wanted the hassle of dealing with all the controversy a film like this would bring upon who-ever made it? The story doesn't have a tidy happy ending either. Even after Fox gave Friedkin a 1.8 million -dollars budget to make the film with, it was a real struggle to get the film made. Lots of script changes were ordered until a lot of the dialogue was 'borrowed' from the film's technical advisors Egan and Grosso who in the film become Popeye Doyle (Hackman) and Russo (Scheider). (Egan and Grosso have small roles in the film as well). Nobody really wanted Gene Hackman to play Popeye Doyle. No one thought he was right for the part--particularly Friedkin. Of course he wound up convincing everyone just how right he really was and won a very much-deserved best action Oscar for the role.

As the studio first got glances of what Friedkin was doing (in daily rushes), they became very nervous. They thought the film was very well done, but they had no idea how this would play in front of audiences. Remember films like Bonnie and Clyde were huge flops when they were first released.

Most critics embraced the film and became a popular hit, establishing its stars and director's reputations.

The French Connection begins in France when a hit man kills a French Detective coldly and without feeling. At about the same time we meet the manic and somewhat sadistic "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) who chases down a suspect while dressed like Santa Claus and roughs him up to get some information from him. "When's the last time you picked your feet, Willy? Who's your connection Willy?. . . You ever been to Poughkeepsie: Huh? Have you been to Poughkeepsie? "

None of the film will seem as fesh and almost innovative as it once was. Let's face it, there is nothing new about how the officers bend the rules, go on stake-outs and fight with their superiors to get the goods on some drug smugglers, hired hit-men, and crack open the French Connection. It's the acting, directing style and authentic locations that still make it work as well as it does.

The first time I saw this movie I was still living in Poughkeepsie, New York (about 100 miles south of New York City, home to Vassar College, next to Hyde Park, & on the Hudson River) and it made Poughkeepsie seem like a very famous place all of a sudden. If you're a teenager and you live anywhere but in about 5 or 6 cities in the United States chances are you think you are in a place that is way behind New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago in terms of music, hipness, things to do, access to entertainment etc. etc. To have the place where you live mentioned in a film is almost an honor. It makes the place kind of cool to be made famous by a mention in a film. Poughkeepsie wasn't real well known by people who didn't live in New England or didn't read business articles about it's biggest employer -- IBM. In the mid 80's at the height of ED Wood's popularity, a lot of cult film buffs learned Wood lived and worked in Poughkeepsie as a teenager.

(edit) The French Connection is known for that famous car chase, the one where they almost hit the lady and the baby carriage and the rumor was that it was not a staged scene and that the lady and her baby carriage were not supposed to be there and a real tragedy was narrowly avoided. Although that scene is staged... and look in the comment section of this review and you'll see a comment from the actress involved in the stunt, it wasn't done under the kind of meticulous and safe conditions stunts are usually done. Friedkin was under the gun and a bit reckless and during one of the takes where Hackman was actually driving the car there was an unplanned fender bender. It was a pretty irresponsible and dangerous way to film the scene. Everyone was very lucky tragedy was avoided.

The film's highlights in fact are so famous and well known they leave the rest of the film in the shadows. You might also wonder why the car chase is so famous. After all it is not as over-the top as some car chases have been since then. It's an authentic car chase, it's looks and feels real... and in a way it was.

There's a lot of police procedural type scenes in the film. Some of the filmmaking is awkward; some of the street slang and attitudes are dated. The acting by Hackman is at times almost over-the-top and Scheider often seems uncomfortable. Sometimes the film feels very authentic and documentary-like and at other times it seems like a low budget crime thriller. The language doesn't have the same bite and sting it once did.

Yet even though 30 years has passed (and with all the films flaws) it's a film with some powerful memorable sequences. What you most remember about the film still works what you don't remember is a mixed bag that will be interesting for you to re-discover and enjoy.

The French Connection remains a film that is worth seeing. It's an influential, important film and contains one of Gene Hackman's best performances (and he's had many great performances).

Four years later in 1975 The French Connection 2 was made. Popeye Doyle goes to France to try get the goods on the drug ring's leader. It's a film with a far different tone and was directed by John Frankenheimer. The middle section of the film is a fairly detailed and extremely grueling series of scenes detailing how Popeye Doyle gets hooked on Heroin and them must go Cold Turkey to get off of Heroin. There is a DVD package that will include both films. I haven't seen French Connection 2 in a while and don't know what it looks like on DVD, but it's not as entertaining or as interesting a film as The French Connection is. Hackman however is even better in French Connection 2 than he was in the original.

DVD STUFF

The French Connection as presented in anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen, looks outstanding. There's quite a bit of grain, but its clearly part of the source material and adds to the intended look and feel of the film. It's the way the film is intended and meant to look. It's 30 years old and was supposed to look gritty and 'not pretty'. The remarkable difference from previous editions and even theatrical versions of the film I have seen over the years is how the film looks remarkably sharp throughout. You barely see any signs of edge enhancements or pixellation. You might notice the digital compression in some of the film's darkest scenes. The film's visual presentation may not knock your socks off because the film still has an over-all dirty look, the difference is, how clear and sharp that dirty gritty look now is.

They did take the time, money and energy to remaster the film's soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1. Dialogue suffers a bit because the mastering and re-mixing also amplifies some of the original flaws that were recorded in 1971 for the film and to compensate for some of the larger flaws you get that processed sound hollow-ness. The sounds of the city, the gunfire, the sound of cars, the explosions and crashes all have the kind of modern fullness and spark that you rarely get from a 30-year-old film. They don't get to fancy with moving the sound around the room via the speakers and I'm not exactly sure why that is, but there might have technical considerations that prevented them from going over-board in this regard.

The film has never looked or sounded as good as it does on this DVD.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE....

Extra Features:

There are a lot of collectible extras packed on these two discs. The information on the various documentaries and commentaries overlaps quite a bit but there isn't as much repetition as you might think there would have to be. When there is repetition they are told from different perspectives and it makes if even more interesting because of that.

On disc 1 there are two feature commentary tracks.

The feature length commentary track is by director William Friedkin. He has a lot to say about the making of the film and even though he's also extensively interviewed in the documentaries, a surprising amount of information he talks about is unique. He's more interesting over-all on this commentary track than he is say with his commentary on The Exorcist. He is completely focused and engaged in describing some of the character analysis and motivations of the actors and comparing them with the actual adventures of the real life Egan and Grosso. Of course as part of his research for the film Friedkin went along with several police and narcotic operations. Some of the things Friedkin says are still interesting, informative and somewhat disturbing. It's one of the better director commentaries on DVD.

The other commentary included features Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. There were recorded separately and their commentary is actually a long interview where the questions have been edited out. Gene Hackman talks for a little over 25 minutes about how he got the part, how he prepared for the part and some of the stories he recalls about the filming. Then after 30 minutes when there is no commentary at all, we hear Roy Scheider. He shares some stories and talks about how he got his part and prepared for his part. He talks for about 23 minutes in all. His talk begins just past the 55-minute mark of the film.

It would have been helpful for the DVD menu to include an index allowing you to begin the Hackman and Scheider commentaries. Some viewers will be confused and might even assume that Scheider is part of the commentaries at all.

You'll also find the theatrical trailer for the film on disc one.

On Disc 2 is where you will find the longer documentaries.

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle is a BBC produced documentary from 2000. It features interviews with several crew members as well as Friedkin, Hackman, Scheider and Sonny Grosso. Grosso shares some stories about his partner Eddie Egan and then Friedkin explains some of his experiences with Egan and Grosso and riding along with them on some actual narcotics arrests. You might be surprised to learn how he did not want either Hackman or Sheider cast in the roles they play in the film. We are again reminded how lucky everyone was that no one was hurt during the very dangerous car chase sequence in which innocent non-movie extras appeared suddenly and even some civilian cars that weren't suppose to be part of the chase wound up in the film. It was reckless and foolish of the filmmakers to take such chances.

A second 56 minute documentary called Making the Connection: The Untold Stories of the French Connection was produced for the Fox Movie Channel to celebrate the films 30th anniversary. This documentary is more focused on the real stories that were used as a basis for the French Connection. Sonny Grosso narrates the documentary, which interviews a lot of New York City cops and includes archival footage of Eddie "Popeye" Egan (who died several years ago). When the documentary starts to detail the making of the film the documentaries compliment each other without being overly repetitious.

A third extra in the Documentaries section is called William Friedkin Discusses the Deleted Scenes from the French Connection and it's where Friedkin discuss the deleted scenes from the film. The director introduces 7 of the surviving 9 films that were deleted from the films. It's a different way for a director to talk about the deleted scenes, by introducing them rather than as just an audio commentary track.

You might want to note that the deleted scenes are also available simply as deleted scenes without Friedkin's introductions.

There's a still gallery also included on the disc, which is pretty extensive. It's broken into three sections: Behind the Scenes, Unit Photography and Poster. The Behind the Scenes Section contains over 100 photos. The Poster is exactly that -- a shot of the film's original poster.

You also get a repeat from disc 1 of the French Connection trailer and a trailer for The French Connection 2.

WRAP UP

The French Connection is a 30 year crime thriller that won several deserved Oscars. The film has of course dated in several ways, but it remains a film with several memorable and powerful sequences, and first rate performances. The DVD presents the film better than it has ever been seen before and added to the package several excellent extras including two long documentaries And several deleted scenes. If you're a fan of the film, Hackman, crime thrillers or influential 70's movies, this is a must have DVD. Don't miss it.


Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller. For information on Author readings/signings or availability of special autographed editions of the novel email: glasscocoon@hotmail for details. * * * * *

Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above
work is protected by international copyright law.





Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older