Rating: R
Genre:
Crime
Release Date: 02/24/2009
Run Time: 103 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Substance Abuse (Alcohol, Drugs)
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
This gritty, fast-paced, and innovative
police drama earned five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (written by
Ernest Tidyman), and Best Actor (
Gene Hackman).
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (
Hackman) and his partner,
Buddy Russo (
Roy Scheider), are New York City police detectives on narcotics detail, trying to track down the source of heroin from Europe into the United States. Suave
Alain Charnier (
Fernando Rey) is the French drug kingpin who provides a large percentage of New York City's dope, and
Pierre Nicoli (
Marcel Bozzuffi) is a hired killer and
Charnier's right-hand man. Acting on a hunch,
Popeye and
Buddy start tailing
Sal Boca (
Tony Lo Bianco) and his wife,
Angie (
Arlene Faber), who live pretty high for a couple whose corner store brings in about 7,000 dollars a year. It turns out
Popeye's suspicions are right --
Sal and
Angie are the New York agents for
Charnier, who will be smuggling 32 million dollars' worth of heroin into the city in a car shipped over from France.
The French Connection broke plenty of new ground for screen
thrillers;
Popeye Doyle was a highly unusual "hero," an often violent, racist, and mean-spirited cop whose dedication to his job fell just short of dangerous obsession. The film's high point, a high-speed car chase with
Popeye tailing an elevated train, was one of the most viscerally exciting screen moments of its day and set the stage for dozens of action sequences to follow. And the film's grimy realism (and downbeat ending) was a big change from the buff-and-shine gloss and good-guys-always-win heroics of most
police dramas that preceded it.
The French Connection was inspired by a true story, and
Eddie Egan and
Sonny Grosso,
Popeye and
Buddy's real life counterparts, both have small roles in the film. A sequel followed four years later.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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