The French Connection [Collector's Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

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, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: THX
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Scene specifiec commentary by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider
  • Director's commentary by William Friedkin
  • Original theatrical trailer
  • "Making the Connection: The Untold Stories" - behind the scenes documentary
  • "Poughkeepsie Shuffle" BBC documentary
  • Deleted scenes documentary hosted by William Friedkin (contains 7 deleted scenes)
  • Still gallery
  • Trailers (The French Connection & French Connection II

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actor - 1971 (Gene Hackman)
•     Won Best Adapted Screenplay - 1971 (Ernest Tidyman)
•     Won Best Director - 1971 (William Friedkin)
•     Won Best Editing - 1971 (Jerry Greenberg)
•     Won Best Picture - 1971 (Phil D'Antoni)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1971 (Owen Roizman)
•     Nominated Best Sound - 1971 (Chris Newman, Theodore Soderberg)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1971 (Roy Scheider)

• American Film Institute

•     Won 100 Greatest American Movies - 1998

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Actor - 1972 (Gene Hackman)
•     Won Best Editing - 1972 (Jerry Greenberg)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1972 (William Friedkin)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Won Best Director - 1971 (William Friedkin)

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards

•     Won Best Screenplay - 1971 (Ernest Tidyman)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Director - 1971 (William Friedkin)
•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1971 (Gene Hackman)
•     Won Best Picture - Drama - 1971
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1971 (Ernest Tidyman)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Actor - 1971 (Gene Hackman)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1971

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Actor - 1971 (Gene Hackman)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Gene Hackman - Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle
       Fernando Rey - Alain Charnier
       Roy Scheider - Buddy Russo
       Tony Lo Bianco - Sal Boca
       Marcel Bozzuffi - Pierre Nicoli
       Frederic de Pasquale - Devereaux
       Bill Hickman - Mulderig
       Randy Jurgensen - Police Sergeant
       Eddie Egan - Walter Simonson
       Maureen Mooney - Bicycle Girl
       Al Fann - Informant
       Robert Weil - Auctioneer
       Patrick McDermott - Chemist
       Arlene Faber - Angie Boca
       Irving Abrahams - Police Mechanic
       Sonny Grosso - Klein
       Alan Weeks - Drug Pusher
       William Coke - Motorman
       Ben Marino - Lou Boca
       Andre Emotte - La Valle
       Ann Rebbot - Marie Charnier
       Harold Gary - Weinstock
       The Three Degrees - Themselves

• Director:

  William Friedkin

• Producer:

  Phil D'Antoni

• Book Author:

  Robin Moore

• Screenwriter:

  Ernest Tidyman

• Cinematographer:

  Owen Roizman

• Composer (Music Score):

  Don Ellis

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Don Ellis

• Editor:

  Jerry Greenberg

• Art Director:

  Ben Kasazkow

• Associate Producer:

  Kenneth Utt

• Executive Producer:

  G. David Schine

• Set Designer:

  Ed Garzero

• Costume Designer:

  Joseph Fretwell

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Chris Newman, Theodore Soderberg

• Makeup:

  Irving Buchman

• Special Effects:

  Sonny Grosso, Sass Bedig

• First Assistant Director:

  Phil D'Antoni, William C. Gerrity, Terry Donnelly

• Stunts:

  Bill Hickman

• Conductor:

  Don Ellis

REVIEW:

• The French Connection became the blueprint for many action films that followed and, as such, is regarded among the most influential films of its era. Oscar winner Gene Hackman plays the prototype psycho cop, overly dedicated to results even when it means disregarding public safety and common sense. His partner (Roy Scheider) is the good cop counterpart, and they are constantly at war with each other, with the bad guys, or, more commonly, both. Unlike Lethal Weapon and other films it influenced, The French Connection has more street realism and a generally unhappy ending. The dialogue is intelligent, and the film features one of the most riveting automobile chase scenes of its era, rivaled only by the legendary stunt work in Vanishing Point. Overall, the film captured five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (William Friedkin). ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi