sol- Two American police officers try to track a shipment of drugs from France in this iconic crime thriller directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman. The film was a big box office success in its day, showcasing chase sequences as rarely seen before, and with frequently mobile cinematography from Owen Roizman, including well- used hand-held shots, the film is definitely technically adept. Indeed, at the best of times, 'The French Connection' is a thrilling ride, but unfortunately this is not very often - and a second viewing does little to improve things. All of the chase sequences are certainly exciting (and one where Fernando Rey gets on and off a train repeatedly is even quite funny), however, the pacing of the film slows down to a near halt in between the action scenes. The story is fairly decent, involving police surveillance and on-the-spot ingenuity, however, the characters are never particularly likable, or even fleshed out in any depth beyond being painted as relentless cops, and Hackman's Best Actor Oscar win remains one of the oddest of all time (the film also inexplicably won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay over 'The Last Picture Show' that year). Simply put, without characters that are remarkable or interesting to follow around, the film falls rather flat in its non-action scenes. Fortunately, there is a lot of action here, including foot as well as car chases, but given how many other films about hardened cops have come out in the years since, it is challenging to fathom just how popular this film was in its day.

SimonJack "The French Connection" is a gritty, harsh film that looks at the underworld of drug dealing and efforts of the law to bring down the big narcotics dealers. This is an intense film that tries to show the real world of the drug scene in New York City. The R rating is serious, and many adults may find this film unsettling. It is a good film as a study of the subject, based on a book about two real New York police detectives in the 1960s. But it clearly is not entertainment. The screenplay has been fictionalized. The performances across the board are excellent. This film won five Oscars, including four of the five top honors. It won best picture for 1972, and William Freiedkin won as best director. Gene Hackman walked away with the best actor Oscar and Ernest Tidyman scored for the best writing of a screenplay based on another source. Only the best actress of the top five awards was missing – and that because there wasn't a major female role in the film. "The French Connection" also was the first R-rated movie, since the MPAA ratings began in November 1968, to win a best picture Oscar. As of this writing (January 2017), every best picture Oscar winner—except one, since 2004 has been an R-rated film. "The French Connection" also ushered in an era of new crime films. They deal more with the gritty, seedy and often crude operations involving the underworld and law and order. Some quick ones on the heels of this film were "The Godfather" in 1972, "Serpico" in 1973," The French Connection II" in 1975, and on through "Scarface" of 1983 and to the present day.These are far from family films, and many adults may not like them. I don't know that one would consider this film entertainment, but it is interesting. I watch such films occasionally because they show a side of a real world that most people don't otherwise see or know. They are disturbing, and that should be a good sign for viewers who don't want such a culture to flourish.

Paulo Meireles Neto I thought I would see an intelligent movie with great actors about a dense scheme that deeply concerned the authorities, considering the score and fame here in IMDb. 5 Oscars? That was a little too much. Well, it is just a badly directed movie from start to end with poor ideas... And the scenes are poorly edited as well. Lousy. Completely lousy.They could have made a complex and brilliant movie about the scheme as a whole, featuring dense characters. However, they chose to make a tom & jerry kinda of movie with a simplistic approach - dumb cops chasing even dumber criminals. I only gave score 2 because I enjoyed Fernando Rey's performance even though his character was completely shallow. I don't recommend you to read what was the real scheme or you will get even more frustrated due to the fact that it wasn't just a French crime boss walking around as a lone wolf desperately trying to sell 60 Kg of cocaine in less than a week. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Connection

PimpinAinttEasy Dear William Friedkin, The French Connection was a really gritty crime drama with the cops and drug sellers playing hide and seek in the backdrop of New York. Gene Hackman is tough and menacing as the alcoholic and lecherous cop. Roy Scheider's sober cop is a perfect foil and sidekick for Hackman's Popeye. Fernado Rey's high life as a sophisticated drug supplier is placed parallel to the low life of the two cops but their stories do intersect once in a while. The film looked a lot like a documentary. The visuals were stark and moody and there was hardly any light in many of the scenes. The editing was best described by you yourself, William. You said as an audience, you never knew what the next cut was going to be. The first running chase and Hackman's car chase of his potential assassin were both thrilling. Anurag Kashyap overdid it in Black Friday. This is my third favorite film directed by you, after The Exorcist and The Sorcerer. Best Regards, Pimpin. (8/10)