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Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi ... see more see more... , Frederic de Pasquale , Irving Abrahams , William Coke , Eddie Egan , Andre Emotte , Arlene Faber , Al Fann , Harold Gary , Sonny Grosso , Bill Hickman , Ben Marino , Patrick McDermott , Maureen Mooney , Ann Rebbot , The Three Degrees , Alan Weeks , Robert Weil , Randy Jurgensen

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 "Pope... read more read more...ye" 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

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86% liked it

39,376 ratings

Critics

98% liked it

47 critics

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: William Friedkin

Release Date: October 9, 1971

Keywords: action, cop

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DVD Release Date: September 25, 2001

Stats: 2,296 reviews

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The French Connection The French Connection The French Connection Roy Schneider in The French Connection Gene Hackman in The French Connection Roy Scheider as " Det. Buddy Russo " & Gene Hackman " Popeye Doyle " Roy Scheider in The French Connection Roy Scheider & Gene Hackman Gene Hackman William Friedkin Gene Hackman in The French Connection William Friedkin in discussion with Gene Hackman ( as, Det. Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle ) and Fernando Rey ( as, Alain Charnier ). shooting down a fucker
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Flixster Reviews (2,296)

  • FiLmCrAzY
    May 21, 2012
    FiLmCrAzY
    A classic crime drama that has a great cast and great performances from Gene Hackman, the comedy or liners from this movie are funny and it is a good car scene chase that is realistic but certainly not a favourite movie that id watch over and over! Its good but not that good. The... read more story just seem to float in and out of a story and just didnt have much going on! It is retro so the shootouts where you see people shot are going to be laughable but it isnt that great of a movie to make me say i thoroughly enjoy it !
  • FilmFanatik
    February 26, 2012
    FilmFanatik
    What can one say about the brilliance of William Friedkin's masterpiece The French Connection that hasn't already been said? It's a fantastic cop drama, in the style of later TV shows like Homicide: Life on the Street, but it's also incredibly well-made and dripping with young di... read morerector angst. I love Gene Hackman in this film. He is so detestable. He's hard-nosed, racist and just flat out unredeemable, but yet you love this guy and wanna see him get the bad guys. Roy Scheider is also fantastic as his partner, but it's Gene Hackman who really steals the show here. This film also belongs to what I refer to as the Holy Friedkin Trilogy, which is The French Connection, The Exorcist and Sorcerer, which were made pretty much all in a row. They're all masterpieces, and even though he went on to make the fantastic To Live and Die in L.A., it's these three films that really make me respect him as a director. And this is a film I never tire of.
  • lewiskendell
    February 10, 2012
    lewiskendell
    The 70's churned out hard-boiled cop thrillers by the fistful, but The French Connection is one of those that is still worth watching today.
  • rayman0071
    October 12, 2011
    rayman0071
    Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle. What more can I say? No wonder its one of AFI's top 100 movies of all time and the result was five Oscars including Best Picture,Best Adapted Screenplay,and Best Actor of 1971. This was the movie that cemented Gene Hackman's career as one of the grea... read moret action stars of the 1970's. This gritty hard-boiled crime thriller remains to this day one of the great cop dramas of the 1970's.
    Even after 40 years,its still holds up to the title. The coolest car chase in screen history through the mean streets of Brooklyn is one of cinema's all-time great car chase sequences.
    This movie became one of the top-ten highest grossing films of 1971,and it was so successful for 20th Century-Fox,that in 1975 had a sequel "French Connection II",and a spin-off which was another hard-boiled cop thriller of the early 1970's "The Seven-Ups",that came out in 1973.
  • fb100001581602053
    October 2, 2011
    fb100001581602053
    If The French Connection isn't the coolest film ever made, then it's definitely in the top 5.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 15, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The French Connection is by far one of the best action films of the 1970's. A tense action thrill ride from start to finish, two cops Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Gackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) a are oin the hunt of a drug smuggling operation where French drug dealers seek... read more to import 32 million dollars worth of heroin. The French Connection is a tense action packed film with a phenomenal casst that deliver great performances. Director William Friedkin crafts a solid film that remains a classic. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider really have good chemistry here, and they play their parts very well. Both actors are perfect for the roles they played. The French Connection is a well constructed film with plenty of drama and action. This is a memorable film, and is one that is superbly filmed and directed. This is one of the best action / cop dramas that I've seen from this era since Steve McQueen 's Bullit. What makes this film work so well is the blend of suspense, action and drama rolled into one film. The French Connection is a solid film and if you haven't seen it, and enjoy old action films, then pick this one up. The French Connection is an epic film that is a definite classic of action/ cop genre. The film is perfectly executed to thrill the audience, and what you have here with this film, is a film that delivers a solid plot with solid acting and it delivers something truly memorable.
  • mjgildea
    June 13, 2011
    mjgildea
    The French Connection is possibly the greatest crime drama ever. The performances are as gritty as the cinematography and Don Ellis' score made me feel like I was going to get killed at any moment. The French Connection feels like a police ride along where your safety isn't guara... read morenteed. This documentary styled tale of obsession almost is completely void of character development and for some reason is better for it. The car chase is the crowning jewel of The French Connection and makes Steve McQueen's chase in Bullitt look like a foot race to the bus stop.
  • stevenecarrier
    March 25, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    "The French Connection" is a well crafted, influential cop film. While it didn't hold me in it's grip for most of the runtime, I can certainly see how it would have mass appeal. In fact, it was more interesting for me to trace it's influences across film history than sit through ... read morethe film a second time. "The French Connection" was one of the films in the 1970s that ushered in American New Wave, delivering gritty, realistic cinema verite camera work in a mainstream Hollywood picture. I also loved that while the story was based off true incidents, it's still a completely fictional narrative. That was something totally new for the time, a film that bad one leg in reality and the other in fantasy- yet it was all delivered to audiences with a sort of documentary feel. William Friedkin paved the way with his film and it's effects have been far reaching. But in the end, "The French Connection" just didn't do it for me as a film. While I enjoyed watching the actors and the craft of the filmmakers, the story was simply not as engaging for me as I would have liked it to be. But that's just me and clearly "The French Connection" is a noble classic that still has pull today.
  • axadntpron
    February 19, 2011
    axadntpron
    Morally ambivalent cops, one of the finest chase scenes in movie history, and a jaw dropping ending are the highlights of this film. This coupled with the Exorcist make you wonder why the hell the rest of the Billy Freidkin canon is full of duds.
  • ajv2688
    December 22, 2010
    ajv2688
    This was a cool police detective drama/action movie. I really liked it, the story is great, and the actors are great too. If you like 70s police movies, you'll love it.

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Critic Reviews

Jay Cocks
February 20, 2009
Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine

A knockout police thriller with so much jarring excitement that it almost calls for comic-book expletives. POW! ZOWIE! Full Review

Robert B. Frederick
February 19, 2008
Robert B. Frederick, Variety

Producer Philip D'Antoni and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman have added enough fictional flesh to provide director William Friedkin and his overall topnotch cast with plenty of material, and they make the... Full Review

J. Hoberman
August 28, 2007
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Popeye also earned counterculture points by mistakenly shooting a federal agent and exhibiting a conspicuous lack of remorse. Full Review

Dave Kehr
December 13, 2006
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

This 1971 thriller about a heroin bust is solid, slick filmmaking, full of dirty cops, shrewd operators, and slam-bang action. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The French Connection is as amoral as its hero, as violent, as obsessed and as frightening. Full Review

Roger Greenspun
May 21, 2003
Roger Greenspun, New York Times

It moves at magnificent speed, and exhausts itself in movement. Full Review

Andrew Collins
February 13, 2012
Andrew Collins, Empire Magazine

Hard as nail crime saga with a blistering central performance. Full Review

Budd Wilkins
September 11, 2011
Budd Wilkins, Slant Magazine

Four decades after its initial release, William Friedkin's Oscar-sweeper The French Connection remains an electrifying achievement. Full Review

Gabe Leibowitz
February 14, 2010
Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

Exciting cinema that's not to be missed by those in search of a fast-paced, well-crafted thriller. Full Review

Dragan Antulov
December 15, 2009
Dragan Antulov, Draxblog Movie Reviews

well-acted, well-written and brilliantly directed film that could be recommended even to those viewers with little interest in history of cinema Full Review

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    • Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: When's the last time you picked your feet, Willy? Who's your connection, Willy? What's his name? I've got a man in Poughkeepsie who wants to talk to you. You ever been to Poughkeepsie?
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The French Connection Trivia

  • This 1971 movie was the first R-rated film to win the Academy award for best picture since the introduction of the MPAA rating system. The film revolves around the smuggling of narcotics between Marseilles, France and New York City. What movie was this?  Answer »
  • Which movie WON Best Picture at the 1971 Oscars?  Answer »
  • Which actor has starred in The French Connection, The Runaway Jury, and Enemy of the State?  Answer »
  • The "Poughkeepsie Shuffle" features in which crime thriller?   Answer »
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