Rent French Connection (1971)

Brilliant & Important Crime Thriller - French Connection review by GI

America's cinematic New Wave that began in the 1970s is never more obvious than in the presentation of the classic crime thriller. A more gritty realism was evident in the mid to late 60s in films like Bullitt (1968) for example and this realism developed especially with the depiction of violence especially. Director William Friedkin took the genre one step further with The French Connection, making a European arthouse style police procedural thriller, almost looking and feeling like a documentary and loosely based on real events and showing the squalid and seedy side of police work. There are no police heroes here, indeed quite the contrary. Set in New York (with a sideline in France) this follows two narcotics detectives as they stumble upon a drug trafficking case that, for one of them, becomes an obsession. The police here are depicted with their cynicism, general racism, casual oppressive use of violence and as deeply flawed in character and personality. Gene Hackman plays Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle, a dedicated but unpleasant cop and Roy Scheider is Buddy, his partner. Doyle's whole life is around his work and his reluctance to go home sees them inadvertently come across Sal (Tony Lo Bianco) and discover by hours of tedious surveillance his arrangement to buy a large consignment of heroin from Charnier (Fernando Rey), a suave French businessman and clever criminal. The film set new boundaries in its open depiction of drug use and the the use of violence by the police. It's a gripping story that shows the routines of police surveillance with a tough and realistic chase sequence in the centre of the film. This film effectively changed the face of crime cinema and opened the door for such films as Dirty Harry (1971) and Serpico (1973) to follow. It's one of the great American films of the 70s, with it's sinister music soundtrack, enigmatic final ending and gutsy action. A modern masterpiece of cinema.