“The French Connection”

Movie Review

Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey feature in Willaim Friedkin's 1971 American neo-noir crime action thriller The French Connection. Based on Robin Moore's book of the same name from 1969, Ernest Tidyman wrote the screenplay. It relates the tale of fictional New York City Police Department investigators Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, who were based on Narcotics Detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, who are on the hunt for wealthy French heroin importer Alain Charnier, played by Fernando Rey.

A police officer in Marseille is investigating Alain Charnier, the head of a sizable heroin trafficking organization. The policeman is slain by Charnier's hitman, Pierre Nicoli. Henri Devereaux, a television celebrity who is sailing to New York, is Charnier's unwitting acquaintance who he hopes to use to conceal $32 million worth of heroin into the United States. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, two detectives from New York City, go out for cocktails at the Copacabana. Salvatore "Sal" Boca and his young wife Angie are observed by Popeye entertaining drug-dealing gangster guests. They follow the pair and discover a connection between the Bocas and lawyer Joel Weinstock, a significant buyer in the drug trade. Popeye finds out that there will be a sizable supply of heroin in two weeks. The investigators persuade their boss to wiretap the Bocas' phones. Mulderig and Klein, two federal agents, join Popeye and Cloudy.

The car driven by Devereaux arrives in New York City. Weinstock, who is aware that they are being watched, recommends patience while Boca is eager to complete the buy. After realizing he is, Charnier "makes" Popeye and flees at Grand Central Station on a departing subway shuttle. He arranges for Boca to meet him in Washington, D.C., where Boca requests a delay to evade the police in order to shake his tail. Charnier is impatient and needs to get the deal done right away. Nicoli offers to assassinate Popeye on the flight return to New York City, but Charnier declines since he knows that Popeye will be replaced by another police officer. Nicoli persists, however, saying they will be back in France before a replacement is assigned. Soon after, Nicoli makes an unsuccessful effort to shoot Popeye. When Nicoli boards an elevated train, Popeye pursues him. Popeye commands a police officer on the train to halt Nicoli before seizing a passenger vehicle. He pursues, hitting numerous cars unintentionally along the way.

As Nicoli realized he was being pursued, he forced his way through the carriages, shot a police officer who attempted to stop him, and held the motorman at gunpoint. The train conductor is shot as he is made to drive through the following station without turning. When an emergency trackside brake engages, the assassin is forcibly thrown to the ground as the motorman passes out and they are poised to crash into a stopped train. When Popeye finally shows around, the killer has already descended from the platform. As Nicoli spots Popeye, he turns to flee but is fatally shot. Following a protracted stakeout, Popeye seizes Devereaux's Lincoln. He and his squad disassemble the car piece by piece in a police garage in search of the drugs, but they appear to come up empty-handed. Cloudy then points out that the car's shipment weight is 120 pounds more than its stated manufacturer's weight, proving that the illegal substance must still be inside. Inside the rocker panels, more investigation reveals heroin bundles. The cops put the vehicle back together and give it to Devereaux, who gives it to Charnier.

To meet Weinstock and deliver the medications, Charnier makes a drive to an abandoned factory on Wards Island. After Weinstock's chemist checks one of the bags and verifies its quality, Charnier removes the rocker panel coverings. In a different car he bought at a junk car sale, Charnier removes the drugs and hides the money inside the rocker panels. He then drives the car back to France. After Charnier and Sal leave Lincoln, they encounter a roadblock with a sizable police presence led by Popeye. When the police pursue Lincoln back to the plant, Boca is shot and killed in a gunfight, and the majority of the other crooks give themselves up. Popeye and Cloudy are pursuing Charnier as he flees into a neighboring warehouse. Mulderig is killed when Popeye opens fire on a mysterious person in the distance after failing to heed a warning. Unfazed, Popeye assures Cloudy that Charnier will be captured. Popeye runs into another room after reloading his weapon, and a single gunshot can be heard.

The outcomes of several characters are described on title cards: Angie Boca received a suspended sentence for an unspecified misdemeanor; Lou Boca obtained a reduced term; Devereaux served four years in a federal prison for conspiracy; and Charnier was never found. Weinstock was indicted, but his case was dismissed for "lack of appropriate evidence." Popeye and Cloudy were reassigned and moved out of the drug division.

The movie received eight nominations for the 44th Academy Awards, winning five of them, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Hackman, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Scheider, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound Mixing. For his screenplay, Tidyman also got a Writers Guild of America Award, a Golden Globe Award nomination, and an Edgar Award.

The French Connection, which is frequently regarded as one of the best movies ever created, was included in the American Film Institute's 1998 and 2007 lists of the best American movies. The movie was chosen by the Library of Congress in 2005 for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry because it was "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."

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