"I can recognize an obsession, no good will come of it." -- Nikola Tesla, "The Prestige"

"That sonofabitch is here, I saw him. I'm gonna get him." -- Popeye Doyle

Yes, the car chase is still THAT good. Hackman and Scheider too.

Not a fan of Gene Hackman, find him to be massively overrated. Compensates for his lack of acting ability by overacting his way through the film. Never seems to have much of a range. Plays practically the same character in every film he's been in. Not a popular view, possibly sacrilege, but it's not for changing.

One of the best chase sequences ever.

Fast paced action, smart script, stellar acting, one hell of a thrill ride.

It is hard not appreciate how remarkable this film would have been back in 1971. In fact, even today the chase feels very intense and suspenseful and is impeccably edited and brilliantly executed.

Not a fan of Gene Hackman, find him to be massively overrated. Compensates for his lack of acting ability by overacting his way through the film. Never seems to have much of a range. Plays practically the same character in every film he's been in. Not a popular view, possibly sacrilege, but it's not for changing.

Gene Hackman upholds his ultimate badass status as Jimmy Doyle in The French Connection. Doyle is the bad cop and his partner Buddy Russo, played by Roy Scheider, is the good cop. Doyle often uses his natural instinct and acts on hunches rather than evidence. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. In this particular film he has a particular hunch about a certain man and it ends up being correct as he uncovers a huge drug conspiracy.

The French Connection is a good movie. It's an old movie but doesn't feel dated. It uses a lot of action movie conventions we see today. Setting up wire taps, tailing suspects, car chases, shootouts. It's well written and an enjoyable time. The only issue I had with the film is that it seemed to have ended rather abruptly.

Really cool movie. It's a fairly standard crime/detective story (for the most part), but what really sets it apart is its incredibly 'realistic' cinematography. It's shot entirely on location with very few adjustments made to the sets, it's almost all handheld camerawork, there's a particular affinity for zooming in and out within the same shot to reveal different parts - it's very documentary-ish, which is interesting. Great characters, too, fantastic casting.

The poster scene, the highlight of the film and the exciting moments; all untail after the epic car chase. That is what is amazing about this film. That and it felt like a 1970's Departed. This true story is depicted in a clinical and upfront way. The story is natural and chronologically unfolding. Its very good, very good. I just found it little unengageing, not all the time. Maybe it was me, but i loved the story but not the characters making me appreciate it lots but not engage with the protagonist at all. But apart from that clever and a great true story.

Time and repitition has diminished the impact of The French Connection and where once the freshness papered over the cracks the lack of characterization and plot are exposed now. Still, it's pretty compelling viewing. There isn't so much a plot here as there is a series of scenes of Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider following people. Thankfully these scenes are very well executed, the best of which is a game of cat and mouse between Hackman and Fernando Rey which proves to be both tense and comedic. Hackman and Scheider work well together and manage to create engaging characters out of frankly very little on the page. Friedkin's pseudo-documentary style is both effective and rough. He would later refined it and use it to even greater effect in The Exorcist.

These gritty 70s crime movies like Dirty Harry and The Taking of Pelham 123 generally aren't my cup of tea, and I struggled to get into this early on plot and character wise - the performances are great, but not that much is done with them. It gets better, and its generally pretty well executed, with some great sequences which despite the occasional failing in spatial and temporal logic (for example before THE chase, the sniper on the roof is running away - cut to Doyle teleporting down 4 flights of stairs and the bad guy is no further ahead) really impress. Its a really great looking film and the ending is pitch perfect. A technically great movie that excels in most elements.

William Friedkin's 'To Live And Die In L.A.' is my favourite film ever. So why then have I only just caught up with 'The French Connection'? Good question. There are certainly similarities between the films. Both gritty depictions of the cities in which they are set. Both feature a relentless pursuit to catch the bad guys. Both contain show stopping car chases. Both are great films. 'The French Connection' could not quite reach 5 star status but I'm so glad to finally have caught up with it.

Hey France, you better check yourself before bringing your weak criminal bullshit to the USA.