The French Connection
Directed by William Friedkin
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
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The French Connection Ratings & Reviews
- ርልዪረMarch 14, 2025If there was ever a film that would be amongst the handful of films that I would deem as my all-time favorite film one of them would be undoubtedly "The French Connection." Winner of 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Gene Hackman, this film tells a true to life story about a drug shipment from the French town of Marseilles to New York and we watch a documentary inspired crime drama centered around Detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy Russo who try to bring down this drug narcotics ring in their own way. On a shoestring budget of just $1.8 million, William Friedkin delivers an intense and visceral cop thriller that never hits the brakes in its storytelling as it starts off very methodical and focused and slowly builds to the crescendo of a car chase which is amongst the best chases of all-time with "Bullitt" and "Diva" and has inspired countless other car chases after it due to how much it doesn't feel like a standard Hollywood action scene and has the energy of a real live police pursuit. Hackman's performance as Popeye is truly remarkable as he had to go deep to pull this type of character out of him considering his real life pacifist demeanor, and we get a cop who is clearly a bigot and racist by all means but someone so obsessed with catching French drug lord Alain Charmier that no amount of obstacles will stop him his overzealous approach and Roy Scheider's Buddy provides the perfect partner as their chemistry captures the bromance between two guys who have been partners in this field for some time. Doyle presents a man who has at best been able to shake down low-level criminals with nickel and dime bags which is why he is so hellbent on this drug bust as it would actually feel like a triumphant win for the NYPD, but as the film progresses we get a sense that this is only a pipe dream which makes the final moments hit hard as the bad guy seemingly gets away and we watch as Popeye is still is pursuit despite it clearly being over, only further clarified by the closing credits that wrap up the fates of everyone involved. Truly a landmark masterpiece and one of the best films of the 70s, the crime genre, and one of the most important pictures in cinema history.
- ZokkiieMarch 13, 2026One of those older crime films that still feels surprisingly sharp and modern. The whole thing has a rough, unpolished vibe that makes it way more believable than most movies in the genre. The acting is fantastic — Gene Hackman especially brings this messy, obsessive energy that makes every scene interesting. The direction is tight, the street-level atmosphere is perfect, and it never feels overproduced. Even decades later it still hits hard and feels influential in a lot of ways. Easy to see why people still talk about it.
- tellumSeptember 28, 2025This move was clearly very influential for decades to come and you can see pieces of it in many future crime dramas. However it does suffer from being dated and the premise has been executed vastly better. This is best watched by people who specifically are fans of 70s movies, but for this kind of story I feel like The Wire improves upon it to the point of invalidating the movie. But the car chase is really cool so there is that.
- Kevin WardJuly 2, 2025Had watched a couple Friedkin movies recently and decided it’s a good time to cross The French Connection off my Shame List. It’s actually a really good pairing with Cruising as it’s another excellent police drama. Gene Hackman plays detective Popeye Doyle attempting to snuff out and intercept a large heroine shipment. Desperate to save his career, Doyle pulls all the stops and ethics out the window to get the win he needs. What works best about the film is that in essence it’s just one long chase sequence. It’s a riveting film really impressive filmmaking. Well worth seeing if you haven’t seen it.
The French Connection Trivia
The French Connection was released on October 9, 1971.
The French Connection was directed by William Friedkin.
The French Connection has a runtime of 1h 44m.
The French Connection was produced by Philip D'Antoni.
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
The key characters in The French Connection are Jimmy Doyle (Gene Hackman), Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey).
The French Connection is rated R.
The French Connection is an Action, Crime, Thriller film.
The French Connection has an audience rating of 8.7 out of 10.
The French Connection had a budget of $1.8M.
The French Connection has made $41.2M at the box office.