French Connection – Brennpunkt Brooklyn (1971)

French Connection – Brennpunkt Brooklyn: Directed by William Friedkin. With Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco. A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.

“u0026#39;The French Connectionu0026#39; has really stood the test of time. William Friedkin is one American director who has almost been forgotten about, despite making some excellent movies like u0026#39;The Birthday Partyu0026#39;, u0026#39;The Exorcistu0026#39; and u0026#39;Cruisingu0026#39;. u0026#39;The French Connectionu0026#39; is his best movie by far, and one of the 1970s best crime movies, which means itu0026#39;s one of the best EVER. The lead actors are first rate, and the script by Ernest Tidyman (u0026#39;Shaftu0026#39;) is a good one, but Friedkin makes this something special by applying documentary film techniques to this gritty and realistic detective story. u0026#39;The French Connectionu0026#39; was groundbreaking in this respect and influenced just about every subsequent cop movie, all the way up to contemporary TV shows like u0026#39;NYPD Blueu0026#39; and the like. Gene Hackman is just terrific as Popeye Doyle. Hackman had been around for about ten years, and impressed many with his supporting role in u0026#39;Bonnie And Clydeu0026#39;, but this movie made him a major star. Along with u0026#39;The Conversationu0026#39; and u0026#39;Scarecrowu0026#39; itu0026#39;s still one of his most impressive performances. Roy Scheider was almost a complete unknown prior to this but heu0026#39;s also very good as Popeyeu0026#39;s partner Buddy Russo. Scheider went on to some fine work in movies such as u0026#39;Jawsu0026#39;, u0026#39;Marathon Manu0026#39;, u0026#39;Last Embraceu0026#39;, u0026#39;52 Pick-Upu0026#39; and u0026#39;Naked Lunchu0026#39;, but never quite became the big name star that Hackman did. Bunuel regular Fernando Rey (cast by mistake after a misunderstanding, Friedkin thinking he was hiring a different actor!) and the underrated character actor Tony Lo Bianco, who had recently appeared in the cult classic u0026#39;The Honeymoon Killersu0026#39;, lead a fine supporting cast who really add to the movieu0026#39;s success. The exciting car chase sequence in this movie is now legendary, and is arguably the best one ever filmed, but there is so much more to this film than just that. u0026#39;The French Connectionu0026#39; is a superb movie, and still better than just about any similar Hollywood crime thriller made in the last few years. Highly recommended!”