Sunday, 9 May 2010

The French Connection





















The French Connection (1971)
a film by William Friedkin

I just recently got to know that The French Connection was a term that was used to refer to the real scheme for smuggling heroin from France into the States during the 60s and the 70s. And that piece of information fixes the only piece of this movie that didn't work for me. This is a really entertaining movie, the kind of movie you watch with friends and enjoy the car chase as much as you enjoy the stereotypical characters in the mean streets of New York.

There is something really stylish about this movie that makes it fun to watch besides the crime fight and the action scenes, and I think it is the way in which the city and its people are also play a role in the movie. It takes a lot of time in the streets to track a drug transaction, and this time is used to show the smoky streets of New York in the winter, the run down alleys, the fancy restaurants next to the convenient stores, and also the people, the 70s style all around the place, afro haircuts, leather jackets, girls with go-go boots and long straight hair, long side brows, and it is not on the actors, it is on the people walking around and that makes the movie fit perfectly in the city and work beyond the smoking guns.

I liked Popeye Doyle, this ruthless cop with his canotier hat, with bad attitude and the amazing crazy look that Gene Hackman gives to him. And I'm not the only one who is loves this role, apparently the owner of the Fried Chicken chain Popeye's named it after this character. I also liked Fernando Rey as the mind behind the deal, although is really dificult to detach him from his character on That Obscure Object of Desire.

Many things have been written about the car chase in this movie, and trust me, it is worth it, it is NY Subway vs. Pontiac LeMans, poles holding the subway line increasing the feeling of speed, old fashioned stunts and if you love cars and dangerous driving, this one is a must.

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