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20th Century Fox
French Connection Collection
Doyle is bad news—but a good cop.
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
CinemaSerf
Sep 1, 2024 · via TMDB
Though he's not top-billed here, I found it's Fernando Rey who delivers best in this brutal and authentic-looking story of trans-Atlantic drug smuggling. Popeye (Gene Hackman) and his pal Russo (Roy Scheider) are detectives in New York determined to bring down a network of cocaine importers who are bringing the lucrative white powder in from Marseille. They suspect that it's Charnier (Rey) who is masterminding the whole enterprise, but they can't pin anything down on him. He hides in plain sight, clad in cashmere with a distinctive hat and dining in fine establishments - but always beyond their grasp. He almost teases the increasingly frustrated policemen who stray ever closer to the line as they try to apprehend him. Will either of them ever crack? Hackman is on great form as the exasperated cop and the drip-roast effect of the plot development from director William Friedkin makes that even more potent, especially when coupled with the flagrant nonchalance of his quarry, with a powerful score from Don Ellis and one of the best city car chases you'll ever see on a big screen. Scheider does enough, and there are also quite a few effective supporting contributions from the likes of Ann Rebbot as Mme. Charnier and from the odious henchman "Nicoli" (Marcel Bozzuffi). Gradually we are exposed to the ruthlessness of both sides as the stakes become higher, life becomes cheap, and the denouement again offers us a degree of palpable realism as no simple or convenient solutions are provided. It's a quickly paced and gritty representation of life amidst a culture of addiction, dependency and quite a fair degree of innovation that's still as strong today as it was in 1971.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Gene Hackman
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle
Roy Scheider
Buddy Russo
Fernando Rey
Alain Charnier
Tony Lo Bianco
Sal Boca
Marcel Bozzuffi
Pierre Nicoli
Frédéric de Pasquale
Devereaux
Bill Hickman
Mulderig
Arlene Farber
Angie Boca
Eddie Egan
Simonson
André Ernotte
La Valle
Sonny Grosso
Klein
Alan Weeks
Pusher
Al Fann
Informant
Charles McGregor
"Baldy" (uncredited)
Owen Roizman
Director of Photography
Bill Hickman
Stunt Coordinator
Bill Hickman
Stunt Double
Carey Loftin
Stunt Driver
Alex Stevens
Stunts
Fred J. Lincoln
Stunts
George Fisher
Stunts
Hal Needham
Stunts
Eddie Egan
Technical Advisor
Sonny Grosso
Technical Advisor
William Friedkin
Director
Kenneth Utt
Associate Producer
G. David Schine
Executive Producer
Eddie Egan
Other
Philip D'Antoni
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Don Ellis
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Don Ellis
Original Music Composer
Ernest Tidyman
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Oct 7, 1971
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Oct 9, 1971
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Too Much, Too Young: Children of the Middle Ages
2011
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2006
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1981 · 11 wins
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