Two New York City detectives follow the rungs of a criminal ladder all the way to The French Connection, and they make the biggest drug bust in United States history.

A career maker for Hackman and Friedkin, The French Connection invented what later became cliché. Good cop/bad cop, the cat and mouse game that goes on between the cop and the criminal and the fine line that separates the two, and the hyperkinetic chase scene, old hat now but brand new in 1971, this film opened the doors for the kind of hard boiled cop movie that has become all too familiar.

Virtually unknown at the time the film was made, Gene Hackman gives one of his finest performances as Popeye Doyle, the gritty, tough talking, legendary supercop who lives and breathes his job. Hackman does not just play the part, he is Doyle, giving him a blue collar, down-and-dirty quality that reeks of honesty. Roy Scheider, himself an unknown at the time, plays Doyle’s partner, Russo, the perfect yin to Doyle’s yang. Fernando Rey is the Frenchman, Charnier, the aristocratic drug smuggler who is always a step ahead of Doyle. Despite the Oscar for Hackman, the acting always seems to be one of things about the film that is rarely talked about, but all of the performers are incredible. They are so believable that it would be easy to forget that we are watching a performance. It looks like life.

The film was shot in a documentary, cinema verite style, as though the camera just happens to be on the scene when the action takes place. With this style, the city of New York becomes another character in the film, the living, breathing city with its ever present squeal of tires, the honking of horns, the sidewalks and the subways. We are taken to corners of the city that are not advertised. New York comes alive in ways that it seldom does in other films.

Everyone acknowledges the seminal chase scene in the film, and that scene still holds up, but the whole film is so taut, becoming more tightly wound as Doyle and Russo close in on their man. The scene that leads up to the chase, the one where Doyle is almost killed in a sniper attack, and another scene in the subway are equally suspenseful, driving the film ahead.

Not just a great crime thriller, The French Connection is also a great character study, portraying these people not as caricatures, but as real people. That is the real power of the film. 

The French Connection is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio. The picture here is beautiful, so sharp and pristine that is looks brand new. This is a beautiful transfer.

THE AUDIO

There are a few audio options on this disc: English 5.1 Dolby Surround, English Stereo Surround, and French mono. The audio presentation here works well, capturing the city sounds as if you were actually on the street with these guys.

There are some features on the main disc, and there is an entire second disc devoted to bonus material.

Commentary by William Friedkin: Friedkin talks about the ins and outs of filming the movie, how it came to be made. Informative, overall, and Friedkin is so engaging enough to make it all sound interesting.

Commentary by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider: This track is scene specific, and the two talk about what is was like filming certain scenes, how cold it was. It was nice to hear the actors’ point of view in how the film was made.

Disc 2

Deleted Scenes: Seven scenes, all devoted to character development, that were cut from the film. All of them are grainy and look like they were unearthed from some forgotten vault. The condition of these scenes gives the impression that these were never actually meant to be seen.

Documentaries: “Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing the French Connection” – A BBC documentary that details how the film came to be, the original case and the cops the film was based on, and some background on the filmmakers.

“Making the Connection: The Untold Stories” is another behind-the-scenes documentary done by the Fox Movie Channel. This basically repeats the information in the BBC documentary, with the same people telling the same stories, but it is equally engaging.

William Friedkin Talks about the Deleted Scenes is a repeat of the seven deleted scenes, this time with some interesting background from Friedkin. He calls the extra scenes “scaffolding” that had to be taken down when the film was complete.

Theatrical Trailers: A repeat of the original trailer for The French Connection, as well as the trailer for The French Connection II.

Still Gallery: Behind-the-scenes shots, unit photography, and a look at the original poster.

The features here give the full details of how this film came to be, leaving nothing unturned.