'The French Connection' | Critics' Picks

No video

'The French Connection' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times

Рет қаралды 55,077

13 жыл бұрын

A. O. Scott looks back at William Friedkin's 1971 drama starring Gene Hackman.
Subscribe to the Times Video newsletter for free and get a handpicked selection of the best videos from The New York Times every week: bit.ly/timesvid...
Subscribe on KZfaq: bit.ly/U8Ys7n
Watch more videos at: nytimes.com/video
---------------------------------------------------------------
Want more from The New York Times?
Twitter: / nytvideo
Facebook: / nytimes
Google+: plus.google.co...
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch. On KZfaq.
'The French Connection' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times
/ thenewyorktimes

Пікірлер: 62

@bikefixer 12 жыл бұрын

I had the privilege of seeing THE FRENCH CONNECTION with A.O. Scott and Billy Friedkin sitting in the audience at a Lincoln Center screening a couple of years ago

@FREESPEECHFILMMAKER 2 жыл бұрын

That IS a privilege. If only Gene had been there too. I was an extra on some second rate movie he was shooting in San Francisco in the early 80's and sat outside his trailer for three hours wsaiting for him to emerge to just see him in person. I didn't approach, just wanted to see the legend.

@larsliljeblad800 3 жыл бұрын

The French Connection is a true masterpiece of cinema, still as powerful today as it was in 1971!

@johnboy32064 4 жыл бұрын

Billy Friedkin is a brilliant director and his knowledge of film history is encyclopedic and erudite. I wish his later work was as good as his earlier work. But he's admitted that film direction is a young man's game. Perhaps he's right. But here, with "The French Connection" and also with "The Exorcist" he was at the top of his game. I love seeing New York City as it was in the seedy early 70's. There's a kind of perverse beauty to it. So many images in this film haunt my cinematic memory. Only the best directors are able to achieve that. There are very few of them.

@michaelbruns449 Жыл бұрын

Relentlessly paced, thrilling visuals with documentary realism, The French Connection is 1 of my 10 favorite movies ever made, 5th place actually, ive seen thousands of films.

@mandolindleyroadshow706 2 жыл бұрын

I don't think the Doyle/Ahab "connection" was accidental. Doyle, when wearing his black overcoat and porkpie hat, bears a distinct resemblance to classic versions to Melville's anti-hero. I bet this was something Friedkin had in mind when Popeye's wardrobe was considered.

@hoggravyandchitlins 4 жыл бұрын

I've never forgotten the MAD magazine spoof: "do you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?" "No, but I pick my nose in Harlem"

@sbrasel 2 жыл бұрын

Also in that spoof: "Hey, Popeye, you said to check the car's TRUNK for the drugs...and you were right! Why didn't we think of that?"

@tommym321 4 жыл бұрын

There were elements of Uncut Gems that made me think of this movie.

@LeroyKinkade 4 жыл бұрын

My Mums all time favourite film, so it must be great.

@Dohsoda 6 жыл бұрын

Part II is pretty good as well.

@Vlad65WFPReviews Жыл бұрын

I recall being deeply impacted by French Connection upon its release and it remains a favourite to this day. I love your analysis on the appeal of the relentlessness of Doyle and the Drug Lord. Hackman, of course, loathed the character he so vividly portrayed, but he made him so obsessively watchable that it's impossible to look away. Doyle doesn't hesitate for a second when he learns he accidentally killed the Fed, he simply reloads his revolver and goes forward.

@zeusalexander5502 7 жыл бұрын

I just watched it for the first time and it really is quite enjoyable ,and it keeps you intrigued. Also like that New York era I grew up in...

@mhaze210 9 жыл бұрын

You can't find movies like this these days..period. In a world of overused CGI...all-the-same-looking actors...lazy directing...goofy soundtracks...and of course remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels, and rip-offs....you just WON'T find a movie like this. This raised the bar and the bar is rarely reached.

@doneyhon4227 8 жыл бұрын

+Mark Hazleton Try the french film called "La french" and then give me your impression. ;)

@AssyMcgeeee 6 жыл бұрын

Hipster alert

@KnightfallFelix 6 жыл бұрын

Mark Hazleton If you can't find contemporary movies of comparable quality then you're not trying hard enough. There's tons of great international, indie, and experimental films being pumped out all the time.

@brandon17760 4 жыл бұрын

Hereditary, anything by Quintin Tarantino, la confidential. There are there, you just have to look

@darkknightwithanidea1845 4 жыл бұрын

I saw this film as a revisiting of my youth at the FILM FORUM on the lower West Side in NYC. Some 36 years after I a saw it as a child bak in 1972. What blew me away was two 11 year olds who sat in front of me & they were so moved they were practically yelling in their seats with excitement as Popeye went after Nicola screaming after the L Train / car chase. Right there it reinstalled my belief...Classic cinema at this level holds true as real entertainment for ANY & ALL generations. I looked at those two kids as the credits rolled & the looks on their faces were sheer astonishment. They, like me knew that, that was the best $ 20 they had spent that day on a cold winters NYC afternoon 36 years later. PS - the theatre was FULL ! What Friedkin gave us then was irreplaceable. A few years later the Lincoln Center did a showing & who should show up but the man himself to give commentary. William Friedkin & the actual detective - Sonny Grosso who was played by Roy Scheider ( Cloudy) Talk about memorable.

@dzanier 13 жыл бұрын

It also won Best Picture, Actor, Director, Film Editing and the Screenplay award for your Uncle. Your Uncle also wrote the screenplays to "Shaft" "Shaft's Big Score" and "High Plains Drifter", along with the teleplay for the outstanding 1980 TV movie, "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones". By any standard your Uncle was not too shabby at what he did.

@gregromano7355 7 жыл бұрын

Best movie ever made. Period

@troy9477 6 жыл бұрын

Great film. Haven't seen it in awhile. Doyle is kind of like a NYC Dirty Harry, without the 44 Mag. But there's more to the character than that. Good mention of the Javert and Ahab parallels. Roy Scheider is excellent in his supporting role, and i don't know if there has been a more suave, urbane villain than Fernando Rey. And of course, one of the best car chases in cinema history. That had to be hard to do in NYC. Bravo!

@terrymalloy69 9 жыл бұрын

Classic 70's NYC movie, gritty city, hard nosed cops, suave bad guys, awsome movie of cat and mouse

@ChrisWolff2013 2 жыл бұрын

Gene Hackman was a God in this movie. Totally deserved the Oscar.

@dirbrody 5 жыл бұрын

Studied this film at NYFA...

@tooterooterville Жыл бұрын

The cleverest scene in the movie is when Cloudy (Roy Scheider) tells Devereau we "found your car, not scratch on it. You must lead a charmed life Mr. Devereau!"

@stefans1398 11 жыл бұрын

GREAT MOVIE!!!

@dynjarren7523 5 жыл бұрын

Gritty NY street scenes! Doesn’t the bad guy get away? Intense car chases and relentless pursuit! Papa Doyle wants the French bad guy bad but he’s always one step ahead of him. Great Action sequences and a classic car chase underneath the rail trains of NYC! Classic film!

@skunkhead2007 10 жыл бұрын

very good how he gets away from popeye doyle on the train

@PattayaDIRTY 9 жыл бұрын

Many spy agencies around the world use the anti surveillance in the movie for training.

@makeit7579 5 жыл бұрын

A dish served of coq de vin. chicken in wine.

@fergalhughes165 3 жыл бұрын

@@makeit7579 "coq au vin"

@tonyladokguy8985 4 жыл бұрын

I actually first saw this film in Poughkeepsie.

@stevenmitchell2996 3 жыл бұрын

Charnier had to evade capture at the end of The French Connection while the others weren't so lucky. He escaped for a reason to make French Connection II because it's obvious he goes missing you know a sequel is probably coming, the original was good but I liked the sequel too.

@willsi 13 жыл бұрын

A.O., release a book!

@jamesstuart3346 Жыл бұрын

Popeye also bequeathed his trademark chapeau to Heisenberg

@0917700 13 жыл бұрын

a.o -------i'm your biggest fan

@ianbauer4703 Ай бұрын

Greatest police film ever made

@CanonN650U 12 жыл бұрын

JW200: The hat was a sign to other police officers that they were undercover and following a target. They did so to avoid being acknowledged by other cops and therefore being revealed.

@EricRyder2012 10 жыл бұрын

Hello A.O., my name is Eric Ryder and you did a great review on "The French Connection". I enjoyed this movie a whole lot, the action, the suspense and the fact that it was based on a true story makes this film all the more incredible. There are many memorable scenes especially when Doyle and Charnier are on the subway and they each kept going off and on the train and then Charnier outsmarts Doyle. The car chase scene is one of the best ever produced. I thought the characters were all very believable and they all played their respected roles brilliantly. This movie made Gene Hackman a star. Please feel free to visit my channel and check out my review for "The French Connection". I like to know what you think. Okay? Thank you so much.

@ebbelightyear3345 11 жыл бұрын

wow nice review ;)

@liduck52 5 жыл бұрын

Subway was 30 cents in 1971.

@MrEdium 11 жыл бұрын

A GREAT MOVIE WITH A LOT OF JUSTICE {JUST US}.

@Visionary-j3q 9 ай бұрын

Gene Hackman

@calql8er 4 жыл бұрын

But closing down the French Connection wasn't even a skirmish in our stupid war on drugs.

@marios.sanchez 2 жыл бұрын

Thing is, "popeye doyle" does a lot of beating people up in this movie🤕he beats up all the "little people" but in the end the head guy "alain charnier" gets away🤔

@123rockfan 3 жыл бұрын

So many millennials that I know accuse this movie of being an outright racist film, simply because it has racist characters in it

@123rockfan 3 жыл бұрын

@White Knight I don’t see how “propaganda” from universities makes people more sensitive about racism. I think it’s just a personality trait of liberals to be more overly sensitive. I think the biggest culprit and purveyor of propaganda is the establishment news media, especially when it comes to foreign policy. They pretend to be liberal, yet they’re the ones that spread lies and propaganda about the justification of going into Iraq. And the anchors who were against the war in Iraq all got fired. I think CNN and MSNBC are just as horrible as Fox News with misleading news coverage. And to to be fair, I think conservatives also act like snowflakes. They speak out against cancel culture on a constant basis, yet they try to cancel professional athletes who exercise free speech.

@Enr227 Жыл бұрын

NYC is meaner, dirtier, and nastier more now for the first time since the 70’s

@jw200 12 жыл бұрын

In the movie Doyle's partner throws a hat to the rear car window, when they start following a suspect (Sal). But what the hat means on the window? Why it throws it there? Some specific sign for someone?

@richardpiano9715 6 жыл бұрын

Apparently it was to show other police that an unmarked car was on duty and conducting surveillance etc.

@grgman8637 Жыл бұрын

It was an NYPD specific trait at the time. As the other poster replied, it indicated plainclothes car.

@skunkhead2007 10 жыл бұрын

ive sat there and picked me feet many times

@PattayaDIRTY 9 жыл бұрын

It relates to a rape in Poughkeepsie. the rapist sat on the end of the bed and picked his feet.

@terrymalloy69 9 жыл бұрын

That's gross

@MrTheHillfolk 8 жыл бұрын

Shout out to Po Twn!!