When Costa-Gavras created his documentary-styled political thriller, “Z”, in 1969, the young documentary director William Friedkin took notice. When he was tasked to direct a movie version of the Robin Moore non-fiction novel, “The French Connection”, he was influenced by the free-flowing documentary style used by Costa-Gavras to create one of cinema’s most influential police dramas
The book and movie follow the police pursuit of a wealthy French heroin smuggler trying to complete a large drug transaction in New York. To have the artistic freedom to make dramatic changes, the movie changes the names of all the characters. The main points of the book were still retained as two real-life police detectives involved in the actual events were on set during the filming of the movie. Both were even given roles in the movie, with one of them, Eddie Egan, given a substantial part that kick-started his acting career. Egan and Sonny Grosso are the real-life police narcotics detectives from the actual events, whose names were changed for the movie to Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman in an Oscar winning performance) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider).
The basic premise of the movie revolves around Popeye and Cloudy coming across a possible shipment of a massive load of heroin due to arrive in New York within the coming weeks. Their suspicion develops through their surveillance of a known criminal who they observe meeting up with large mafia figures. This resulted in the approval of a wider surveillance operation using listening devices and the aid of a federal agent. At the same time, a suave, rich, and cunning French drug smuggler, Alain Charnier (the great Spanish actor Fernando Rey), is planning to bring the drugs from Marseille to New York. This is also the outline of the actual events that occurred in 1968.
By filming the movie in a documented episodic fashion, Friedkin uses his camera to freely follow the characters, which gave me the impression that anything could happen and what I was watching was not scripted. The opposite is true, as the movie follows a basic plot structure. There are the two detectives who, through their use of informants and their determination to use bare-bone surveillance methods, arrive at the information they need to intercept the drug shipment. The film’s free flowing style gives an impression of one constant process being the search, chase, and capture. It all fits together beautifully. It helps that the film is filled with small details that add texture to the thrill of the chase. For example, in one section in the movie, the New York mob does a test on heroin by using true FBI testing procedures, which is fascinating. In another section, a suspicious car is taken almost completely apart by the Feds in their search for the smuggled drugs. This is done by a real-life police mechanic and is detailed like a documentary of a real operation. These added bits of reality insert great life into the movie.
The New York City on site location takes the gritty view of the city, similar to what Schlesinger did in his, “Midnight Cowboy”, from two years earlier. That movie and this one greatly influenced several films that would come out in the 70’s that were based in New York. From “Mean Streets, “Taxi Driver”, to, “Serpico”, and “Prince of the City”. Movies that were based on the crime-ridden period of the 1960s and 1970s New York owe this film a great debt.
It is not possible to talk about “The French Connection” without mentioning the great car – train chase sequence. It is a sequence where a hitman working for Charnier attempts to kill Popeye and then tries to escape on an overhead train in Brooklyn. Popeye quickly confiscates a private vehicle and gives chase to the train. In what is probably the greatest car chase scene in movie history, there is a kinetic energy to the chase that was filmed on location and used actual vehicles. When filming the chase, unintentional accidents occurred and were kept for the final scene. Adding to the excitement is the violent speed and constant near-miss disasters that occurred throughout the chase. The chase mirrors the psychosis of Popeye with his nonstop adrenalin and determination. He probably almost kills five innocent people during the chase, as at one time he narrowly misses hitting a young mother and her baby. Much of the chase is filmed from the first-person perspective of Popeye, which adds to its edgy feel. Today’s computer-generated, seemingly spectacular chases do not even come close to the excitement of this chase. .
While watching “The French Connection”, I was fascinated by the depiction of all the powerful white police detectives, and their treatment of black civilians. Popeye and Cloudy haphazardly abuse and harass black people without a thought to either civil rights or their feelings. The movie unsuccessfully tries to show a sort of justification to this abuse by portraying a friendly relationship between Popeye and his black informant. Watching the movie gave me a greater perspective on the “Black Lives Matters” movement going on today and on that movement’s accusations of police brutality in their community. Since the real detectives were on the set during the filming for authenticity purposes, I tend to believe that this is a true depiction of how the police treated the black community. At least during the 60s and 70s.
Filled with gritty reality, heart-pounding action, kinetic direction, and superb acting, “The French Connection” has influenced police thrillers up until and including today. It is a cinematic masterpiece that never fails to excite.
1001 Movies before you die 