Drug possession is a terrible crime in New York City. Jimmy "Popeye: Doyle (Gene Hackman) and his partner Buddy 'Cloudy' Russo (Roy Scheider) are part of the law enforcement establishment that is trying to crack down on the distribution and possession of the illicit narcotics.
Doyle is a hard nosed, sometimes dirty cop who will stop at nothing to get the job done... to solve the case... to get his man.
Doyle and Russo happen upon an extremely large narcotics ring operating in New York City.
As they delve deeper into the case, they learn that the drug lords are brining millions of dollars worth of heroin into the country and into New York City especially. The next shipment of the drugs is the biggest load ever smuggled in... pounds and pounds of Heroin worth well over $25,000,000.
But the case is cracked wide open when Doyle and Russo land a monumental lead. In New York to finalize this mega-bucks deal, is the top drug lord himself, Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), The French Connection...
The French Connection is a gritty, realistic drama on all accounts. I was impressed with its rough vocabulary, seamy-side-of-New-York cinematography and real life characters. It isn't easy to find a film with such hard-hitting, realistic drama such as The French Connection has.
Gene Hackman is splendid as "Popeye" Doyle, and adds a real depth to the picture. Hackman looks so he rough he could pass for a streets-of-New-York cop.
But Hackman is only one part of the puzzle. The best part of the movie is the dazzling chase scene in which Hackman's Popeye Doyle chases after a suspect believed to be part of the drug ring. This chase scene is a fine example of cinematography at it's best. You will never find a finer chase scene in any other movie save the one in Bullit. It is hard to describe the beautiful fast-paced action of the scene so it's best if you see it for yourself. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
The chase scene is like a double-edged sword in that no matter how good the scene actually is (and it is really good), it still takes much away from the film's rich characters and superbly written story. And despite the drug bust being the largest in US history, it is still just a footnote in the movie.
The French Connection is a story about a master detective tracking down his nemesis; his mortal enemy. "Popeye" Doyle is the Sherlock Holmes, tracking his Dr. Moriarty with his every waking breath. The French Connection is so much more than a simple cat-and-mouse cops-and-robbers story.
Plot: 
Visual Effects:
The chase scene is the highlight of the picture. Literally. It the best ever captured on film, and is a landmark in film cinematography.
Sound:
the score is hard and rough, just like our main characters. It is a mix of jazz and hard rock, which gives us its very unique sound.
Character Development: 
we do not learn much about our lead characters but slowly, we do learn why "Popeye" Doyle’s does what he does. The screenplay delves deep into Doyle's psyche; we learn what motivates him and makes him tick; this is the work of immensely talented writers.
Atmosphere:
The movie starts of with a bang, sure enough, and who could turn away from the incredible chase scene, the best ever recorded?
Realism:
The movie was based on real cops and a real drug dust. In fact, most of the lines spoken in the film are ad-libbed (a plus right there), and the chase scene was almost unscripted. (It was totally storyboarded but so many unpredictable things happened that it turned out nothing like they planned.)
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it was nominated with for Best Picture:
A Clockwork Orange; Fiddler on the Roof; The Last Picture Show; Nicholas and Alexandra
9.29/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
20-02-05
Age at win: 42
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Leading Role, "Popeye" Doyle, The French Connection
Nomination: 3/5 (acting), 3/5 (total); Win: 1st
Gene Hackman is splendid as "Popeye" Doyle. Hackman's character adds a great deal of depth to the film. Hackman looks so he rough he could pass for a New York City cop easily. Hackman plays Doyle viscious, gritty, dirty, fowl-mouthed, totally uneven and even a little mad.
Hackman makes it easy for us to figure out his character. Though not often, he does allow brief glimpses into his character's madness and insatiable need to catch this drug lord.
Above all, what Hackman did best was that he took a real life person and personified him on film as though it was the real person playing himself on screen. Hackman is totally believable as our hero, and that is the most important trait of all.
19-02-05
