Review of The French Connection (1971) by Cle S — 01 May 2014

In a post-"Unforgiven," post-"Tenenbaums" world where I've accepted Hackman as an actor capable of basically anything, it's easy to forget what an exciting revelation he was as a sort of proto-Vic Mackey. Heck, the whole movie is basically the template for "The Shield"-- one of my favorite TV shows-- right down to Friedkin's excellent cinema verite style that helped establish handheld/shaky camera = gritty realism. Roy Scheider is, once again, totally awesome in another 70's thriller where he graciously plays second-fiddle to a bigger, more memorable character (Here, to Popeye; in "Marathon Man" to Dustin Hoffman's Babe; in "Jaws," to a giant shark). The two of them make a great pair.

The famous chase sequence is truly exhilarating, particularly the totally insane POV shots. It deserves every bit of praise it has received over the years, and it doesn't lose any bit of impact even when you know how it gets resolved (They even used the moment on the movie poster!). The final few minutes of "The French Connection" is also remarkable in its stark, sudden nature, and like pretty much everything else about the film, I can't get it out of my head. This is a movie I love more the longer I think about it. Easily the best cop movie ever made.