The French Connection

Director William Friedkin helped usher in a new era of gritty police dramas with this fact-based thriller about an unscrupulous New York cop (Gene Hackman, in a star-making, Best Actor-winning performance) and his sidekick (Roy Scheider) who go up against an international drug ring

Director William Friedkin helped usher in a new era of gritty police dramas with this fact-based thriller about an unscrupulous New York cop (Gene Hackman, in a star-making, Best Actor-winning performance) and his sidekick (Roy Scheider) who go up against an international drug ring. Winner of five Oscars including Best Picture and Directing, The French Connection set a high bar for documentary-inspired realism in commercial cinema while featuring one of the most exciting chase scenes of all time.

DIRECTOR: William Friedkin. WRITTEN BY: Ernest Tidyman. CAST: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco. 1971. 104 min. USA. Color. English. DCP.

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