The French Connection

Buckle up for William Friedkin's lean and mean 1971 Oscar-winning thriller, a meticulous police procedural based on the true story of New York cops Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, who foiled a $32 million shipment of heroin, making it the largest (at the time) seizure in U.S. history. Gene Hackman earned an Academy Award for his breakthrough starring role as "Popeye" Doyle, the brutally efficient cop who makes NYPD Blue's Andy Sipowicz look like Officer Friendly. Roy Scheider provides excellent backup as his partner, with Fernando Rey as the elusive Alain Charnier, who the relentless Doyle is determined to bring down. Though Friedkin's documentary style and use of actual locations has long since been co-opted, this gritty, authentic original still holds up brilliantly. The double-disc's supplemental features are a mixed bag. As on The Exorcist disc, Friedkin's plodding, sometimes less-than-gracious, credit-grabbing commentary all too often simply describes what we are seeing onscreen (Hackman and Scheider also provide their own reminiscences). In addition, there are seven justifiably deleted scenes, and a pair of informative documentaries on the true stories behind the film and its subject. A classic that marked the arrival of the so-called New Hollywood generation of directors, this definitive edition is highly recommended. Editor's Choice (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—Fox, 2 discs, 104 min., R, $34.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1971's The French Connection features a good transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Blu-ray extras include an introduction by director William Friedkin, two audio commentaries (one with Friedkin; the other with costars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider), an hour-shy “Making the Connection: The Untold Stories” making-of documentary, the BBC documentary “The Poughkeepsie Shuffle” (54 min.), four behind-the-scenes featurettes on the “Anatomy of a Chase” (21 min.), “Friedkin and Grosso Remember the Real French Connection” (19 min.), “Rogue Cop: The Noir Connection” (14 min.), and “Color Timing” on the film's coloring (13 min.), 12 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary, a “Hackman on Doyle” interview with Hackman on his character (11 min.), a “Cop Jazz: The Music of Don Ellis” featurette on the composer (10 min.), a “Scene of the Crime” location featurette (5 min.), a trivia track, and an isolated score track. Bottom line: this Best Picture winner makes a fine debut on Blu-ray. Fox is also releasing the sequel French Connection II on Blu-ray.]