The French Connection (1971) Is One Of The Grittiest And Most Influential Crime Films Ever Made. It Is Rough Around The Edges, A Little Corny In Some Seventies Ways, But Still A Personal Classic Because It Feels So Raw And Real.
Released in 1971 and directed by William Friedkin, The French Connection changed crime movies in a major way. Before this film, a lot of police thrillers still had a polished Hollywood style. Friedkin stripped much of that away and delivered something dirtier, faster, and more grounded. The result feels almost like a documentary at times, and that realism is exactly why it still hits so hard.
Gene Hackman stars as Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, and this is easily one of the best performances of his career. Popeye is obsessed, reckless, aggressive, and far from heroic in the traditional sense. Hackman plays him with an intensity that makes the character fascinating even when he is difficult to like.
Roy Scheider plays Doyle’s partner Buddy Russo, bringing a calmer and more controlled energy to balance Hackman’s chaos. The chemistry between the two feels authentic because they do not overplay the partnership. They feel like actual detectives trying to survive exhausting work rather than movie cops delivering speeches.
The plot follows Doyle and Russo as they uncover a massive heroin smuggling operation connecting New York City to French criminals overseas. What starts as small suspicion slowly grows into a much larger investigation involving surveillance, informants, and dangerous pursuit.
Fernando Rey plays Alain Charnier, the sophisticated French drug smuggler at the center of the operation. Unlike Popeye, Charnier is calm and elegant, which creates a great contrast between hunter and hunted. Rey barely raises his voice, yet still feels dangerous throughout the film.
William Friedkin directs the movie with an almost relentless pace. The streets of New York feel cold, crowded, and exhausting. Everything looks dirty and worn down, which gives the film a realism that separated it from many crime movies of the era.
Of course, the film is most famous for its legendary car chase sequence, and honestly it still deserves the praise. Watching Popeye chase an elevated train through crowded city streets remains one of the most intense action scenes ever filmed. Friedkin shot it with a dangerous realism that modern CGI heavy action movies often cannot match.
The chase works because it feels genuinely out of control. There is no polished superhero style here. Cars crash, pedestrians scatter, and Popeye himself barely seems in control of the situation. That chaos makes it unforgettable.
At the same time, the film is not really about action. It is about obsession. Popeye becomes so consumed with catching Charnier that it starts destroying his judgment. The movie does not romanticize that obsession as much as some later cop thrillers would.
Some parts of the film definitely feel a little corny now in that very seventies tough guy style. Certain attitudes, dialogue choices, and rough edges clearly belong to another era. But honestly, I think that adds to the character of the movie instead of hurting it.
That roughness makes the film feel alive. It does not feel overly polished or cleaned up for modern audiences. It feels like a snapshot of gritty seventies filmmaking before studios started sanding everything down.
Don Ellis’s score also deserves mention because it adds constant tension without overwhelming scenes. The music feels nervous and sharp, helping create the paranoid atmosphere hanging over the entire story.
What makes The French Connection such a classic is that it refuses easy victories. Police work here is frustrating, exhausting, and messy. Even when progress is made, it often comes with mistakes and collateral damage. That realism gives the movie weight.
The ending especially stands out because it avoids the neat Hollywood closure audiences might expect. Friedkin understood that real life investigations do not always end with perfect satisfaction, and that ambiguity makes the final moments even stronger.
In the end, The French Connection remains a classic to me because it is intense, gritty, and deeply influential. It may have a little seventies corniness around the edges, but underneath that is one of the smartest and most authentic crime thrillers ever made.
It is not just a great cop movie. It is one of the films that helped redefine what crime cinema could look and feel like.