The Best Picture of 1971 is…..”The French Connection.” This crime drama action film tells the story of two NYPD detectives pursuing a French heroin smuggler. Director William Friedkin (“Good Times” 1967) filmed this project with numerous street scenes, giving it a gritty realism, in a fast pace that made the 104 minute running time move rapidly. It is famous for its six minute car chase scene.
Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider head the cast as police detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, respectively. The tightly written screenplay by Ernest Tidyman gave them great material to work with. It was adapted from the 1969 novel of the same name by Robin Moore. Co-stars include Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Billl Hickman, Eddie Egan, Sonny Grosso, and Frederic de Pasquale as Henri Devereaux.
“The French Connection” was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning five: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It was the third highest grossing film of the year, a huge box office sensation for Philip D’Antoni Productions, Schline-Moore Productions, and 20th Century Fox.
The French Connection (1971)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1971 is…..”The French Connection.” This crime drama action film tells the story of two NYPD detectives pursuing a French heroin smuggler. Director William Friedkin (“Good Times” 1967) filmed this project with numerous street scenes, giving it a gritty realism, in a fast pace that made the 104 minute running time move rapidly. It is famous for its six minute car chase scene.
Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider head the cast as police detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, respectively. The tightly written screenplay by Ernest Tidyman gave them great material to work with. It was adapted from the 1969 novel of the same name by Robin Moore. Co-stars include Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Billl Hickman, Eddie Egan, Sonny Grosso, and Frederic de Pasquale as Henri Devereaux.
“The French Connection” was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning five: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It was the third highest grossing film of the year, a huge box office sensation for Philip D’Antoni Productions, Schline-Moore Productions, and 20th Century Fox.