Stars: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Cathleen Nesbitt

Director: John Frankenheimer

Summary: A New York detective Popeye Doyle is kidnapped by a drug baron and forced to become an addict. Action thriller which traces the French Connection narcotics ring to its source in Marseilles.

Gene Hackman stars as hard-boiled New York narcotics cop Popeye Doyle in the sequel to the Oscar-winning FRENCH CONNECTION. Still on the trail of heroin kingpin Charnier (Fernando Rey)--whom he's dubbed Frog One--Doyle heads for Marseilles. On arrival, his aggressive ugly-American persona alienates French inspector Barthelmy (Bernard Fresson), and his limited ability to speak French doesn't help. Frustrated by Barthelmy's lack of progress, he slips his assigned police protection and goes looking for Frog One on his own. He's soon captured by Charnier's minions, who lock him in a fleabag hotel and shoot him up repeatedly with free samples of their product until Doyle is completely addicted. Charnier uses the detective's narcotized state to interrogate him and is surprised to find that he's virtually ignorant about his operation. The disdainful Charnier has him dumped in front of police headquarters, and Barthelmy arranges for him to be put in isolation. Doyle undergoes the lengthy, grueling ordeal of quitting heroin cold turkey while his desperation to capture Charnier builds inside him. Hackman's brilliant performance highlights this somewhat overlooked sequel. Claude Renoir's camera fully captures the squalor of the milieu, and Frankenheimer engineers a harrowing final chase.

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connectiontransformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connectionhad an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Director Audio Commentary, Gene Hackman And Producer Robert Rosen Audio Commentary, Original Theatrical Trailer, Spanish Theatrical Trailer, Portuguese Theatrical Trailer, Stills Galleries, Behind The Scenes, Storyboards, Scene Access, Animated Menus
Subtitles:	Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	1975
Release Date:	May 19, 2003
Runtime:	114 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	01127 D V D
Keywords:	Action, Connection, General, Wide, Screen, French, Adventure, Ii
Genre:	Action/Adventure