2 Movies / November 13
The French Connection (1971), William Friedkin’s sensational crime thriller about a pair of detectives in white-hot pursuit of a French heroin smuggler through the streets of New York City, had its world premiere in New York and Los Angeles on October 7, 1971.
The movie’s reputation has only grown in the past half-century. It has an approval rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and is described on the website as “Realistic, fast-paced, and uncommonly smart.” In a poll of critics, directors, actors, and stuntmen conducted by Time Out magazine in 2014, The French Connection was named one of the best action films of all time.
William Friedkin will join TCM host Ben Mankiewicz on November 13 to discuss the importance of the film in the director’s career and world cinema. A second Friedkin film, To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), will also be screened.
Chicago native Friedkin, who has also produced and written films, got his start in documentaries in the early 1960s. He won an Oscar as Best Director for The French Connection and was also nominated in that category for The Exorcist (1973). Other directorial credits include The Boys in the Band (1970), Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), Rampage (1987), and Killer Joe (2011).
The French Connection (1971) is based on Robin Moore’s 1969 book of the same title and stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider as NYPD detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo. The pair’s pursuit of a drug smuggler played by Fernando Rey culminates in what some consider the most exciting car chase ever filmed.
In addition to Friedkin’s Academy Award, the movie won Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Actor (Hackman), Adapted Screenplay (Ernest Tidyman), and Film Editing (Gerald B. Greenberg). Other nominations were for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Cinematography, and Sound.
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), considered by many a neo-noir classic, is based on the 1984 novel by Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich, who cowrote the screenplay with director Friedkin.
William Petersen stars as a daredevil Secret Service agent who is addicted to dangerous situations and finds them aplenty in his pursuit of a ruthless counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe, in a career-boosting performance). Friedkin’s exciting direction boasts a tangible sense of 1980s style and some classic action set-pieces.
