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Movie:		9.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		9.0
Extras:		8.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	William Friedkin
Writer(s):	Ernest Tidyman (screenplay), Robin Moore (book)
Starring:	Fernando Rey • Gene Hackman • Roy Scheider
Genre:	Action • Thriller
Release Date:	February 24, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $34.98
Amazon:

The French Connection is largely recognized as one of the best cop movies ever made, a stirring police investigation that won 5 Academy Awards—including Best Picture. Watching it now, it’s interesting to see how much it has influenced the cop movies and television shows since, from its deplorable-but-realized hero (Sipowicz on NYPD Blue) to his work ethic in catching the bad guy, so obsessive that it has to come from somewhere other than his sense of justice (McNulty on The Wire).

The role that kickstarts Gene Hackman’s career is also arguably his best. Hackman plays James “Popeye” Doyle—a violent, crass and bigoted New York cop on a mission to rid the streets of drug dealers. While kicking around blacks and investigating an Italian-American businessman he suspects of being a drug pusher, Popeye stumbles into a “French connection,” a shipment of drugs smuggled into the US by French criminals, led by the elusive Charnier (a great sophisticated villain performance by Fernando Rey). Aside from the more exaggerated stunt sequences and the actions of its (name-changed) characters, the film is mostly true to the real life “French connection” case from the 1960’s.

The brilliance of the movie is its nonstop suspense of a cop constantly on the trail of his target. The story doesn’t get into its main character’s personal life because he has no personal life. Popeye Doyle is 24/7 on the job, and it’s through how he conducts his job that we get to know him. There’s a brilliant character moment where Popeye spots his suspect in a nightclub and a look of jealousy washes over him. What Popeye does isn’t just upholding the law—it’s also a chance to beat the criminals down to prove his superiority.

The picture quality of the film is actually impressive in its remastering and recoloring of the film to look hazy and pastel-like, rather than typically 70’s gritty. While the high definition gives the picture a sharp look, the edges are not unnaturally so, as the colors bleed into one another. Some might prefer the original look, but this look is really suited to the story, with a higher contrast and darker blacks that really fit into the noir-rish elements of the film.

The audio is where the disc shines, which is essential for a movie with a sound design this rich. The famous chase scene especially benefits. Why is this chase considered one of the greatest car chases of all time? Because rather than exhibiting a controlled sense of choreography or stunt moments cued to a pulsing soundtrack, it’s absolute chaos through a real New York street, with potential dangers at every couple of feet. The audio amplifies this sensation tenfold. No music, just the deafening sounds of the train shaking the tracks and cars blaring their horns in mad panic.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

Only a few years ago, French Connection was released on a two-disc collector’s edition DVD. One might assume that this Blu-ray release would be a hi-def port of that release, but that would be wrong. 20th Century Fox not only let director William Friedkin remaster the film, but also shot all-new features for the disc.

The commentaries are old, as are the deleted scenes, but Friedkin shot introductions for them (he also introduced the film) in HD video, same with all the new featurettes. What’s funny is that he becomes a character himself in these extras, providing much amusement. In “Anatomy of a Chase”, Friedkin walks us through the shooting locations of the chase sequence starting from the sniper's nest. It’s not particularly informative, maybe, but it’s hilarious to see Friedkin recreate and explain the woman-with-baby-stroller stunt, or boldly challenging 80-year-old producer Philip D’antoni to reenact the chase up the train station steps. The only featurettes carried over from the DVD release are "Making the Connection: The Untold Stories of The French Connection" and the BBC documentary “The Poughkeepsie Shuffle.”

A sort-of-neato Blu-ray-specific feature is the Trivia Bar that pops up during the movie like a Blu-ray disc’s menu would. There’s also a brand new sit-down interview with Gene Hackman, talking about his experience and the legacy of the film, and “Rogue Cop”, a featurette where film historians talk about The French Connection’s link to various old film noir—all of them, wouldn’t you know it, are Fox releases.

There’s a D-Box feature for those of you who own the $3,500+ D-Box motion chairs. Sadly, I couldn’t test this feature out, but if anyone would like to donate...

Verdict

With plenty of entertaining features on two BR discs, it’s surprising that this set is reasonably affordable. The film itself is already a blast, but Friedkin says in his video introduction that this is the best version of The French Connection to date, and he’s not wrong.