Synopsis
"Exploring the strange symmetry between policeman and criminal,
Friedkin's Oscar-winning 'policier' codified the screen syntax for an entire genre of hand-held, off-the-cuff, obsessive crime dramas, most notably TV’s fecund
Law & Order series.
Gene Hackman and
Roy Scheider are the simmering, cynical pair of New York detectives who single-handedly set out to stop
Fernando Rey's dapper French drug smuggler from bringing a huge stash of heroin into Manhattan. Based on an actual – and eventually closed – narcotics case,
The French Connection extends its startling documentary-style realism even into its incredible action sequences, highlighted by quite simply the greatest car chase of American cinema." – Harvard Film Archive