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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
How 2 directors differently handled the same series..., March 28, 2002
This review is from: The French Connection Collection Box Set (1 & 2) (DVD)
This package includes both The French Connection and its sequel, and movies don't get any better than this. Here, you get to see two great directors handle the character of Popeye Doyle and the cinematic presentation of the film(s) in two completely different ways. Friedkin created more of an off-beat cop thriller that made people think. Instead of the shoot-em-up approach that the second one made, the original takes a more logical step to the action. Some of the action isn't even shooting; it's mainly verbal. Friedkin's setting for the movie is dark, gritty, and perfect for the movie. There are no lush sets; only the cold and pain of the city, which creates an unbeatable realistic tone for the whole film. The movie grabbed 5 oscars, most notably best actor for Gene Hackman. His performance is legendary, testing the difference between cop and crook and how much it takes to cross the line. His partner, acted out by Roy Scheider, is great, too. He plays more of the cautionary cop, holding back Doyle when he's about to explode. The sequel, I thought, is even better. Gene Hackman's performance is stepped up considerably, and Marseille is just as good as a setting as New York was in the original. The set pieces fit in perfectly, creating many memorable scenes. In one scene, Doyle is randomly pooring gasoline all over an urban apartment building, yelling "The exterminator is here!" He soon sets it on fire, killing two of his many enemies. Other great scenes consist of Doyle relentlessly trying to make commuication wih the french and him trying to get hooked off of heroin. The action is this movie is a lot less subtle than the first; director Frankenheimer creates grisly shootouts in shipyards and heroin processing plants, all of which add as much to the film as the chase did in the first. Make no mistake, both of these films are winners. Buy this as watch how two greatly talented directors handled a great character and series. French Connection: 1971; 104 minutes; Rated R for strong language and a few scenes of violence. French Connection 2: 1975; 119 minutes; Rated R for strong language, a few scenes of violence, and drug use.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stop Picking Your Feet and Buy This!!!, October 1, 2001
This review is from: The French Connection Collection Box Set (1 & 2) (DVD)
Billy Friedkin's film is the most influential crime thriller since film noir. Look at the cop shows on TV today. Bocchco and Wolf would be lost without this as a model. It set the tone for Hollywood in the 70's and stands up today with it's great acting, terrific dialogue, and charcter driven action. On a personal level I saw this movie at the ripe age of 9 at a drive-in with my parents. This film was the movie that made me fall in love with movies. For that I am forever grateful to Friedkin, D'Antoini, Hackman and Company. The bonuses on this DVD package are terrific. Mark Kermode's BBC documentary is as good as the one he did on "The Exorcist" and Friedkin's commentary on the film itself is informative and entertaining. The lost scenes are interesting if you're a fan of the film and a fan of Friedkin the director.It is instructive to watch an extended scene, such as the one in the hotel lobby, that lasts 2 or 3 minutes on film in the outtake last only a few seconds in the finished film, yet all the information that is communicated in the longer scene is in the finished product without stopping the pacing and it allows the audience to fill in the blanks. Even while being pushed along on a viseral high the audience is using their heads. I always felt this was Friedkin's strentgh as a filmmaker, telling a lot of information visually and quickly, even if the audience doesn't catch on at first. This package also contains John Frankenheimers underrated sequel that isn't based on fact put is purely a fictional account of Popeye Doyle in France. Frankenheimers commentary is also worth listening to as he speaks of his admiration for the first film and desire to stay loyal to the style Friedkin developed(what urban crime film of the 70s didn't?). It also contains Hackman extending his performance of Doyle brillantly and it finds a way to end the film in a way that rivals the ambiguous descent into madness that ended "The FRENCH CONNETION" only it goes in the opposite direction, shocking, startling and definite. A great package, one masterpiece and one four-star underrated gem. And at a great price
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Often Overlooked Classic, October 10, 2001
This review is from: The French Connection Collection Box Set (1 & 2) (DVD)
The French Connection has never seemed to generate as much buzz as other Best Picture Winners, and is likely to be overlooked yet again in its DVD release, coming so close to the Godfather Trilogy and Citizen Kane. The exception is the chase, of course, long celebrated as perhaps the best ever captured on film. In addition to the action elements, however, there are other reasons to add this to your collection, including Gene Hackman's fine, Oscar-winning turn as Popeye Doyle and William Friedkin's energetic direction. French Connection II suffers somewhat by comparison - Hackman is still great, but the movie seems to lack cohesion, as if the writers patched the story together scene by scene, rather than knowing their destination. It is not a bad movie by any means, but certainly not the classic its predecessor is. The bonus materials are nicely presented and pretty interesting, for the most part - a solid, if not particularly spectacular, package.
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