Based on a true crime story and a brilliant example of the 1970s gritty cinematic style, director William Friedkin's classic and brutal thriller THE FRENCH CONNNECTION makes a welcome and impressive debut in its two-disc Blu-ray release today. Starring Gene Hackman as "Popeye" Doyle and Roy Scheider as Buddy Russo, two New York detectives uncover a massive drug deal about to infuse the streets with heroin imported by a mysterious international crime lord (Fernando Rey). Nominated for eight Academy Awards and winner of five including Best Picture, Actor, Director, Writing and Film Editing, THE FRENCH CONNECTION gets its due respects in this feature-packed Blu-ray release.  Celebrating a cinematic treasure with the latest high tech bonus features while preserving its distinctive 70s look and tone, THE FRENCH CONNECTION is a must-see for all fans of film excellence.

Shot in a near-documentary style by William Friedkin and cinematographer Owen Roizman, THE FRENCH CONNECTION is based on a true 1960s drug case investigated by NYC narcotics officers Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, who consulted with Hackman and Scheider to lend realism to their alter-egos.  This quest for verisimilitude permeates every aspect of the film's production, as the heroin importing case slowly builds over days of undercover surveillance of Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) who leads them to French heroin supplier Alain Charnier (Rey).   Compiling scenes of tense interrogation through to the pulse-pounding car chase and climactic finale, Ernest Tidyman's taut script steamrolls a riveting tale of hard-fought justice and lost opportunity that is as true and ambiguous as the real world it mirrors so painstakingly.

Filmed entirely on location in New York City and environs, along with several scenes in Marseilles, Friedkin and crew "stole" many shooting days on the streets and in buildings without any lights, props, extras and film permits.  The result is a grim, stunningly detailed and raw look at the New York life and the criminal underworld permeating this metropolis, to the point that viewers can practically feel the bone-chilling cold and grimy scents of Manhattan.

Hackman's "Popeye" Doyle is relentless and obsessive in his work, and displays racist attitudes amid in his cynical service — this is no comic book hero, he's a flawed and harsh character who nonetheless remains absolutely compelling from the opening scenes.  Such unflinching realism greatly heightens the drama, as does the largely improvised interaction between Hackman and Scheider, which remove all the showy trappings of an action film that so often deflate the believability of genre films today. 

Blissfully free of special effects and outrageous stunts which often hide weak stories behind kinetic eye-candy, Friedkin uses violence and action to deliver a dramatic punch to the solar plexus of viewers.  THE FRENCH CONNECTION continues to represent the best of 1970s cinema which should amaze and impress today's generation of viewers who may not be familiar with the second Golden Age of American filmmaking.

Even with a slew of HD-specific bonus features on Disc One alone, of course the most important aspect of this Blu-ray edition of THE FRENCH CONNECTION is the film transfer itself, which earns high marks given the age and limitations of the original source negatives dating to 1971.  Indeed, such high definition tends to show off some of the film's grainy, low-light shots which inevitably (and not all regrettably) arise from Friedkin's natural source lighting in the shadowy streets of New York.  Such grit and grain are often deliberate choices of a director pushing film production to stylistic and thematic extremes — nothing about Friedkin's crime thriller is intended to be pristine and pretty, and the visual patina of 1970s cinematography-on-the-run contributes to the film's legacy of realistic drama.  Likewise, the Dolby Digital 5.1 English soundtrack does not fully exploit the spatial range available in a mix of auditory fireworks, but rather concentrates its effectiveness on clear, crisp dialogue tracks, impactful action scenes and eerie silence when mystery builds before our ears.  When Don Ellis' brash, thumping score opens the film, I dare any viewer to argue that this film's Blu-ray soundtrack got shortchanged in this transfer!  THE FRENCH CONNECTION enters the HD digital age with dignity and power it has never shed since it first commanded audiences and awards.

Enhancing this edition are two Commentary Tracks: a feature-length contribution by director William Friedkin (who also provides a new HD introduction to his film on location in New York), and a partial-length discussion of the film by stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider.  Friedkin's track is a true commentary, relating stories on casting, production and personal reportage which keep excellent pace with the on-screen action while staying informative and entertaining.  The director has proven himself rather adept at and eager to participate in disc commentary on his films, as evidenced by his auxiliary work on THE EXORCIST, and his reflections are equally worthy here. 

While fans may find slight disappointment that Hackman and Scheider contribute only about 50 minutes of their experience and fondness for THE FRENCH CONNECTION in their careers, their non-synched track deserves attention for the highly educational and unique insights on this film from an actor's perspective.  Hackman and Scheider even tell their own separate sides to the same stories during individual recordings, broadening viewers understanding of the production challenges.  Both actors and the director, for example, discuss how Hackman's theater training made his realization of Doyle's compelling single-mindedness a creative hurdle, and then delight in how Hackman turned creative block into breakthrough. Indeed, viewers are lucky to have Scheider's discussion included in light of the actor's passing in 2008.

Disc One also offers the Blu-exclusive Trivia Track, which displays real world and filmmaking facts as the film plays: factoids from the actual case — events of the French Connection are still considered the largest drug bust in U.S. history — to relating how Friedkin had to lobby to get the job due to his 'arsty-tartsy' resume of non-documentary feature films.  Note: while a boon for fans and trivia hounds, this feature does occupy the bottom-third of the screen (even covering the French dialogue subtitles), so be sure to enjoy the film on its own first before playing the Trivia Track to enhance the experience again. Those who appreciate composer Don Ellis' work will undoubtedly rejoice at the inclusion of the Isolated Score Track, which drops the dialogue and effects tracks of the film and plays only the score cues (complete with recording booth cue identifiers) as the film proceeds.  While I refuse to say Ellis' purely 1970s score is dated, it will surely sound aurally vintage to the ears of contemporary audiences due to its era-specific orchestration and sometimes abstract tonality.  From its bombastic opening credit theme to the funky soul of Popeye and Sonny's shakedown and the simplistic shrills of later suspense cues, Ellis provided the film with a wide range of styles and moods which fit image and sound perfectly.  It's a rare treat for Blu-ray fans to find a complete film score offered as a stand-alone bonus feature, and this effort should be enjoyed and appreciated by viewers. As mentioned, the feature disc also contains D-Box motion code which, when supplied to your specialized home theater or gaming chair, provides a unique visceral experience to the film.  While I don't have the system to test this feature, users reportedly experience the motion equivalent of what surround sound provides in an audio track.  THE FRENCH CONNECTION Blu-ray edition joins a growing list of film titles and studios offering this code enhancement to such high-tech releases — it certainly would make the film's notorious car chase sequence a wild ride!

Presenting Disc Two bonus features in menu order, eight Deleted Scenes are prefaced by director Friedkin in a somewhat superfluous explanation of why such scenes fail to make a final cut, but the scenes themselves offer valued insights into the character development and expansion.  While the film quality is a poor-resolution 16mm source Friedkin used for instructional purposes, the glimpses of extra moments in the story supplemented by the director's optional commentary track.

Anatomy of a Chase provides another brand new HD-produced extra, a 20-minute featurette hosted by William Friedkin on location in Brooklyn comparing current day locations with film clips to document the geography and experience of filming Doyle's obsessive, life-endangering car chase under the elevated train.  Friedkin is joined by producer Philip D'Antoni who recall how they invented the iconic action set piece in the film, and how they deliberately didn't want to duplicate the eye-popping car duel from D'Antoni's previous production BULLITT.  No director or studio will produce a chase sequence this way ever again, and this featurette explains why: it remains a great cinematic moment largely because, miraculously, no civilians were killed in it.

Hackman on Doyle is an 11-minute featurette is another Blu-ray production with the film's lead actor discussing how making THE FRENCH CONNECTION and its following critical and public acclaim changed his career.  Gene Hackman has little in common with "Popeye" Doyle's bigoted brutality, but the actor dug deep to overcome his personal conflicts and play this abrasive cop in his world instead of Hackman's.  The result was not only Hackman's first starring feature film role, but it earned him an Academy Award as Best Actor.  Watching him describe this pivotal moment in his career and life is a genuine treat.

Friedkin and Grosso Remember the Real French Connection offers exactly what the title indicates: a 19-minute meeting between the director and real-life detective Sonny Grosso who reflect on the actual case events from 1960-1962.  Grosso praises Scheider's work portraying the detective's largely biographical role, and surprising humor spills out of the discussion considering the serious nature of the case and its implications, which make for an entertaining interview.

Color Timing the French Connection details the technical challenge and triumph of transferring this 38 year-old film onto Blu-ray, correcting the inevitable fading of color and contrast of the original 1971 negative, but also avoiding an oversaturated color scheme which deflects the film's dark, intense theme.  The results, illustrated in a digital editing bay, are what Friedkin considers the best looking version of THE FRENCH CONNECTION ever shown to audiences.

Cop Jazz: The Music of Don Ellis highlights the composer's contribution to the film in a ten-minute HD featurette, demonstrating how his quarter-tone dissonant sound immediately sets audiences on-edge, establishing the story's gritty tone from the opening credits.  While many scenes have no score music at all, Ellis' sparse sixteen minute contribution (of nearly 50 minutes of written music) provides unmistakable impact to the story and characters through the final end card prologue.

Rogue Cop: The Noir Connection studies the thematic and stylistic links between Film Noir of the 1950s and THE FRENCH CONNECTION ethos of a grim 1970s police drama.  Film historians reflect on Noir's heyday in the 1940s and early 50s, and illustrate through clips of numerous films how Friedkin's dark tale picked up on traditions from its predecessors and expanded on such investigations unfettered by the Production Codes of bygone years.  While the talkiest feature included in this release, this examination still holds value for buffs of classic cinema.

Also included is a BBC Documentary: The Poughkeepsie Shuffle, a massive 53-minute production hosted by British film historian Mark Kermode in 2000.  Lovingly and painstakingly paying tribute to this landmark crime drama, the documentary interviews cast, crew and living participants in the 1960s narcotics case on location throughout New York.  Though produced in standard definition (one of the few non-HD bonus extras), this semi-feature may well have been the definitive study of THE FRENCH CONNECTION's cinematic legacy produced up until Fox's Blu-ray release, and is a valuable addition to this collection.

Indeed, Fox Movie Channel provides another such exhaustive documentary with Making the Connection: The Untold Story of The French Connection, a 56-minute featurette produced in 2001 to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary.  Centering the documentary on Sonny Grosso himself allows the surviving partner of Eddie Egan to tell untold tales from his first-hand perspective in both the actual narcotics bust and the production of Friedkin's film.  Between the BBC production lauding THE FRENCH CONNECTION's importance in cinema history, and this featurette relating the cop's angle on living the case and consulting for the film, the combined 109 minutes provide viewers with about as complete a study of this 1971 masterpiece as possible in documentary form.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Fox Home Entertainment serves William Friedkin's award-winning classic very well in this handsomely produced, bonus-packed Blur-ray release, offering HD exclusive features and a stunning film transfer which ensure THE FRENCH CONNECTION's legacy and fan-loyalty will continue for years to come.  A thorough first disc presenting the film in all its high-definition glory and grit is ably partnered with a second disc of mostly HD-only featurettes which should entertain and satisfy casual viewers and longtime fans alike.  Expanding the total experience of THE FRENCH CONNECTION as it was meant to be enjoyed in the digital era, this new Blu-ray release available now is highly recommended and gets five stars from FilmEdge.net.

BLU-RAY SPECIFICATIONS

VIDEO: Blu-ray 1080p resolution AVC encoding at 34.5 MBPS, original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 50GB Dual Layer discs
AUDIO: English Dolby 5.1 DTS-HD lossless Master Audio, Spanish/French 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Dolby Digital and Mono
CAPTIONS: Closed Caption, English/Spanish/Mandarin/Cantonese subtitles
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes
THEATRICAL RATING: R -  Special Features are Unrated

FilmEdge has also reviewed John Frankenheimer's crime thriller sequel THE FRENCH CONNECTION II starring Gene Hackman. Both of these classic films are available now at Amazon.com