The French Connection | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | William Friedkin |
Screenplay by | Ernest Tidyman |
Based on | The French Connection by Robin Moore |
Produced by | Philip D'Antoni |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
Edited by | Gerald B. Greenberg |
Music by | Don Ellis |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes[2] |
Country | United States |
Languages |
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Budget | $1.8–2.2 million[3][4] |
Box office | $75 million (worldwide theatrical rental)[5] |
The French Connection is a 1971 American neo-noir[6] action thriller film[7] directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey. The screenplay, written by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore's 1969 non-fiction book. It tells the story of fictional NYPD detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, whose real-life counterparts were narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier (played by Rey).
At the 44th Academy Awards, the film earned eight nominations and won five for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, French Connection II, followed in 1975 with Hackman and Rey reprising their roles.
Often considered one of the greatest films ever made, The French Connection appeared in the American Film Institute's list of the best American films in 1998 and again in 2007. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[8][9]
AFI
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).