The French Connection
UK Release Date: 27 December 1971 Certification: 18 Director: William Friedkin Cast: Tony Lo Bianco, Marcel Bozzuffi, Gene Hackman, Bill Hickman, Frédéric de Pasquale, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider Rating: 68 % Review: Two years prior to the release of esteemed horror The Exorcis t, director, William Friedkin took to the streets of New York crafting a gritty crime thriller very much of its time. The French Connection picked up five Oscars at the 44th Academy Awards as well as introducing the world to Roy Scheider. The French Connection is complete with sequences of great quality action, a predecessor of the thrill of Michael Mann's Heat . Numerous devilishly designed and thought-out set-pieces unprecedented for 1971 that surprisingly still hold up. The intricate, prolonged car chase stands out. No dialogue plays as the film lets the sheer power of the engine and the overhead train tracks put the audience on edge. The film often relies on its stu...