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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 33653
Released: September 25, 2001 |
| Our Price: $29.99 |
| Used Price: $16.99 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
William Friedkin's classic policier was propelled to box-office glory, and a fistful of Oscars, in 1972 by its pedal-to-the-metal filmmaking and fashionably cynical attitude toward law enforcement. Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle, a brutally pushy New York City narcotics detective, is a dauntless crime fighter and Vietnam-era "pig," a reckless vulgarian whose antics get innocent people killed. Loosely based upon an actual investigation that led to what was then the biggest heroin seizure in U.S. history, the picture traces the efforts of Doyle and his partner (Roy Scheider) to close the pipeline pumping Middle Eastern smack into the States through the French port of Marseilles. (The actual French Connection cops, Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, make cameo appearances.) It was widely recognized at the time that Friedkin had lifted a lot of his high-strung technique from the Costa-Gavras thrillers The Sleeping Car Murders and Z--he even imported one of Costa-Gavras's favorite thugs, Marcel Bozzuffi, to play the Euro-trash hit man plugged by Doyle in an elevated train station. There was an impressive official sequel in 1975, French Connection II, directed by John Frankenheimer, which took Popeye to the south of France and got him hooked on horse. A couple of semiofficial spinoffs followed, The Seven-Ups, which elevated Scheider to the leading role, and Badge 373, with Robert Duvall stepping in as the pugnacious flatfoot. --David Chute
The French Connection Collection Box Set (1 & 2) Reviews:
FRENCH CONNECTION. 
2009-11-23 - TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
LOVED THE MOVIE,LOVED THE PRICE,THE DELIVERY WAS FAST.I WILL DEFINITIVELY TELL MY FRIENDS ABOUT YOU OK?THANK YOU SO MUCH,UNTILL NEXT TIME.
CHEERS.J.G.
French Connection I and II
2009-02-18 - Great flick with classic chase scenes! The good guy almost looses his "cool" but keeps coming back when others would walk away. A great ending that requires watching both movies from start to finish. Hackman at his best as "Popeye".
F.C. 1 and 2
2008-11-06 - French Connection 1 is excellent.... vibrant, thrilling, suspense, good mystery and drama. The actors and director are 1st class !!
French Connection 2 is a let down... looks made just to capitalize on the success of the 1st. No comparasion, without the 1st, 2nd means little.
True Crime
2008-03-11 - This box set includes The French Connection I & II. The original is of course the most well known of the two. The movie is based off the true events of the biggest heroin bust in history.
The story follows two of NYPD's narcotics detectives as they stumble onto a hunch which turns into a huge multi-jurisdictional case. Detective Doyle who is played by Gene Hackman, was one of the NYPD's most decorated officers when he retired. The two detectives build their case and eventually narrow their search of suspects before finally getting the approval of the upper brass to make an arrest. This is a great crime drama which follows the original novel and the true story really well.
Part II of the set picks up where part I ends. What most people don't know is that part II did not actually happen. Part II is complete fiction while part I is a true story. Great film!
Good boxed set - but 1 is better. 
2006-07-17 - I dont know that I can offer much more to what has already been said, but to me this boxed set is superb.
Another reviewer stated that the picture ,sound and lighting was poor - one assumes that he/she was watching a very worn out VHS copy or his/her equipment was faulty - as both the DVD's in this set are perfect in terms of picture & sound quality.
French Connection 1 was,to me,certainly the better of the two and the gritty realism was excellently portrayed. Lets make no bones about it though - Popeye Doyle was not the most likeable hero - although he did seem to get results.The car chase is legendary, but to me, my favourite scene is when the camera is on Alan Charnier eating in a plush restaurant - and then pans through across the street to Popeye Doyle in a shop doorway, in the cold, eating a burger. A masterful piece of cinematography.
French Connection 2 was okay,and Gene Hackmans' performance,particularly in the rehab sequence,was absolutely brilliant.But the overall scenario was a bit hard to swallow.
First, we are asked to believe that the New York Police have sent Popeye Doyle over to Marseilles to track down a criminal to whom he is known to bear a grudge - on his own - without speaking a word of French - and,knowing that his attitude problems would aggravate the French,in whose country he was in - err, no - that is stretching credulity a bit too far! Because of this, the whole film was downgraded somewhat to pure nonsense.
French Connection 1 was believable. French Connection 2 was not.
