The Film
In the pantheon of "great car chase movies," The French Connection ranks right up there with Bullitt, The Blues Brothers, Ronin and The Bourne Identity. Or at least, so I'd been told. As a bona fide movie buff, I'm embarrassed to admit I'd never actually seen The French Connection prior to sitting down for this review. Now that I've seen the film, I can appreciate what all the fuss is about – it is one hell of a chase. More importantly, the rest of the movie is just as good.
Winner of five 1971 Academy Awards, The French Connection stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider as New York City cops Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy Russo. Together, the two detectives struggle to take down a Marseilles-based drug trafficker who's attempting to unload a major cache of his high-grade heroin in the Big Apple. Hackman and Scheider are great fun to watch, but it's surprising just how little dialogue the film contains.
The Picture
One of the best things about Blu-ray is that studios are using the new high definition format as an excuse to re-master many of their catalog classics and breathe new life into old favorites. The flip side of that coin is that some folks (ahem) don't get around to exploring said classics until they surface on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, this is one of those times. As mentioned earlier, I'd never seen The French Connection; I don't own the VHS or DVD and my schedule didn't permit a Netflix rental. Consequently, my opinion of this Blu-ray's video transfer admittedly lacks the context and frame of reference that others may have. One such other is renowned film historian and film preservation expert Robert Harris. Mr. Harris is a regular contributor at The Digital Bits and Home Theater Forum and he recently had some fascinating things to say about The French Connection's Blu-ray overhaul.
One of the more interesting features on the Blu-ray Disc is entitled "Color Timing The French Connection" where Director William Friedkin discusses the process by which the video was updated and his reasons for doing so. Not having seen the film before, I was quite impressed with the results. The 1080p presentation of this 1971 film is quite good; contrast is excellent, film grain has thankfully remained intact and blacks are sufficiently deep. The film's newly toned-down color palette certainly worked for this critic, but I concur with Mr. Harris that it would have been nice to see the original version get included somewhere in this set.
The Sound
Fox has given The French Connection a new lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Unfortunately, it's not quite as impressive as the video. My chief complaint is that the center channel appears to have been mixed too low. The net effect is an unfortunate choice: you can either strain to make out some of the dialogue or you can cover your ears for the comparatively deafening gun shots. I found myself riding the volume button for most of the movie so you may want to save yourself the hassle and simply bump up the center channel by a few dB's before starting the film.
The news is not all bad on the audio front. The theme music sounds great and the surround channels do occasionally get some work to do - and the results are quite effective. If you need proof, just ask Penny. Penny is my dog and she was thoroughly distressed for about five minutes after hearing a distant dog barking in a Marseilles back alley.
The Extras
Fox has done a bang-up job with this 2-disc Blu-ray edition. And for a change, Disc Two in the set isn't just a lousy Digital Copy. As a matter of fact, you don't get a Digital Copy with this one. However, you do get a slew of other goodies. In addition to the aforementioned segment on the film's new color timing, fans will enjoy two commentaries – one with Friedkin and one with Hackman and Scheider – plus deleted scenes, a sit-down with Gene Hackman, a BBC documentary and numerous featurettes on the film and its history. In short, there's plenty to keep you busy.
Final Thoughts
Although the film does suffer from a few pacing issues and its ending is anything but satisfying, The French Connection is still a worthy Best Picture winner. If nothing else, Gene Hackman fans owe it to themselves to see this career-making performance. Fox has done a superb job of bringing the film to Blu-ray and I'm sure William Friedkin would agree: you've never seen The French Connection like this before.
Oh, and on the subject of that anti-climactic ending, be sure to note that Fox has also just released The French Connection II on Blu-ray Disc.
Where to Buy
Product Details
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