The French Connection (18)

William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning thriller captures the murky underworld of 1970s New York like few films before or since.

Hard-nosed NYPD detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman), along with his quieter partner Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), uncovers a massive heroin smuggling operation with ties to France. What starts as a hunch spirals into a tense cat-and-mouse chase that takes them from grimy city streets to a legendary car-versus-train pursuit, still one of the most exhilarating action sequences ever filmed.

Gritty, gripping, and propelled by a relentless energy, The French Connection remains a landmark in crime cinema, blending documentary-style realism with nail-biting suspense.

Hackman is electric as Doyle, a deeply flawed yet obsessively driven man whose dogged pursuit of justice teeters on the edge of recklessness. His unpredictable energy gives the film its pulse, while Friedkin’s unflinching direction and Owen Roizman’s raw cinematography root the story in a world that feels startlingly real.

Uncompromising and intense, it’s a film that doesn’t just entertain, it grabs you by the collar and drags you through the asphalt. It’s a crime classic that never lets go.