Editing The French Connection (film) (section)

==Reception==
[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film four out of four stars and ranked it one of the best films of 1971.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-french-connection-1971 |title=The French Connection Review |author-link=Roger Ebert |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=1971 |access-date=June 17, 2018 |via=[[RogerEbert.com]] |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165140/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-french-connection-1971 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Roger Greenspun]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: ''The French Connection'' "is in fact a very good new kind of movie, and that in spite of its being composed of such ancient material as cops and crooks, with thrills and chases, and lots of shoot-'em-up."<ref>{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Greenspun |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/08/archives/the-french-connection.html |title=Film Festival |date=October 8, 1971 |work=The New York Times |page=35 |access-date=August 2, 2014 |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706080744/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/08/archives/the-french-connection.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "So many changes have been made in Robin Moore's taut, factual reprise of one of the biggest narcotics hauls in New York police history that only the skeleton remains, but producer Philip D'Antoni and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman have added enough fictional flesh to provide director William Friedkin and his overall topnotch cast with plenty of material, and they make the most of it."<ref>{{cite news |last=Frederick |first=Robert B. |url=https://variety.com/1971/film/reviews/the-french-connection-2-1200422615/ |title=Film Reviews: The French Connection |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=October 6, 1971 |page=16 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609040738/https://variety.com/1971/film/reviews/the-french-connection-2-1200422615/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' awarded the film four stars out of four and wrote: "From the moment a street-corner Santa Claus chases a drug pusher thru the [[Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn|Bedford-Stuyvesant]] section of Brooklyn, to the final shootout on deserted [[Randalls and Wards Islands|Ward's Island]], ''The French Connection'' is a gutty, flatout thriller, far superior to any caper film of recent vintage."<ref>Siskel, Gene (November 8, 1971). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43450415/gene-siskel-movie-reviewthe-french/ "French Connection"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609040738/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43450415/gene-siskel-movie-reviewthe-french/ |date=2021-06-09 }}. ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 20 – via [[Newspapers.com]]. {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Movie Reviews |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-10-15-9910200025-story.html |date=October 15, 1999 |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=2020-08-19 |archive-date=2020-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605092120/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-10-15-9910200025-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "every bit as entertaining as ''[[Bullitt]]'', a slam-bang, suspenseful, plain-spoken, sardonically funny, furiously paced melodrama. But because it has dropped the romance and starry glamor of [[Steve McQueen]] and added a strong sociological concern, ''The French Connection'' is even more interesting, thought-provoking and reverberating."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Champlin |first1=Charles |title=High Adventure in 'Connection' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-08-26/from-the-archives-high-adventure-in-connection |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 3, 1971}}</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "an undeniably sensational movie, a fast, tense, explosively vicious little cops-and-robbers enterprise" with "a deliberately nervewracking, runaway quality ... It's a cheap thrill in the same way that a roller coaster ride is a cheap thrill. It seems altogether appropriate that the showiest sequence intercuts between a runaway train and a recklessly speeding car."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |title='French Connection': Running and Hitting |date=November 12, 1971 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=C1}}</ref> In his book ''Reverse Angle'', [[John Simon (critic)|John Simon]] wrote: "Friedkin has used New York locations better than anyone to day," "[t]he performances are all good", and "Owen Roizman's cinematography, grainy and grimy, is a brilliant rendering of urban blight."<ref>{{cite book |last=Simon |first=John |title=Reverse Angle: A Decade of American Films |url=https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Potter]] |year=1982 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/reverseangledeca0000simo/page/56/mode/2up 56–57] |isbn=978-0-517-54697-0}}</ref>

[[Pauline Kael]]'s review in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was generally unfavorable. She wrote: "It's not what I want not because it fails (it doesn't fail), but because of what it is. It is, I think, what we once feared mass entertainment might become: jolts for jocks. There's nothing in the movie that you enjoy thinking about afterward—nothing especially clever except the timing of the subway-door-and-umbrella sequence. Every other effect of the movie—even the climactic car-versus-runaway-elevated-train chase—is achieved by noise, speed, and brutality."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Kael |first=Pauline |title=The Current Cinema |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1971/10/30/urban-gothic |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=October 30, 1971 |page=115 |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609040738/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1971/10/30/urban-gothic |url-status=live }}</ref> [[David Pirie]] of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called the film "consistently exciting" and Gene Hackman "extremely convincing as Doyle, trailing his suspects with a shambling determination; but there are times when the film (or at any rate the script) seems to be applauding aspects of his character which are more repulsive than sympathetic. Whereas in ''[[The Detective (1968 film)|The Detective]]'' or ''[[Bullitt]]'' the hero's attention was directed unmistakably towards liberal ends (crooked businessmen, corrupt local officials, etc.) Doyle spends a fair part of his time beating up sullen blacks in alleys and bars. These violent sequences are almost all presented racily and amusingly, stressing Doyle's 'lovable' toughness as he manhandles and arrests petty criminals, usually adding a quip like 'Lock them up and throw away the key.'"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pirie |first=David |date=January 1972 |title=The French Connection |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=39 |issue=456 |page=7}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 90 reviews, with an average rating of 8.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Realistic, fast-paced and uncommonly smart, ''The French Connection'' is bolstered by stellar performances by Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, not to mention William Friedkin's thrilling production."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/french_connection/ |title=The French Connection (1971) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031902/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/french_connection |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 94/100 based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web |title=The French Connection |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-french-connection-1971 |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=May 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618072045/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-french-connection-1971 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' listed ''The French Connection'' as the 31st-best action film of all time, according to a poll of film critics, directors, actors, and stunt actors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-100-best-action-movies-40-31#the-french-connection-1971%7D|title=The 100 best action movies ever made|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=2016-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725134400/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/the-100-best-action-movies-40-31#the-french-connection-1971%7D|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some writers have called ''The French Connection'' a [[neo-noir]] film.<ref>[[Alain Silver|Silver, Alain]]; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). ''Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style'' (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: [[The Overlook Press]]. {{ISBN|0-87951-479-5}}</ref>

The Japanese filmmaker [[Akira Kurosawa]] cited ''The French Connection'' as one of his favorite films.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Lee Thomas-Mason |title=From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |website=Far Out |date=12 January 2021 |publisher=Far Out Magazine |access-date=10 June 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610003407/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Akira Kurosawa's Top 100 Movies! | url = http://wildgrounds.com/index.php/2009/01/17/akira-kurosawas-top-100-movies/ | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100327124349/http://wildgrounds.com/index.php/2009/01/17/akira-kurosawas-top-100-movies/ | archive-date = 27 March 2010 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

Director [[David Fincher]] cited ''The French Connection'' as one of the five films that "had a Profound Impact on my Life"<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Fincher |title=Movies That Had a Profound Impact on My Life |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/what-to-watch/post/movies-that-had-a-profound-impact-on-david-finchers-life |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=20 May 2022}}</ref> and served as an important influence on the cinematography on his film [[Seven (1995 film)|''Seven'']];<ref>{{cite book |author1=Alex Ballinger |author1-link=Darius Khondji |title=New Cinematographers |date=October 12, 2004 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9781856693349 |quote=In preparation [for the film, Seven], David [Fincher] showed me Klute (Alan J. Pakula, 1971) and the French Connection (William Freidkin, 1971) and Seven was inspired by a mixture of the stylised work of the former and the rawness and grittiness of the latter.}}</ref> [[Brad Pitt]] cited ''The French Connection'' as a reason he participated in ''Seven''.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Amy Longsdorf |title=Spotlight on Brad Pitt Golden Boy Turns Gritty In New Film |url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1995-09-16-3044972-story.html |website=The Morning Call |access-date=20 May 2022 |date=September 16, 1995 |quote=Why, with all his choices, did Pitt settle on "Seven"?  "I love movies from the '70s like 'The French Connection' and that's what (director) David Fincher and I talked about during our first meeting. I was looking for something with a documentary feel. I wanted to play a character who has flaws, who has good intentions but makes mistakes. I also wanted to kill the mythic thing -- this, like, larger-than-life thing about me."}}</ref>

Director [[Steven Spielberg]] has said he studied ''The French Connection'' in preparation for his historical action thriller film ''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]''.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Paul O’Callaghan |title=10 great films that inspired Steven Spielberg |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-inspired-steven-spielberg |website=British Film Institute |access-date=October 21, 2020 |date=January 23, 2018 |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022031541/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-inspired-steven-spielberg |url-status=live }}</ref>