Featuring one of cinema’s great car chases – a visceral, frenetic race against an elevated train – director William Friedkin’s THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) also includes another thrilling chase, at the end of which Fernado Rey’s heroin-smuggling Charnier evades Gene Hackman’s Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle by slipping onto a departing subway car. The film was included among the American Film Institute’s record of the greatest films of all time – both the original list and its 10th anniversary edition – and also on AFI’s list of the art form’s most heart-pounding thrills. As portrayed by Hackman in the film, the character of Doyle was also included on AFI’s list of the cinema’s great screen heroes.
Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about THE FRENCH CONNECTION.
