The French Connection (film)

The French Connection
The French Connection
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Friedkin
Screenplay by	Ernest Tidyman
Based on	The French Connection; by Robin Moore
Produced by	Philip D'Antoni
Starring	Gene Hackman; Fernando Rey; Roy Scheider; Tony Lo Bianco; Marcel Bozzuffi;
Cinematography	Owen Roizman
Edited by	Gerald B. Greenberg
Music by	Don Ellis
Production; companies	Philip D'Antoni Productions; Schine-Moore Productions;
Distributed by	20th Century-Fox
Release date	October 7, 1971 (United States);
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English; French;
Budget	$1.8–2.2 million
Box office	$75 million (worldwide theatrical rental)

The French Connection is a 1971 American neo-noir^[6] action thriller film^[7] directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey. The screenplay, written by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore's 1969 non-fiction book of the same name. It tells the story of fictional NYPD detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, whose real-life counterparts were narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier (played by Rey).

At the 44th Academy Awards, the film earned eight nominations and won five for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, French Connection II, followed in 1975 with Hackman and Rey reprising their roles.

Often considered one of the greatest films ever made, The French Connection appeared in the American Film Institute's list of the best American films in 1998 and again in 2007. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".^[8]^[9]

^ Cite error: The named reference AFI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "THE FRENCH CONNECTION (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
^ Bart, Peter (August 8, 2011). "'Alien' territory: an economics lesson". Variety. p. 2. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
^ "The French Connection". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 167, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
^ Silver & Ward 1992
^ "The French Connection (1971) - William Friedkin". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2020.