FRENCH CONNECTION

THE FRENCH CONNECTION: Is there any more iconic city in the history of cinema than New York during the 1970s? The urine-soaked streets, oppressive grey architecture and flashy hoodlums combine to create a unique stage for the typical cops ‘n robbers story to play out. And director William Friedkin’s The French Connection is the best at capturing the city at its worst, shot with an “induced documentary” style that pre-dates Paul Greengrass’ Bourne films by three decades. A bookend to producer Philip D’Antoni’s previous hit, Bullitt, which shares its raw, unglamorous approach to the cop genre, Friedkin’s film swept the ’71 Oscars with a bullheaded performance from Gene Hackman as “Popeye” Doyle, a racist, womanizing, single-minded thug who just happens to wear a badge. Roy Scheider is his long-suffering partner who goes along for the ride in their pursuit of an international drug smuggling conspiracy. It’s difficult to comprehend how radically different Friedkin’s approach was at the time, which makes the copious extras on Fox’ Blu-ray such a welcome footnote. The two-disc set includes commentaries from Friedkin, Hackman and Scheider, trivia track, deleted scenes and copious Making Of materials that focus on everything from the real cops behind the case to the famous elevated train chase sequence.