The French Connection

The French Connection is a 1971 American dramatic thriller film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Philip D'Antoni. It starred Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey and Roy Scheider. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore. It tells the story of New York Police Department detectives named "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, whose real-life counterparts were Narcotics Detectives Eddie E... More

Initial release date:

  • Oct 7, 1971

Directed by:

Rating:

R (USA)

Runtime:

  • 1 h 44 min

Produced by:

Also known as:

  • The French Connection,
  • French Connection,
  • Brennpunkt Brooklyn

Film

Directed by

William Friedkin

William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 and The Exorcist in 1973; for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director. His film, Bug (2006) won the FIPRESCI prize at the Cannes Film...

Tagline:

  • A $32,000,000 chase turns into the American thriller of the year!
  • Doyle is bad news - but a good cop.
  • The time is right for an out and out thriller like this.

Subjects:

Executive produced by:

Cinematography:

Edited by:

Release date(s):

Release Date Film release distribution medium
  • 1971
  • Sep 25, 2001
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Casting director:

Art direction by:

Set Decoration by:

Costume design by:

Other crew:

Crewmember Film crew role
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Music by:

Runtime:

  • 1 h 44 min

Country of origin:

Estimated budget:

Currency Amount
  • 1,800,000

Soundtrack:

Film format:

Production companies:

Distributors:

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Awards

Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Film Winners

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominees

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills of 2001

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Media

Adapted From

The French Connection

The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy is a non-fiction book by Robin Moore first published in 1969 about the notorious "French Connection" drug trafficking scheme. It is followed by the book The Setup. The book was adapted to film in 1971 as The...

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Facts from the Community

From the Great Films base

Appears in ranked lists:

List Ranking
  • 70
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