The French Connection | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
Directed by | William Friedkin |
Produced by | Philip D'Antoni |
Screenplay by | Ernest Tidyman |
Based on |
The French Connection by Robin Moore |
Starring | |
Music by | Don Ellis |
Cinematography | Owen Roizman |
Edited by | Gerald B. Greenberg |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
|
|
Running time
|
104 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language |
|
Budget | $1.8 million |
Box office | $51.7 million $75 million (rentals) |
The French Connection is a 1971 American crime thriller film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Philip D'Antoni. It stars Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, and Roy Scheider. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the 1969 non-fiction book by Robin Moore. It tells the story of New York Police Department detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, whose real-life counterparts were Narcotics Detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso. Don Ellis scored the film.
It was the first R-rated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture since the introduction of the MPAA film rating system. It also won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director (Friedkin), Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Tidyman). It was 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 Gene Hackman and Fernando Rey reprising their roles.