ean 5050582882094 rating tba title the very hungry frenchmen series 1 dvd ean 5050582882094 title very hungry frenchman series 1 the sku dv 001245211 v...... more

ean 5050582882094 rating tba title the very hungry frenchmen series 1 dvd ean 5050582882094 title very hungry frenchman series 1 the sku dv 001245211 v product category dvds binding dvd region code 2 format pal label universal pictures uk release date 02 04 2012 discs 2 height 15 00 mm width 138 00 mm length 180 00 mm weight 82 00 grams language none english manufacturer universal pictures uk publisher universal pictures uk studio universal pictures uk actor raymond blanc mpn 5050582882094 about

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Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL...... more

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Spanish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Frenchman's Creek is a 1944 adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel (about an aristocratic English woman who falls in love with a French pirate), released by Paramount Pictures. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Arturo de Córdova, Basil Rathbone, Cecil Kellaway, and Nigel Bruce. Filmed in Technicolor, it was directed by Mitchell Leisen. The musical score was by Victor Young, who incorporated the main theme of French composer Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune as the love theme for the film. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Oscar Academy Awards,

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

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France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS:...... more

France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The Big Sky is based on a popular novel by A.B. Guthrie. Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin play a pair of Kentucky frontiersmen who embark upon the first keelboat trip up the Missouri River way back in 1830. Joining Douglas and Martin are Martin's grizzled old uncle Arthur Hunnicutt and garrulous Frenchman Steven Geray. Running afoul of various Indian tribes, Douglas nonetheless romances Sioux princess Elizabeth Threatt (their off-screen relationship was on the kinky side, as an embarrassed Douglas reveals in his autobiography). Director Howard Hawks leavens the Boys' Own Adventure atmosphere of the film with a few isolated comic sequences, including a sidesplitting scene in which Douglas' gangrenous finger is cut off. Produced for RKO Radio by Hawks' own Winchester Pictures, The Big Sky was released at 141 minutes, though the TV print runs 122 minutes. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Oscar Academy Awards, ...The Big Sky

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

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France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS:...... more

France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The Big Sky is based on a popular novel by A.B. Guthrie. Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin play a pair of Kentucky frontiersmen who embark upon the first keelboat trip up the Missouri River way back in 1830. Joining Douglas and Martin are Martin's grizzled old uncle Arthur Hunnicutt and garrulous Frenchman Steven Geray. Running afoul of various Indian tribes, Douglas nonetheless romances Sioux princess Elizabeth Threatt (their off-screen relationship was on the kinky side, as an embarrassed Douglas reveals in his autobiography). Director Howard Hawks leavens the Boys' Own Adventure atmosphere of the film with a few isolated comic sequences, including a sidesplitting scene in which Douglas' gangrenous finger is cut off. Produced for RKO Radio by Hawks' own Winchester Pictures, The Big Sky was released at 141 minutes, though the TV print runs 122 minutes. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Oscar Academy Awards, ...The Big Sky

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France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS:...... more

France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The Big Sky is based on a popular novel by A.B. Guthrie. Kirk Douglas and Dewey Martin play a pair of Kentucky frontiersmen who embark upon the first keelboat trip up the Missouri River way back in 1830. Joining Douglas and Martin are Martin's grizzled old uncle Arthur Hunnicutt and garrulous Frenchman Steven Geray. Running afoul of various Indian tribes, Douglas nonetheless romances Sioux princess Elizabeth Threatt (their off-screen relationship was on the kinky side, as an embarrassed Douglas reveals in his autobiography). Director Howard Hawks leavens the Boys' Own Adventure atmosphere of the film with a few isolated comic sequences, including a sidesplitting scene in which Douglas' gangrenous finger is cut off. Produced for RKO Radio by Hawks' own Winchester Pictures, The Big Sky was released at 141 minutes, though the TV print runs 122 minutes. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Oscar Academy Awards, ...The Big Sky

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin took his attention towards redefining the horror genre with his next film The Exorcist.--Jeff Shannon, Amazon.comFollowing on from the original four years later, French Connection II takes "Popeye" Doyle to Marsailles to hunt down Alain Charnier, the "daddy" of the smuggling ring. Gene Hackman returns to revive his role as Doyle the brutal and uncompromising narcotics detective, and turns in an equally hard hitting performance to that offered in the original.

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A thriller that's nearly devoid of thrills? That's not a complaint--it's what makes The American Friend one of the most stylish (and at the time most...... more

A thriller that's nearly devoid of thrills? That's not a complaint--it's what makes The American Friend one of the most stylish (and at the time most expensive) films to emerge from the new German cinema of the 1970s. Loosely adapting Patricia Highsmith's mystery novel Ripley's Game, director Wim Wenders shifted priority from plotting to character, emphasising a richly colourful and atmospheric approach to locations in Hamburg, where a picture-framer (Bruno Ganz) is lured into an assassination scheme involving a mysterious Frenchman (Gerard Blain) and the titular American friend, Tom Ripley (played by Dennis Hopper, a far cry from either Matt Damon's portrayal of the same character in The Talented Mr Ripley or John Malkovich's in the 2003 version of Ripley's Game). The plotting is vague to the point of irrelevance; Wenders prefers to maintain the aura of mystery rather than generating any conventional suspense and expresses his affection for American movies by casting favourite directors Nicholas Ray and Samuel Fuller in pivotal supporting roles. The result is an intoxicating example of cinematic cross-pollination. --Jeff Shannon

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin took his attention towards redefining the horror genre with his next film The Exorcist.--Jeff Shannon, Amazon.comFollowing on from the original four years later, French Connection II takes "Popeye" Doyle to Marsailles to hunt down Alain Charnier, the "daddy" of the smuggling ring. Gene Hackman returns to revive his role as Doyle the brutal and uncompromising narcotics detective, and turns in an equally hard hitting performance to that offered in the original.

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Herbert von Karajan's characterful, but at times unedifyingly ragged (and surely overrated?) 1961 Vienna recording of The Planets may get top billing here (and...... more

Herbert von Karajan's characterful, but at times unedifyingly ragged (and surely overrated?) 1961 Vienna recording of The Planets may get top billing here (and Decca's front-cover nostalgically reproduces the artwork of the original LP release), but the real reason for buying this mid-price Classic Sound reissue is the coupling, namely Pierre Monteux's great and glorious account of Elgar's sublime Enigma Variations. Taped as long ago as June 1958 (though you would scarcely credit it, so enticingly vivid and glowing are engineer Kenneth Wilkinson's vintage sonics), it's an unbridled success from start to finish. Under Monteux's intensely warm-hearted, meticulously observant lead, each of the composer's 13 "friends pictured within" are fleshed out with intoxicating sympathy and refreshing individuality. Moreover, by dividing his first and second fiddles to the left and right of the platform, the 83-year-old Frenchman uncovers countless revelatory details within Elgar's miraculous, abundantly flecked scoring. It is, above all, a performance of truly life-enhancing wisdom and communicative flair distilled from a lifetime's experience on the podium. Don't miss this wondrous document. --Andrew Achenbach

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A genius he may have been, but Peter Sellers' film work often demonstrated appalling lapses of taste, as with the weak wartime farce Soft Beds, Hard Battles....... more

A genius he may have been, but Peter Sellers' film work often demonstrated appalling lapses of taste, as with the weak wartime farce Soft Beds, Hard Battles. Little more than a vehicle for a range of Sellers racial stereotypes and an excuse to feature a succession of scantily clad young women, the film centres on a Parisian brothel during the Second World War and its various clients from all the countries involved. Thus Sellers is given reign to trot out his comedy Frenchman, Englishman, German and Chinaman-none of which come across as anything other than hugely dated. The plot is weak and the hopelessly erotic air gives a feel of Confessions of a Window Cleaner in uniform or "'Allo 'Allo: The Movie". With so many better examples of Sellers' work available, this must surely be close to the bottom of anyone's list.On the DVD:Soft Beds, Hard Battles's picture and sound are bright and bawdy, with some degree of digital remastering obviously having taken place. There is a 10-minute selection of material deleted from the original cinematic print but these are merely odds and sods that cannot save Soft Beds, Hard Battles from being little more than a woefully outdated curio. --Phil Udell

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

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A Frenchman once pointed out to Louis de Bernieres that Britain was the most exotic country in Europe, adding that it was 'an immense lunatic asylum'....... more

A Frenchman once pointed out to Louis de Bernieres that Britain was the most exotic country in Europe, adding that it was 'an immense lunatic asylum'. Casting his mind back to the village in southern Surrey where he grew up in the sixties and seventies, but plagued by a novelist's inability to stick to the truth, Louis de Bernieres brings us in "Notwithstanding" stories of a vanished England which will delight readers of his much-loved novels. The English village was a place where a lady might dress as a man in plus fours and spend her time shooting squirrels with a twelve bore, or keep a vast menagerie in her house. A retired general might give up wearing clothes, a spiritualist might live in a cottage with her sister and the ghost of her husband, and people might think it quite natural to confide in a spider that lives in a potting shed. De Bernieres' characters roam through the book, appearing in each other's stories and painting a picture of an entire community. Here we find the atmosphere of those times as it was in the countryside. "Notwithstanding" is not about an imagined idyll; it is about people who are worth remembering, whose lives are worth celebrating, and who would otherwise have been forgotten.

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A Frenchman once pointed out to Louis de Bernieres that Britain was the most exotic country in Europe, adding that it was 'an immense lunatic asylum'....... more

A Frenchman once pointed out to Louis de Bernieres that Britain was the most exotic country in Europe, adding that it was 'an immense lunatic asylum'. Casting his mind back to the village in southern Surrey where he grew up in the sixties and seventies, but plagued by a novelist's inability to stick to the truth, Louis de Bernieres brings us in "Notwithstanding" stories of a vanished England which will delight readers of his much-loved novels. The English village was a place where a lady might dress as a man in plus fours and spend her time shooting squirrels with a twelve bore, or keep a vast menagerie in her house. A retired general might give up wearing clothes, a spiritualist might live in a cottage with her sister and the ghost of her husband, and people might think it quite natural to confide in a spider that lives in a potting shed. De Bernieres' characters roam through the book, appearing in each other's stories and painting a picture of an entire community. Here we find the atmosphere of those times as it was in the countryside. "Notwithstanding" is not about an imagined idyll; it is about people who are worth remembering, whose lives are worth celebrating, and who would otherwise have been forgotten. (Large Print Edition)

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin took his attention towards redefining the horror genre with his next film The Exorcist.--Jeff Shannon, Amazon.comFollowing on from the original four years later, French Connection II takes "Popeye" Doyle to Marsailles to hunt down Alain Charnier, the "daddy" of the smuggling ring. Gene Hackman returns to revive his role as Doyle the brutal and uncompromising narcotics detective, and turns in an equally hard hitting performance to that offered in the original.

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Columbia's biggest hit of 1943, Sahara confirmed the superstar status Humphrey Bogart attained with his Warner Brothers' North African adventure, Casablanca...... more

Columbia's biggest hit of 1943, Sahara confirmed the superstar status Humphrey Bogart attained with his Warner Brothers' North African adventure, Casablanca (1942). Surrounded by the Germans on three sides, Bogart's tough-as-they-come Sergeant Joe Gunn takes his tank and a crew of American, British and French soldiers into the Sahara to reach the retreating allied forces. But when they find that the only water for 100 miles is also the target of a German battalion they decide to take a desperate stand. Early scenes present the characters with assorted perils: thirst, sandstorms and a German air attack. The characters are rather stereotypical: the cowardly Italian prisoner, the Frenchman obsessed with food, the German humourless and fanatical, though the British come out well, and there's a sympathetically drawn black British Sudanese soldier (Rex Ingram). The director was Zoltan Korda, the man behind such British classics as The Four Feathers (1939), and though Sahara lacks the scale of that adventure, Korda's experience pays off in mounting the extended and suspenseful siege/action climax. With support from Lloyd Bridges and Dan Duryea, Oscar-nominated photography by Rudolph Mate and a fine score by Miklós Rózsa, Sahara is a taut, gripping desert war thriller which wouldn't be bettered until Ice Cold in Alex (1958). On the DVD: The black and white picture is presented in the original 4:3 ratio and looks very good for its age, though there are numerous brief instances of substantial print damage. Audio is strong, clear mono. Given the age of the movie it is not surprising the only extras are filmographies and a small selection of beautifully reproduced original advertising posters. The film is presented with alternative soundtracks in French, Italian and Spanish, as well as with English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Finnish subtitles. There are trailers for The Caine Mutiny (1954), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and The Guns of Navarone (1961). --Gary S Dalkin

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A genius he may have been, but Peter Sellers' film work often demonstrated appalling lapses of taste, as with the weak wartime farce Soft Beds, Hard Battles....... more

A genius he may have been, but Peter Sellers' film work often demonstrated appalling lapses of taste, as with the weak wartime farce Soft Beds, Hard Battles. Little more than a vehicle for a range of Sellers racial stereotypes and an excuse to feature a succession of scantily clad young women, the film centres on a Parisian brothel during the Second World War and its various clients from all the countries involved. Thus Sellers is given reign to trot out his comedy Frenchman, Englishman, German and Chinaman-none of which come across as anything other than hugely dated. The plot is weak and the hopelessly erotic air gives a feel of Confessions of a Window Cleaner in uniform or "'Allo 'Allo: The Movie". With so many better examples of Sellers' work available, this must surely be close to the bottom of anyone's list.On the DVD:Soft Beds, Hard Battles's picture and sound are bright and bawdy, with some degree of digital remastering obviously having taken place. There is a 10-minute selection of material deleted from the original cinematic print but these are merely odds and sods that cannot save Soft Beds, Hard Battles from being little more than a woefully outdated curio. --Phil Udell

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A thriller that's nearly devoid of thrills? That's not a complaint--it's what makes The American Friend one of the most stylish (and at the time most...... more

A thriller that's nearly devoid of thrills? That's not a complaint--it's what makes The American Friend one of the most stylish (and at the time most expensive) films to emerge from the new German cinema of the 1970s. Loosely adapting Patricia Highsmith's mystery novel Ripley's Game, director Wim Wenders shifted priority from plotting to character, emphasising a richly colourful and atmospheric approach to locations in Hamburg, where a picture-framer (Bruno Ganz) is lured into an assassination scheme involving a mysterious Frenchman (Gerard Blain) and the titular American friend, Tom Ripley (played by Dennis Hopper, a far cry from either Matt Damon's portrayal of the same character in The Talented Mr Ripley or John Malkovich's in the 2003 version of Ripley's Game). The plotting is vague to the point of irrelevance; Wenders prefers to maintain the aura of mystery rather than generating any conventional suspense and expresses his affection for American movies by casting favourite directors Nicholas Ray and Samuel Fuller in pivotal supporting roles. The result is an intoxicating example of cinematic cross-pollination. --Jeff Shannon

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A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed...... more

A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

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