The Making of the French Connection

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1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
6 Links

[edit] General Information

Arts Documentary with no narration published by Fox Entertainment in 2008 - English language

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

William Friedkin's gritty police drama portrays two tough New York City cops trying to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. Controversial in 1971, a year dominated by violent films like "A Clockwork Orange," "Straw Dogs," and especially fellow cop action hit "Dirty Harry," Friedkin's award-winner is the granddaddy of darker 1980s actioners like "Escape from New York ," and it paved the way for Friedkin's 1985 "To Live and Die in L.A." film, which continues in an even denser mood. An interesting contrast is established between 'Popeye' Doyle (Gene Hackman), a short-tempered alcoholic bigot who is nevertheless a hard-working and dedicated police officer, and his nemesis Alain Charnier, a suave and urbane gentleman who is nevertheless a criminal and one of the largest drug suppliers of pure heroin to North America. During the surveillance and eventual bust, Friedkin provides one of the most gripping and memorable car chase sequences ever filmed. "The French Connection" has a lot of street credibility of shabby New York in the early 1970s, and the long chase filmed in Brooklyn is considered one of the most legendary in film history. The screenplay for the film from Robin Moore's nonfiction was made by Ernest Tidyman. Based on a true story, this action-packed thriller, with its iconic chase scene, earned Oscars in 1971 for Best Picture, Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Actor for Hackman, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. These features are from two-disc Blu-ray edition, published in 2009 and now sold out.

[edit] Part 1

1. Anatomy of a Chase: A bonus film featuring the director William Friedkin, revisiting on-location of the film's famed chase sequence, discussing the reasoning behind choosing the locations and walking through the sequence. The piece also features an extensive dialogue between Friedkin and Producer Philip D'Antoni as they move along the trail of the chase. (HD, 20 min.) 2. Hackman on Doyle: Hackman recalls his famed role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a crazy-classic antihero and the process of making the film. (HD, 10 min.) 3. Friedkin and Grosso Remember the Real French Connection: This piece features the director and Sonny "Cloudy" Grosso, the real-life officer involved in the case, now recalling the events of the case that inspired the film. (HD, 19 min.) 4. Scene of the Crime: Friedkin and actor (and then-real-life police officer) Randy Jurgensen — the famed NYPD detective who later consulted on Friedkin's controversial "Cruising" and "Donnie Brasco" — recall the making of one of the film's most crucial sequences. (HD, 5 min.) 5. Color Timing The French Connection: In this featurette the director comments on the creation of the new transfer for this Blu-ray edition. We get a look at the process of color timing the film and on how the color takes on a pastel look. (HD, 13 min.) 6. Cop Jazz: The Music of Don Ellis: This supplement highlights the late composer and the story behind the film's experimental score. (HD, 10 min.): 7. Rogue Cop: The Noir Connection: This extra looks at the Film Noir elements of The French Connection and its revitalization of the art form, with classic examples of the film noir genre. (HD, 14 min.)

[edit] Part 2

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing the French Connection (2000) A BBC TV special with information about the real French Connection case and the history of the movie's production. Critic Mark Kermode examines the making of the seminal Oscar-winning thriller The French Connection. As well as interviewing stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider and director William Friedkin , Kermode looks at the sixties drugs bust that inspired the film, and talks to officer Sonny Grosso about his involvement in the case. The film also retreads the course of the car and train chase that many regard as the greatest in cinematic history. (SD, 54 min.)

[edit] Part 3

Making the Connection: The Untold Stories of The French Connection (2001) A Fox Movie Channel special that examines the involvement of Officer Sonny Grosso on both the film and the real-world case. We follow Sonny Grosso, the New York City cop portrayed by Roy Scheider in the film, through the streets of New York and meet a few of the stars and filmmakers of William Friedkin's The French Connection. Film examines the stories behind of the 1961 drug bust that lead to the 1969 bestseller and the 1971 motion picture. Included are TV-coverage clips, outtakes from the movie, actual crime-scene photographs and interviews with Gene Hackman, director William Friedkin, author Robin Moore and New York Supreme Court Judge Edwin Torres. (SD, 57 min.)

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L4
Video Bitrate: 3 151 kb/s
Video Resolution: 1918x1080
Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frames Per Second: 29.970
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 224 kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 53 min - 1 h 32 min
Number Of Parts: 3
Part Size: 892 MB - 2.33 GB
Source: BluRay (Thanks to RVL@a.b.hdtv)
Encoded by: DocFreak08