Discus Maximus
New and nifty dvds
By Shawn Badgley, Fri., Dec. 7, 2001
The French Connection I & II
20th Century Fox Home Enteratainment ($39.98)
The chase begins with sniper fire and ends with a shot in the back. In between is a hijacked subway, a car chasing that subway, the same subway colliding with another, a heart attack, a fender-bender or two, several curiously pinkish spurts of blood, and a baby stroller. But it's William Friedkin's direction and Gene Hackman's acting all the time. "I had no reservations about doing it then because I was a callous, heedless youth," says Friedkin in his matter-of-fact and mildly enthusiastic bonus commentary about the chase, which took place in actual New York traffic. "But I wouldn't do anything like this now." Whether 1971's The French Connection is high cop art (five Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Actor, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing) or more cop crap ("The son of a bitch is here. I saw him. I'm gonna get him."), it remains a wickedly realistic ride on the heroin-smuggling side. 20th Century Fox's "Five Star Collection" three-disc set includes John Frankenheimer's underrated 1975 sequel, Hackman/Roy Scheider commentaries in addition to Friedkin's, a French-language option, two documentaries, original trailers, and deleted scenes, all marvelously deployed. Popeye Doyle's case -- and that legendary chase -- has never looked quite as foolproof -- or as phenomenal.
