The French Connection 1971

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: There is only one problem with the excitement generated by this film. After it is over, you will walk out of the theater and, as I did, curse the tedium of your own life. I kept looking for someone who I could throw up against a wall. Read more

Roger Greenspun, New York Times: It moves at magnificent speed, and exhausts itself in movement. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: This 1971 thriller about a heroin bust is solid, slick filmmaking, full of dirty cops, shrewd operators, and slam-bang action. Read more

Kathleen Carroll, New York Daily News: Its trigger-fast, explosive scenes and high-tension chase sequences (the one in "Bullitt" pales by comparison) will have you literally gasping for breath. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The French Connection is as amoral as its hero, as violent, as obsessed and as frightening. Read more

Jay Cocks, TIME Magazine: A knockout police thriller with so much jarring excitement that it almost calls for comic-book expletives. POW! ZOWIE! Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: An urban crime thriller which won undeserved acclaim for its efficient but unremarkable elevated-railway chase and its clumsy, showy emphasis on grainy, sordid realism. Read more

Robert B. Frederick, Variety: Producer Philip D'Antoni and screenwriter Ernest Tidyman have added enough fictional flesh to provide director William Friedkin and his overall topnotch cast with plenty of material, and they make the most of it. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Popeye also earned counterculture points by mistakenly shooting a federal agent and exhibiting a conspicuous lack of remorse. Read more