tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post7281319662833552523..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Film Friday: The French Connection (1971)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-28344911671473708432015-06-08T20:12:09.075-04:002015-06-08T20:12:09.075-04:00Koshcat, I feel kind of similar. I do think this ...Koshcat, I feel kind of similar. I do think this is a must-see, but I personally don't like Doyle at all and it's hard to connect with the plot. <i>Bullitt</i> is a great film.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-40917808974709154072015-06-08T14:16:19.893-04:002015-06-08T14:16:19.893-04:00I know this movie received a lot of awards and oft...I know this movie received a lot of awards and often listed as one of the top movies of all time but I never really connected with it. It has been a long time since I saw it but I just remember the plot being a little too convoluted and Doyle being such a jerk. Some of it may be because I saw the movie after seeing Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hill Cop. However, I saw Bullet after all these and liked it better. I like Harry better too.Koshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-45094623095094191482015-06-06T20:10:07.335-04:002015-06-06T20:10:07.335-04:00Rustbelt, I had no idea. What a joke!
True. You...Rustbelt, I had no idea. What a joke!<br /><br />True. You need a cool theme song or you're a nobody!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-45115417081379318272015-06-06T20:08:41.240-04:002015-06-06T20:08:41.240-04:00Ben, They do more damage than Godzilla whenever th...Ben, They do more damage than Godzilla whenever they do their job. And yet, except for a quick argument with their chief and a two day suspension, no one cares.<br /><br />In reality, the recklessness with which they approach their jobs would get them fired on day one. They endanger the lives of every civilian and every other officer for miles around!<br /><br />I never felt he would kill himself either. It felt like a movie ploy to give you instant character.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-71074994110332961522015-06-06T19:13:30.805-04:002015-06-06T19:13:30.805-04:00Andrew, it's interesting that you mention the ...Andrew, it's interesting that you mention the name, "McBain." It turns out there is, in fact, a McBain movie. (It involves rogue Vietnam vets getting together 20 years later to take down a South American government. (Just let it sink in.) According to Wiki, producers of this movie actually blocked 'the Simpsons' producers from calling their Arnold character 'McBain' over rights issues. (That's why the call him Rainier Wolfcastle.) <br /><br />If you're interested, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyCxoIIprVE" rel="nofollow">here's a Clip.</a> Warning: NSFCWP*<br /><br />And on Axel Foley, let's not forget that, in addition to being both right and funny, he had the advantage of his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqG1l4lScsg" rel="nofollow">kicka** theme music!</a><br /><br />*- Not Safe For Christopher Walken PuristsRustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-81704487319653322232015-06-06T14:54:59.603-04:002015-06-06T14:54:59.603-04:00"Basically, every cop in the movies since the..."Basically, every cop in the movies since the 1980s is now a rogue cop who "plays by his own set of rules" and "gets results!""<br /><br />And destroys millions of dollars worth of property in the process, but hey, that's what. insurance is for, lol.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-24921895026233097032015-06-06T14:52:05.405-04:002015-06-06T14:52:05.405-04:00Yeah, it was almost like Riggs had a Death Wish, b...Yeah, it was almost like Riggs had a Death Wish, but I never felt like he would actually kill himself. Although, I must admit I thought the jump scene was original.USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-37170499368222245532015-06-06T12:44:31.993-04:002015-06-06T12:44:31.993-04:00Ben, That's true. Humor helps! LOL!
Making h...Ben, That's true. Humor helps! LOL!<br /><br />Making him crazy always felt like a cop out to me (no pun intended). It felt like an easy and phony explanation for why his character was different than the supposed cop cliche of Joe Webb.<br /><br />In any event, he's just the most prominent example. That period is full of them. Axle Foley in <i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> was another perfect example. And beyond that, there are hundreds of others. Basically, every cop in the movies since the 1980s is now a rogue cop who "plays by his own set of rules" and "gets results!"AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-18298975904515613362015-06-06T12:14:56.760-04:002015-06-06T12:14:56.760-04:00Audiences are also very forgiving if the cops are ...Audiences are also very forgiving if the cops are funny. USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-21186437281422046852015-06-06T12:11:12.927-04:002015-06-06T12:11:12.927-04:00Wait Andrew, Murtaugh and Riggs were busted down t...Wait Andrew, Murtaugh and Riggs were busted down to traffic cops for a little while, lol. And Riggs was a basket case, at least for the first film. After he got better they brought in the psychiatrist so he could make fun off her.<br /><br />They kept their jobs because of the union. Yeah, that's it. :)USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-92051764250964057402015-06-06T10:45:43.639-04:002015-06-06T10:45:43.639-04:00Thanks Ben! I think you are right. Doyle's p...Thanks Ben! I think you are right. Doyle's popularity has to be traced to the fact that this was the 1970's and crime was insane. <i>The French Connection</i> isn't an attack on the system like <i>Dirty Harry</i> was, but it still presents the loner cop out there "fighting for us" in a world where the news was full of judges and politicians worrying about the rights of thugs over victims. And as I note in the review, I think we tend to like cops roughing up "the right people." So with the war on drugs just beginning and everyone talking about drugs being this scourge on humanity and the system seeming paralyzed by liberalism, it felt good to people to think that there was this bulldog out there chewing the ass of drug dealers.<br /><br />In terms of likability, I do think it is vital that he was right. If he had been wrong, then people would have hated him. I also think it helps that Hackman is so fascinating as an actor whenever he's on screen. His character may have been an abusive corrupt turd, but Hackman comes across as someone you like to see on film. I'm not sure the film would have worked with someone else in the role. Take a Vic Morrow for example and I think people would have been repulsed.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-18556783068422831052015-06-06T10:39:02.388-04:002015-06-06T10:39:02.388-04:00Rustbelt, I believe the name you are looking for i...Rustbelt, I believe the name you are looking for is my my my my Mitchell. ;-)<br /><br />It is interesting that both Doyle and Callahan have well explained reasons for being the way they are. Both are cops who are facing bosses who genuinely aren't interested in catching the bad guy -- Harry's bosses are PC liberals who are just looking to find the right place to land the blame whereas Doyle's boss is concerned with shifting to different kinds of cases than dealing with drugs. Doyle is also presented as a real jerk, whereas Harry has more of the feel of someone unfairly attacked for not joining the herd in their latest stupidity.<br /><br />By the time you get to characters like Mel Gibson's character in <i>Lethal Weapon</i> or the dozens of others that followed... McBain!!!, there really doesn't seem to be a reason to be a rogue cop anymore. Their commanders like them and give them wide latitude, even though they yell at them when things go wrong, and the system happily ratifies their actions time and again. Dirty Harry, by comparison, never won the support of the system even when he was absolutely right time and again.<br /><br />So really, you do have something silly going on in that these copycat characters lack the underlying reason to exist as these two cops have.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-39586494953010623012015-06-06T05:30:20.258-04:002015-06-06T05:30:20.258-04:00I think another reason Popeye resonates, as did Di...I think another reason Popeye resonates, as did Dirty Harry, is because the 70's had a high crime rate due to the liberal politicians and judges, and people were sick of it, since justice wasn't being done as much as it could be.<br />IIRC you mentioned this, Andrew, in your Dirty Harry review.<br /><br />This was also a reason vigilante films were so popular during that time (such as Death Wish) because people like to see the criminal get what's coming to him when the justice system fails.<br /><br />Not to take away your analysis of this film, because you are correct that Doyle being right resonates also.<br /><br />IMO, Dirty Harry is more likable than Popeye Doyle, but Popeye is still likable enough to work, and Hackman is brilliant in it.<br /><br />Excellent post, Andrew!USS Ben USN (Ret)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07492369604790651538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-10788841794044672492015-06-05T23:32:59.203-04:002015-06-05T23:32:59.203-04:00I haven't seen this one, though I've heard...I haven't seen this one, though I've heard a lot about it. To be honest, I've heard more about the real-life French Connection heroin route; with the heroin being smuggled from Sicily to the U.S. and Canada via Marseilles and then into the hands of Bonanno and Lucchese crime families in the 60's and 70's.<br /><br />It seems the rogue cop goes from law-defending Callahan to law-breaking Doyle to cardboard imitations. Problem is, the rogue cop has been so many times since that it's become a cliche unto itself. At least Callahan and Doyle have reasons for being rogue-ish. The former has to deal with a (figuratively) shackled system and the other is ostracized for (understandably) being a lousy cop. <br /><br />Too bad the imitations couldn't have bothered to at least give some kind of reason for the rogue behavior. Take out the reasons, add the unlikableness, and you get Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma...what is his name? Matt? Mittens? Mattel? Mittens? And how are the initials JDB involved? <br /><br />Either way, it seems Callahan and Doyle, great as they were, opened the door for Z-grade rogue cops who were as badly written as they were bad cops and bad men- and all just for the heck of it.Rustbelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190297078043033514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-4537391633121827782015-06-05T21:58:58.514-04:002015-06-05T21:58:58.514-04:00They did, but the sequel sucks. Doyle goes to Fra...They did, but the sequel sucks. Doyle goes to France.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41518873577868227532015-06-05T21:57:09.221-04:002015-06-05T21:57:09.221-04:00Didn't they make a sequel to this movie? Did i...Didn't they make a sequel to this movie? Did it hold up well?Jasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-54243546460978781742015-06-05T10:33:50.696-04:002015-06-05T10:33:50.696-04:00Kit, In a way, yeah. Callahan is a good cop, but ...Kit, In a way, yeah. Callahan is a good cop, but a tough cop. He respects the law and he really only disobeys orders (not the law - with one possible exception in the middle of the film). And he only does that when lives are in danger and the department has become crippled by its own set of rules. The reason he's seen as rotten is that he's quick to use violence or the threat of violence when it will save lives.<br /><br />Doyle, on the other hand, sees violence as his primary tool. He's also not a good cop. In this case, he plays a hunch and does get the right guy, but his method of policing is most likely to lead to (1) hundreds of failed convictions based on technicalities, (2) constant lawsuits for wrongful arrest and excessive use of force, (3) growing anger between the black community and the cops, and (4) frame ups of the wrong people. He's one of those guys who decides who is suspect is and then sets out to prove it rather than letting the evidence take him where he needs to go.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-38047746871482978882015-06-05T00:47:40.646-04:002015-06-05T00:47:40.646-04:00So, Doyle makes Harry Callahan seem like a hippie?...So, Doyle makes Harry Callahan seem like a hippie? Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.com