The documentary style of the camera work and the fact that the story was based on the exploits of two real life police officers gives The French Connection a gritty, real-life feel. The story centres on Popeye Doyle (Hackman) and Buddy Russon (Scheider), two New York policemen on the trail of a large shipment of heroin from France. As the police close in, Alain Charnier (Rey), one of the importers, decides to kill the cops who have the gang under surveillance to give them time to complete the deal.

Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his portrayal of Popeye Doyle and rightly so, for he gave us one of cinema's most enduring characters. Far from being a typical hero, Popeye is a quick-tempered, hard-drinking bigot and neither the screenplay nor Hackman try to make us have much sympathy for him. Yes he is a hard working, tough cop but it is his adversary Charnier who is far more refined and likeable.

The French Connection was primarily filmed on location in France and New York and the latter in particular is grimy and run-down, showing us a glimpse of the true dark side of the city. One of the most famous scenes in the movie is when the cops are chasing a runaway elevated train through the city and this is a classic piece of cinema. However it is not the action sequences alone which make this movie. Instead, it is a lesson in the use of quality actors and patient directing to build characters and then use them to tell the story with pace and tension.