This documentary provides interesting background to movie 'The French Connection'. For instance, the director William Friedkin never wanted Gene Hackman to take the lead role of Popeye and Fernando Rey who played Charnier, the French smuggler, was chosen by mistake (he is actually Spanish). The documentary takes us through the torturous process which led from the actual drug bust which formed the basis for the movie, through several different screenplays, to the final Oscar-winning production. It provides differing views on the film-making process, including a critical view of the 'difficult' Friedkin. Its portrayal of Friedkin as a wunderkind, makes me wonder why his subsequent career - apart from 'Exorcist' - has been less than successful. Problems with the documentary include the overacting of the presenter and the lack of proper introduction for some of the talking heads.
The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection' (2000 TV Movie)
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Review this title2 Reviews
Amazingly good.
planktonrules16 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This film is included as one of the bonus features on the second disc for "The French Connection". However, I was surprised to see that it was NOT made specifically for the DVD but was a production by the BBC. Obviously, the film must have been very successful in the UK.
I was surprised by this film about the making of "The French Connection" because it was far better than the usual sort of film you'd find as a bonus. It was full of wonderful trivia and behind the scenes information--some of which was quite surprising. For example, Gene Hackman apparently hated the real-life guy who he was playing in the film. And, much of the dialog in this multi-Oscar winning film was unscripted! There are a lot more similar sorts of information that make the film work so well--but I don't want to spoil this documentary for you by saying more. My only reservation is some of the language--but since the feature film is obviously very adult, this can easily be overlooked.
I was surprised by this film about the making of "The French Connection" because it was far better than the usual sort of film you'd find as a bonus. It was full of wonderful trivia and behind the scenes information--some of which was quite surprising. For example, Gene Hackman apparently hated the real-life guy who he was playing in the film. And, much of the dialog in this multi-Oscar winning film was unscripted! There are a lot more similar sorts of information that make the film work so well--but I don't want to spoil this documentary for you by saying more. My only reservation is some of the language--but since the feature film is obviously very adult, this can easily be overlooked.
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