The French Connection - Limited Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray]

Item as described superb

Working my way through best pictures. My recollection of the film was that it was a bit mumbly. This version was fine. A bit dated, but enjoyed it hugely.

I have got to stop watching all the flashy modern rubbish! They are making old films look dull! I love The French Connection. Not as much as most I think but still, it's a solid film, well structured with great performances all round and some of the most bad ass standout scenes of the 70's! But.... this new transfer has slightly dampened it for me. I know I'm late to the party because it's a transfer from around 2009, but it's pretty awful! I watched the mini doc about the transfer on the second disc and I get what Mr. Freidkin is saying he's going for but he didn't achieve it. My TV has not been professionally calibrated but I think I know what I'm doing. Separate settings for 4K, HDR, NON HDR, 1080p, Games and they all look perfect. The regrading process is the same as many other films go through and they all manage to look far better so it's not just me! It just took me out of the feeling of immersion. Shame.Other than that the film is excellent and should be seen by as many people as possible.

Love this film. Saw it about 40 years ago and watched it again a few nights ago. It stands up very well. New York looks exactly as I remember it in the 1970s - dirty, intimidating, raw but exciting. That also sums up Gene Hackman who was a man first and an actor second (so rare today!) He's very convincing as a tough cop operating in the margins of legality. The contrast of New York and Marseilles adds a lot to the film as do the 70s fashions, cars and street scenes. The direction is taught: the movie moves along at a good clip and leaves the door open for the sequel. Highly recommended.

I honestly don't remember ever seeing Gene Hackman in a film in which he didn't give a great performance and truly lift up the entire calibre of the film (he was even good as Lex Luthor in the appalling 'Superman' and the Reverend in the equally dreadful 'Poseiden Adventure', although both wree better than they should have been, with him in them).This film, though, had everything going for it even before he signed up and, with him in it as well it is just superb. I can't go through everything about it that is great because the list is too long, suffice it to say that he won the Best Actor Oscar for it, the film won the Best Picture Oscar, the director (William Friedkin) won the Best Director Oscar, and the scriptwriter (Ernest Tidyman) won the Best Screenplay Oscar. There's not a left to win, except Best Editing Oscar, and it won that too.

Fabulous, gritty realism -a classic

Good price, prompt service

Others have reviewed this great movie and its chequered Blu Ray release in more detail than I can. I'll just mention that director William Friedkin's experimental colour treatment for the initial BD release was widely regarded as an abomination, and eventually a straight version was produced which looks the way it should. It's therefore worth checking that you're buying this 2012 Filmmakers' Signature Edition and not the earlier one (note Amazon lumps all reviews for a movie together, so check which one I'm reviewing.)Yes, it's confusing that the "signature" refers to the same chap who messed it up the first time around.The movie itself is a classic tough-cop-who-won't-quit story based on real events (plenty of background and interviews in the extras pack, which is nice), and being a 1970's crime movie it doesn't mess around and ends abruptly. (Cue credits...)

Très bon dvd à recommander

好きな作品です。また機会があればよろしくお願いします。ありがとうございます。

Jimmy Doyle (Gene Hackman) und Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) sind zwei Beamte aus dem New Yorker Drogendezernat, deren Alltag in der entsprechenden Drogen-Szene dieser Film Noir von 1971 zeigt. Ich bin schon etwas verwirrt, wenn ich lese, dass der Urfilm bzw. die Ur-DVD von der Bildqualität her besser bzw. realistischer gewesen sein sollen, als diese neue BluRay-Variante. Dieser Meinung kann ich mich nicht anschließen. Im Gegenteil: Ich honoriere die Bemühungen von Fox, diesen Film zu restaurieren, was sehr gut gelungen ist. Zum Inhalt: Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) und Marcel Bozzuffi (Pierre Nicoli), beide aus Marseille, planen den ultimativen Herointransport nach New York, wo zwei Gauner aus der Drogenszene: Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco) und Devereaux (Frederic de Pasquale) beim "Import" der Ware behilflich sind. Der Film liefert einen realistischen Einblick in die Arbeit des Drogendepartments im eiskalten, winterlichen New York. In mühevoller, zäher Kleinarbeit werden die Drahtzieher und Gehilfen des Syndikats beschattet. Charnier und Bozzuffi kommen per Schiff mit einem wunderschönen Ford Lincoln Continental Coupé in die Stadt und es dauert nicht lange, da haben sich Doyle und Russo an ihre Fersen geheftet. Fesselnd und mitreissend ist eine Verfolgungsjagd in der New Yorker U-Bahn, wo sich Charnier und Doyle mit allen Tricks bekämpfen. Schließlich kommt es zu einer Verfolgungsjagd, mit Doyle in einem beschlagnahmten Straßenkreuzer unten und Bozzuffi in der U-Bahn oben über mehrere Stationen. Die Kontrahenten bekämpfen sich mit allen denkbaren Mitteln. Alles steuert auf die entscheidende Auseinandersetzung zu, eine atemberaubende Entscheidung, die den Zuschauer in ihren Bann zieht. Die jungen Gene Hackman und Roy Scheider spielen ihre Rollen mit größter Intensität, Scenestealer ist jedoch Fernando Rey! Das Bild im Format 16:9 (Farbe) ist hervorragend restauriert, hat aber nichts von seiner Authentizität verloren, der Ton ist Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS in Deutsch und Englisch und vielen anderen Sprachen bis zu Thailändisch. Das Package enthält 2 DVDs. Eine mit dem Film und zusätzlich einer Einleitung von Regisseur William Friedkin, Audiokommentaren von Hackman, Scheider und Friedkin, Trivia Track und einer isolierten Musiktonspur. Die DVD 2 zeigt entfallene Szenen, die Anatomie einer Verfolgungsjagd, Hackman über Doyle, Kommentare von Friedkin und Sonny Grosso, der Tatort, die Restaurierung, die Musik von Don Ellis, die Noir Connection, BBC Doku, Making Of. Der Film erhielt 5 Oscars für Hackman, Friedkin, bester Film, bestes Drehbuch, bester Schnitt. Dies ist einer der besten Filme aller Zeiten!

Obra maestra de acción, secuencias de autos memorables, ganadora del Oscar mejor Película, ahora en esta versión aprobada por el maestro W Friedkin (Exorcista) , , tranfer fiel a su estreno en los 70, se ve granoso, pero que film de esa época no se ve así.. precio excelente , servicio entrega gratuito por Amazon. Clásico infaltable en cualquier videoteca que se respete.....

It takes a little while to get going, but once it does, "The French Connection" is a tense, fast-paced thriller with terrific set pieces and a great lead performance by Gene Hackman.OK. I must admit. I am biased because I'm a right sucker for this type of film. To begin with it's a true film, and stars one of my all time favorite actors, Gene Hackman. Take it's infamous car chase scene for example. You can seldom watch a movie made nowadays which hasn't tried to emulate a like-minded high octane pursuit between two opposing parties. Heck, even Spiderman 2 paid homage to it.What's more, I best mention that its overall tone is another landmark standard. what I loved about this movie the most relied heavily on four key factors. Firstly, most of the actors in it were great to watch -- especially Gene and Roy -- because they were able to give their respective roles some depth of realism. Secondly, conceptually the tale is based on a real event -- about a bunch of cops who try to stop drugs coming into the country -- thus portrayed in that seventies style which is both earthy and evolving at the same time. Thirdly, I thought the chase sequences elevated it's wider-ranging pretext to such a degree, they actually added a suspenseful value to the plot. And fourthly the music! Just like those chase scenes I previously mentioned, the rhapsodic melodies heard throughout actually added a captivating value to the general ambiance.The French Connection is classic and multi-award winning cinema, garnering the Oscar wins. It's a precise and deliberate picture that is far from glamorous; instead, the film enjoys a gritty, in-your-face look and feel that conveys every theme of the film nicely, including the seedy underbelly of civilization, the monotony of police work, and the dangers of the chase.The blu-ray package is nicely supported by an array of bonus materials. Highly recommended.