Looking Back at THR’s 1971 Review of ‘The French Connection’

William Friedkin’s The French Connection opened in theaters on October 9, 1971, starring Gene Hackman. The 20th-Fox release received eight Academy Award nominations and won five, including best picture, actor, director, writing and editing. THR’s original review praised it as a first-rate thriller about a heroin-smuggling investigation, highlighting its editing and famous chase sequence.

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The 20th-Fox release opened Oct. 9, 1971, directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman. Its cast included Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Harold Gary, Fernando Rey and Marcel Bozzuffi. Ernest Tidyman adapted Robin Moore’s book; Owen Roizman was cinematographer, Don Ellis scored it, and Philip D’Antoni produced. It received eight Oscar nominations and won five, including picture, actor, director, writing and editing.

THR’s Craig Fisher, writing after a three-week New York run, called it a superior suspense film about a heroin-smuggling investigation. He highlighted