The French Connection (1971)

The first R-rated film to win the Oscar for Best Picture; Gene Hackman (“Popeye” Doyle is AFI’s #44 hero) won his first and only Best Actor Oscar playing an intense cop trying to bring down a narcotics smuggler. Director William Friedkin won his only Oscar though he was later nominated for The Exorcist (1973). Many classic scenes including a harrowing car chase and the complete dismantling of a car in order to find hidden heroin. Roy Scheider who plays Doyle’s partner was Oscar nominated. #70 on AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies list; #8 on AFI’s Most Heart-Pounding Movies list. Added to the National Film Registry in 2005.

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