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One of the defining cop thrillers of the seventies, William Friedkin’s The French Connection premieres. Adapted by Ernest Tidyman from Robin Moore’s 1969 non-fiction book, Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider star as "Popeye" Doyle and "Cloudy Russo", a couple of brusque, cynical NYPD detectives obsessively trawling the city’s grimy, trash-filled mean streets looking to bust a huge drug importation operation headed by an elusive French national, played by Fernando Rey. The film wins Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.
