Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted October 4, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 4, 2014 What's this, then? Just something I thought I'd do from time to time, a thread dedicated to a classic film. Talk about how it became a classic, best scenes, key dialogue, its influence, or even reasons why it didn't work for you.  I actually watched French Connection 2 last week and a lot of the reasons why the original worked so well were missing from it. It just seemed more like a culture-clash comedy for its first half and then Gene Hackman going cold turkey for most of the second half. The conclusion is awesome though.  There are three truly great scenes in the original at least:-  1) The car chase   Here's William Friedkin talking about that scene too:-   It's not your average car chase because here the chase is of an elevated train. It's also fantastic because it's not just a great car chase but it also advances where Hackman is as a character, that he's become out of control in his pursuit of Fernando Rey.  2) The subway scene  Can't find a link to it now, but the cat and mouse in and out of the subway train is so brilliantly done not just because of the way it concludes but because of the different ways Hackman and Rey use to out-smart each other.  3) The stakeout  There's a scene where Hackman is watching Rey dining in an expensive restaurant while he stands outside freezing his arse off and drinking rancid coffee. Crime does pay!  The posters are fantastic as well, obvs.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted October 4, 2014 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 4, 2014 That shot was the one that I knew years before I even saw the film because they used it on an advert for a showing on BBC1 when I was a kid. Fantastic shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 I saw that scene as a kid. Whenever I'd be sent to bed and didn't want to go, my elder brother would do that wave as I was beaten up the stairs, the wanker. Â Such a great film, going to watch it with Mrs H soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 I'd put the last scene from FCII up there with any from the first film, though I agree as a whole it doesn't add up. Â What always strikes me about the original is the rough language and racism of the cops. Â For the time it must have been really shocking. Â I also love that scene wit Hackman freezing his arse off. Â I can safely say that you wouldn't see a scene like that in a modern Hollywood movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted October 4, 2014 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 4, 2014 The ending to the sequel is great, those POV shots as Hackman chases after the boat are amazing. Â What I most hated about the sequel is the way they crowbarred the 'Poughkeepsie' line in again. Yeah, we remember it from the original, we don't need to hear it again. Â Also, how fantastic was Roy Scheider in the 70s? He's brilliant in this but what a decade that guy had, his career should never have collapsed the way it did in the 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 What are you talking about? Â Seaquest DSV was amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members bAzTNM#1 Posted October 5, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 5, 2014 Scheider had an absolutely astounding 70s. In the 80s, he seemed to have fell off a cliff. "2010: Year We Made Contact" was alright though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted October 5, 2014 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 5, 2014 Yes, I still want to see that, I love Peter Hyams. It all went downhill after 2010. He was fantastic in Marathon Man especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneojack Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I had a phase of asking my friends "did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?" after seeing the first film. They hadn't seen it and didn't get it. This upset me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.