THE FRENCH CONNECTION II (Blu-ray)

Written by Puño Estupendo

I imagine that it's not easy to make a sequel, especially when the original film you're following up on is a major critical and financial success. Add to that the fact that you're not even the one who directed the original and you get a sense of what John Frankenheimer did when he accepted the job of helming The French Connection II.

Kind of a weird thing to do when you think about it. Frankenheimer was a celebrated director, having done Grand Prix, Seconds, and The Manchurian Candidate by this point in his career; it seems like he certainly wouldn't have had to follow William Friedkin's The French Connection at all. In the documentary about him included as part of the supplemental material on the disc, it's recalled that Frankenheimer was rumored to be angry about the job but yet kept those feelings hidden. Maybe that's one of the reasons the two films differ so greatly from each other.

Frankenheimer takes the character of "Popeye" Doyle (played once again by Gene Hackman), and does almost everything he can to take him away from what fans of the original might have been expecting. Changing the setting from New York to Marseilles, the gritty cop is already out of his element right from the start. There are also no returning characters from the first film, except for the baddie, which adds to the denial of anything familiar with which a fan would be looking for. Finally, the film is turned on its ear by making the second act all about heroin addiction. Doyle is abducted off the street by thugs working with the drug dealer he's in France to try to capture. He's taken to a dingey hotel where they hold him captive and shoot him up with heroin, making him an addict over the course of weeks before dumping him on the french police's doorstep. The detective that Doyle has been at odds with over the assignment (played wonderfully by french actor Bernard Fresson) smuggles him to a basement room and puts him through a home-made detox. All of this is kept secret so as not to ruin Doyle's reputation and ruin his life.

This act of the film is wrenching to watch at times; Hackman and Fresson play the scenes so well. Only after all of this, when Doyle has come back from the depths that were forced upon him, does the film turn into a crime-thriller of the like you'd expect. Everything boils down to a final confrontation between Doyle and the drug dealer that eluded him in New York, Alain Charnier.

This is a great film because of how different it is from the original. It could easily have been an independant film unto itself with only a few changes to the script. Though not as gorgeous as the Blu-Ray edition of The French Connection, it has its own charms to offer the viewer. Presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, it falls a little flat when compared to the first film. Frankenheimer directs the movie with style but it looks like a great deal of other films from that time period with nothing that really wows your eyes.

Also a bit disappointing was the lack of the capabilities with the sound. Though it has a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, it doesn't accomplish much other than sounding crystal clear. Nothing sounds like it's really moving around the room and the sub kind of bumps a little bit without any real rumblings. It sounds great, but it's not pushing the envelope of home entertainment by any means.

The saving graces here are the supplemental featurettes. An interview with Gene Hackman that is a complimentary piece to the one he did for The French Connection is a nice watch. He seems to have great feelings towards the filming of this movie and it comes through in his speech and mannerisms. There are also two commentary tracks, but what I really liked was the documentary "Frankenheimer: In Focus" that was included. With fantastic interviews with a slew of people that have worked with him, I thought it was almost as good of a watch as the film was and I highly recommend it's viewing after you've seen the main feature.

If you are a fan of the original, then you should definitely add The French Connection II to your Blu-Ray library as well.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION (Blu-ray)

Written by Puño Estupendo

Director William Friedkin's 1971 cop thriller The French Connection has never looked this good.

Ever.

By his own admission, in his taped intro to the film, this Blu-ray release of Friedkin's film is the best there's ever been and is the closest to his original vision when he shot it back in 1970. The gritty, dirty New York City of 1970 serves as the canvas for the story in which Detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy Russo try to bust a shipment of heroin that's being smuggled into the city by freighter from Marseilles. A cat and mouse game evolves and what you end up with is one of the great masterpieces of the genre. More or less launching the careers of Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, this is as good a crime thriller as they come. Shot incredibly well by Friedkin and with a disturbing score by Don Ellis, this is a gem of a film for fans of the genre and should not be missed, especially with the release of this on Blu-ray.

With a complex system of color timing, the entire film has been digitally enhanced and looks incredible. In the low lit scenes, the grain of the film is almost palpable and my jaw was on the floor at the detail of this new transfer. One of the supplemental features created just for this release gives the viewer a rudimentary breakdown on how this was accomplished. This is not a recreation of how the film originally looked when it was shown in theaters in 1971, this is Friedkin kind of getting to play George Lucas with his film. The difference is that while many films that are revisited are inherently changed, The French Connection is just given a boost that makes it legitimately better. I know this movie well; I've seen it in every form including a 35mm print at a theater, broadcast television, VHS videotape, DVD (and now) Blu Ray. This is, without a doubt, the greatest version of it that I've ever seen.

For film aficionados, this is why you should invest in Blu-ray. I see this two-disc set as not only an awesome film with a load of interesting supplementals, but this is hitting a level that invests in the preservation of classic films. Included on the second disc are great featurettes covering everything from Gene Hackman's recollection of filming to William Friedkin meeting up with people that were the inspiration for the film in the first place. There's locations revisited, commentary tracks and just all sorts of good stuff as bonuses.

The 5.1 DTS audio track absolutely roars when it needs to but yet the dialogue is always right where you want it to be. There's no fidgeting back and forth with your volume like when a disc is too loud during the action but then the dialogue scenes are way too quiet. For those of you without the bigger audio set-up at home, you'll be pleased to know that it'll sound just fine to you as well, although you might want to turn it up a little louder so the famous chase scene really knocks your socks off. Don't know what chase scene I'm referring to? Well then there's another reason for you to get this disc!

William Friedkin's enthusiasm for this product is really apparent here. He's not the most charismatic guy or even an interesting storyteller verbally, but his appearances in so much of the featurettes (that were made specifically for the Blu-ray) kind of speaks for itself. This newest version of his film obviously impressed him quite a lot and I have to say it made quite the impression on me as well.