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The French Connection - For movie buffs, not a trivia question?
I recently watched the 1971 film The French Connection for the first time. While I very much enjoyed it, I could not understand why it was so highly acclaimed at the time -- it won Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Editing along with being nominated in other categories; especially when it was up against some very top-notch films (A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof).
Was there some special quality of the film that made it standout back in 1971 that is perhaps lost to a viewer in 2007? Some groundbreaking technique or style? The legendary car/train chase does not itself warrant an Oscar.
Also, why did Hackman win Best Actor? He has little dialogue in the film and the Popeye Doyle character isn't particularly expressive. While those things aren't required for good acting, it's fair to say that's the norm for a Best Actor nod.
Is there a simpler explanation that I'm missing? Did the film just appeal to a broad audience at the time?
I think it WAS considered groundbreaking at the time...the subject matter and how it was presented had not been done in the mainstream by a director of note, nor had any "big" actors engaged in such projects before.
Also, it was the dawn of the era of the anti-hero, and so that too broke ground, with Hackman's Popeye Doyle rather a contrast to the usual screen hero of the day.
The action sequences (car chase, etc.) were also different and came from the cinema verite style that had begun to arrive in Hollywood from Europe.
Clockwork Orange was a bit too abstract for the mainstream American public at that time, for it to be Oscar material - although the critics loved it and it was very well received in large metro markets.
Fiddler is a good example of how musicals are often snubbed or given short shrift by the Oscar pundits.
In retrospect, French Connection IS not that special a movie by today's standards, but by the standards of the day, it was. Another element of retrospection allows us to see how many horrible mistakes have been made in Oscar choices over the years, in days past.
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FCUK Him by French Connection Cologne/Fragrance Review (2003)
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