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The French Connection

  • 03-07-2011 10:33pm
    #1
    Phony Scott
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 682 ✭✭✭


    I saw this for the first time tonight. Cracking movie (pun intended), but I was wondering if the sequel and it's spin-off 'The Seven Up's' are worth checking out. Oh and does FCII give closure to the story in a decent way?


Comments

  • #2
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    French Connection 11 is quite different in tone/texture and you really have to have faith in John Frankenheimer and Gene Hackman cos for the first 20 mins or so you may feel like switching off. However it ultimately works well on its own account. Yes there is closure, despite Popeye Doyles own worst efforts!

    Its been along time since I saw the Seven Ups (which is linked to FC1 only by a star and the producer who also directed) the car chase which is the highlight of the film is easily one of the best ever filmed (I never get bored of watching it on youtube) but I can't recall much else about it to be honest.


  • #3
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,693 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Some people do like the sequel, but I never cared for it. It's pretty forgettable imo. Also, I really like the lack of closure to the first film. For that reason alone the sequel didn't happen as far as I'm concerned.

    If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend checking out To Live and Die in LA instead.


  • #4
    Otis Driftwood
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,925 ✭✭✭Otis Driftwood


    Agree with SP,first one is a super little movie.Sequel I found kinda boring actually.


  • #5
    paulosham
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 257 ✭✭paulosham


    The sequel is really good, some parts are better than the first film. The scene where Popeye returns to the hotel Tangiers is great and the final scene in the harbour is a classic.


  • #6
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 15,814 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Whatever anyone does, stay as far away from the Blu Ray as possible. Friedkin played around with the colours and it really does not suit the film, cinematographer Owen Roizman went so far as to issue a statement stating his disgust with what Friedkin did to the film.


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  • #7
    Phony Scott
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 682 ✭✭✭Phony Scott


    Ok, it seems like a good sequel. Thanks everyone for the views. I'll give it a go at the weekend. :)


  • #8
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,693 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Whatever anyone does, stay as far away from the Blu Ray as possible. Friedkin played around with the colours and it really does not suit the film, cinematographer Owen Roizman went so far as to issue a statement stating his disgust with what Friedkin did to the film.
    I've yet to actually get FC on Blu-ray, but the screenshots I've seen looked fine. It's definitely not how the film originally looked, but how is what Friedkin did any different to what Fincher did with Se7en? It seems to be that Roizman was just offended that Friedkin didn't consult him. I seriously doubt Fincher consulted his Se7en cinematographer either.


  • #9
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 15,814 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Sad Professor wrote: »
    I've yet to actually get FC on Blu-ray, but the screenshots I've seen looked fine. It's definitely not how the film originally looked, but how is what Friedkin did any different to what Fincher did with Se7en? It seems to be that Roizman was just offended that Friedkin didn't consult him. I seriously doubt Fincher consulted his Se7en cinematographer either.

    He recoloured and played around with it so much that it has little in common with the original version. It just doesn't look natural. What he did was strip away the colour which he felt was too intense when he viewed the negative. He hoped to get a documentary like feel. Most filmmakers would simply dial down the colours till he got the desired effect but Friedkin did so much more. He digitally removed all colour from the film till he was left with a black and white version. He then oversaturated the colour layer, played around with the focus and bled it over the black and white image to give ti a pastel look. He talks about it in a feature on teh disc but after viewing both the film and his defence of it I have to wonder how in Gods name can paste coloured equal documentary feel.


  • #10
    PWEI
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,593 ✭✭✭PWEI


    Darko wrote: »
    Sad Professor wrote: »
    I've yet to actually get FC on Blu-ray, but the screenshots I've seen looked fine. It's definitely not how the film originally looked, but how is what Friedkin did any different to what Fincher did with Se7en? It seems to be that Roizman was just offended that Friedkin didn't consult him. I seriously doubt Fincher consulted his Se7en cinematographer either.

    He recoloured and played around with it so much that it has little in common with the original version. It just doesn't look natural. What he did was strip away the colour which he felt was too intense when he viewed the negative. He hoped to get a documentary like feel. Most filmmakers would simply dial down the colours till he got the desired effect but Friedkin did so much more. He digitally removed all colour from the film till he was left with a black and white version. He then oversaturated the colour layer, played around with the focus and bled it over the black and white image to give ti a pastel look. He talks about it in a feature on teh disc but after viewing both the film and his defence of it I have to wonder how in Gods name can paste coloured equal documentary feel.

    I only watched it on Blu-ray last week & couldn't figure out what was wrong with the colour. It looks like a film that was shot in black & White and later changed to colour. It was only afterwards I read what Friedkin had done. The picture is sharper than the DVD but the colour is truly appalling. Quite easily the worst Blu-Ray I've seen so far.


  • #11
    OutlawPete
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17,689 ✭✭✭✭OutlawPete


    One of the great classics, I love it.

    When the widescreen version was released first, it came with two documentaries, both were superb.
    One was about the real popeye Doyle, excellent stuff.
    mike65 wrote: »
    ..the car chase which is the highlight of the film is easily one of the best ever filmed (I never get bored of watching it on youtube) but I can't recall much else about it to be honest.

    Without question and would you believe the IFI showed it recently and I couldn't go that night :( Hope it's shown again, the greatest cat chase scene by a country mile. Keep Bullitt and Vanishing Point, they're not a patch on the French Connection.


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  • #12
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Woah! The car chase I referred to is in The Seven Ups, not French Connection, That one is good but for me lacks slightly in its purity.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vACWV5sRcY


    The French Connection chase seems top have been run out of youtube by the lawyers.

    http://www.movieweb.com/movie/the-french-connection/traincar-chase


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