The French Connection

The don't make Best Picture winners the way they used to. Maybe that's a good thing. This film really shows its age, beyond the facts of Gene Hackman's now advanced age and Roy Scheider's untimely death. And some of the characters' actions, which probably seemed like tough, gritty police work back in the day, come across as ludicrous today. Still, this one does offer up some stylish touches--flourishes of contemporary, down-and-dirty realness, that famous chase scene, and interesting ambiguity all the way to the end. Not bad, but not an all time classic, either--at least not for this viewer.