The French Connection is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, and Fernando Rey. The screenplay, by Ernest Tidyman, is based on Robin Moore's 1969 book of the same name about narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso. It tells the story of their fictional counterparts, New York Police Department detectives Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle and Buddy "Cloudy" Russo, in pursuit of wealthy French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier (played by Rey).

At the 44th Academy Awards, the film earned eight nominations and won five, for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Scheider), Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award for his screenplay. A sequel, French Connection II, followed in 1975, with Hackman and Rey reprising their roles.

The French Connection appeared on the American Film Institute's list of the best American films in 1998 and again in 2007, placing 70th the first time and 93rd the second. In 2005, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Plot

In Marseille, a police detective follows Alain Charnier, who runs a heroin-smuggling syndicate.