On Oct. 9, 1971, the William Friedkin thriller starring Gene Hackman hit theaters enroute to winning the best picture Oscar.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Simon is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers film and TV. Nov 11, 2021, 01:00pm EST This article is more than 4 years old.

William Friedkin was one of those legendary Hollywood characters whose career really did begin in the mailroom. It just wasn’t the mailroom of a major studio. Rather, Friedkin started out in the more ...

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once. He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also ...

In a biography of Howard Hawks, author Todd McCarthy writes that when William Friedkin was living with Hawks' daughter Kitty in the early 1970s, Friedkin asked the famed director what he thought of ...

French Connection II (1975) is a neo-noir action thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer. Serving as a sequel to the 1971-released French Connection, the movie sees detective Popeye Doyle ...

In April 1972, The French Connection took home five Academy Awards, including Best Director for William Friedkin, Actor for Gene Hackman, and Picture for Philip D’Antoni. The film about a relentless ...

Zach Laws is a longtime entertainment journalist and movie features writer. He is also an independent filmmaker and member of the Screen Actors Guild based out of Los Angeles. Zach grew up watching ...

In director William Friedkin’s 1971 crime classic, “The French Connection,” two New York cops work to catch a massive heroin shipment from France. Gene Hackman plays pugnacious police officer Jimmy ...

Fifty years ago this month, William Friedkin’s “The French Connection” set a new benchmark for crime thrillers. The production was budgeted initially at $2 million by Twentieth Century-Fox. This was ...

Gene Hackman has been out of the film game for almost twenty years now and ostensibly retired, but he was more than happy to take part in a chance to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The French ...