For viewers watching twenty or thirty years after the making of The French Connection, the true significance of the film may be lost due to the increased technology of filmmaking. However, Friedkin's police thriller was fast-paced and intricate for its time. All detective stories since 1971 owe many of their elements and techniques to The French Connection.

In 1971, The French Connection was quite a novelty. Most films until this time had a positive and happy air about them. Even sad films tried to put a positive spin on things, and no films portrayed real life with the gritty realism seen in Friedkin's The French Connection. The film shows the good and bad sides of both the underworld and the police force. Shot so that it almost seems like a documentary, The French Connection takes a gutsy look at the truth of the police force in this action-packed movie. When...