What The French Connection has is style. Friedkin talks about how he shot the film in a sort of guerrilla style using actual pedestrians in many street scenes (unimaginable today). He had to bribe an official to make the elevated train sequence. New York in the early 1970s was a dangerous place and he captures that brilliantly. The film is gritty and as real as a documentary.
As far as the story, this film rates rather low in my view. Most of the film is just cops either sitting around waiting for something to happen, or chasing someone somewhere. The film is over fifty years old, so it broke a lot of new ground back in its day, but that doesn't mean anything to me now watching it again in 2023. It hasn't aged well. The cuts are way too long. We don't need to watch someone walking from point A to point B, for example. Just show them arriving. This happens again and again. Yawn.
To Live and Die in LA is a much better film on many levels. It also has a superior chase scene.
As far as the story, this film rates rather low in my view. Most of the film is just cops either sitting around waiting for something to happen, or chasing someone somewhere. The film is over fifty years old, so it broke a lot of new ground back in its day, but that doesn't mean anything to me now watching it again in 2023. It hasn't aged well. The cuts are way too long. We don't need to watch someone walking from point A to point B, for example. Just show them arriving. This happens again and again. Yawn.
To Live and Die in LA is a much better film on many levels. It also has a superior chase scene.