French Connection II

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French Connection II
original film poster
Directed by	John Frankenheimer
Produced by	Robert L. Rosen
Written by	Laurie Dillon Robert Dillon Alexander Jacobs
Starring	Gene Hackman Fernando Rey
Music by	Don Ellis
Cinematography	Claude Renoir
Editing by	Tom Rolf
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	May 21, 1975
Running time	119 min.
Country	US
Language	English
Preceded by	The French Connection
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

French Connection II is a 1975 crime drama film starring Gene Hackman and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is the sequel to The French Connection.

While the initial film was based on a true story, the sequel is entirely fictional and expands on the central character of Popeye Doyle by placing him in Marseilles, where he is attempting to track down French drug-dealer Charnier, who got away at the end of the first film. There, Doyle is captured by drug dealers who inject him with heroin until he becomes addicted. Disappointed at Doyle's lack of useful information, they dump him at a local police station, where he is held in isolation while going through the agonizing process of heroin withdrawal. After drying out, Doyle eventually finds Charnier with the help of the French police. Charnier attempts to escape by boat, which begins the film's climax in a chase scene which parallels Doyle's relentlessness in the original film's chase scene. Doyle runs for several long minutes on foot along the riverside after the boat Charnier is sailing, becoming increasingly exhausted. Finally, Charnier is about to get out to open waters--only to see Doyle has beaten him and is standing on a pier at the absolute edge of the shoreline, at the river's edge. Doyle shoots Charnier dead.

Hackman and Fernando Rey are the only returning cast members.

The music was composed and conducted by Don Ellis, who was returning from the original film. It is a very challenging modernistic score with many jazz elements. A CD was released by Film Score Monthly paired with the music from the first film.

[edit] External links

• French Connection II at the Internet Movie Database

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