The French Connection

Actors Roy Scheider and Gene Hackman portray a good-cop, bad-cop investigative duo that follows a heroin ring to its origins in France. In the classic automobile race in "The French Connection," Gene Hackman's character, a police investigator, speeds through crowded New York City streets. As he pursues a train in the sky, he races past the red lights at above 90 mph.

Concerningly, little of this was faked. William Friedkin (from "The Exorcist") never had the streets shut down for the stunt. The 15-minute clip was filmed with no authoritative permissions and a payment of $40,000 to a transportation official. Friedkin just encouraged a stuntman to do the stunt and photographed the whole sequence over his shoulder.

In recent years, "The French Connection" has gained notoriety as among the most hazardous instances of guerilla filming in the history of Hollywood. The Oscar-winning film's sometimes unsteady handheld camerawork lends it a deliberately harsh, documentary-like quality. It is indeed one of the best detective movies of all time.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Year of Release: 1971

Stars: Roy Scheider, Gene Hackman