The French Connection (1971)

Though I know it was groundbreaking in its time, it's really only the car vs. train scene that makes this worth watching. The storytelling during the first half-hour or so is muddled by constant cross-talk and it boiled down to just a bunch of tough-guy police hassling everyone they encounter while the audience is left searching for meaning.

The big crime does, eventually, come together, but it's too little too late. Also, I'm pretty sure Popeye Doyle is the very worst person to put on a follow detail. Even if he didn't insist on getting too close and drawing attention to himself, that porkpie hat of his is identifiable from a block away.

C