Drugs, Car Chases, and Poughkeepsie.

As i turns out, the first movie selected was one i know practically nothing about. The French Connection. I think maybe this was the best way to get started on the whole adventure. Since Mo and i were taking absolutely no expectations in with us, we were both open to being pleasantly surprised by by this 70's police drama. Definitely one of the things i enjoyed most was Gene Hackmans portrayal of Detective "Popeye" Doyle (based on real life detective Eddie Egan). The man is violent, crude, a heavy drinker, more than a little racist, and a bit of a man whore. But he does have the redeeming quality of being a genuinely good man who wants to see justice done. I often get the feeling that this is the happy medium most cops actually fall into, flawed but ultimately they are motivated by the best intentions. So its not surprising to learn that Hackman spent quite a lot of time in the back of a squad car preparing for the role.

The other part of the movie that stands out is the chase scene. Now keep in mind this isn't just any chase scene it is the chase scene; considered by most to be the best put on film. But i have to admit, when the time finally arrived i wasn't all that impressed by what i saw. The entire thing just felt like one big cliche. Driving against traffic? Check! rear ending another car with "hows my driving?" bumper sticker? Check! Narrowly avoiding a lady and a baby carriage? Check! i was actually pretty annoyed. This epic chase scene which apparently made all of Hollywood blow a collective load, was full of the same shit they cram into every action sequence involving anything from a monster truck to a shopping cart. But then it hit me that what sets The French Connection apart is that it did it first. This scene was considered so perfect that other filmmakers have been trying to emulate it for years. And that's pretty sweet.

As i said, Mo and i were both really surprised by just how much we enjoyed this movie. Which as it turns out is a great motivator for the rest of the project. We've accepted that there are going to be some movies on the list that we hate. There is a three and a half hour silent film about about "loves struggles though the ages" on there, and we both agree we will be blind drunk by the end of it. But the French Connection reminds us of why we wanted to do this in the first place, and we're excited for the next!

*Note* We actually watched this separately before the blog was started, and as a consequence don't have a meal for this one. And yes, i know we missed a great opportunity to make french food. But i guarantee there is some amazing stuff on the horizon!