Sunday, April 19, 2009

The French Connection On The Lower East Side And Little Italy


Tony LoBianco, playing Sal Boca, and his wife, Arlene Farber as Angie Boca, exit Ratner's. In the beginning you see the south side of Delancey Street still intact, including the police precinct on Clinton Street. Toward the end of this clip, in Little Italy, the 177 address that's visible might be on Mulberry. Cafe Roma is visible and it's located on Broome and Mulberry
The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood crime film directed by William Friedkin. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore. It tells the story of two New York City policemen who are trying to intercept a heroin shipment coming in from France. It is based on the actual, infamous "French Connection" trafficking scheme. It stars Gene Hackman (as pork pie hat-wearing New York City police detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle), Fernando Rey (as the villain French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier) and Roy Scheider (as Jimmy's partner Buddy "Cloudy" Russo). It also features Eddie Egan and Sonny "Cloudy" Grosso, the real-life police detectives on whom Hackman's and Scheider's characters were based.
It was the first R-rated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture since the introduction of the MPAA film rating system. It also won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Ernest Tidyman). It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Roy Scheider), Best Cinematography, and Best Sound. Tidyman also received a Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award for his screenplay.
In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The scene filmed in Little Italy is for sure filmed on Mulberry Street. At 177 Mulberry St, this is were the current day "Grotta Azzura" restaurant is located. It's amazing to see how much Little Italy has changed since 1971. But even after 38 years you still can visit the Italian Food Center, E. Rossi, Alleva, Piemonte, Florio's, and Caffe Roma which are all seen in the clip.

This movie is the best if you want to see a little bit of old NYC.

Anonymous said...

The scene filmed in Little Italy is for sure on Mulberry St. It's at 177 Mulberry St, were the current day "Grotta Azzura" restaurant is located.