| French Connection II | |
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![]() original film poster |
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| 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 |
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. Hackman and Fernando Rey are the only returning cast members.
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While the initial film was based on a true story, the sequel is, except for a reference to the captured heroin in the first film disappearing, entirely fictional and expands on the central character of Popeye Doyle by placing him in Marseilles, France, where he is attempting to track down French drug-dealer Alain Charnier, who got away at the end of the first film.
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.
The film has a positive score of 80% "Fresh" rating on RottenTomatoes.com.[1]
During his withdrawal scene, Doyle rambles about his youthful ambition of being a baseball player. One of his lines is "Mickey Mantle sucks!". The producers of the film screened it for Mantle beforehand fearing he might be offended by the line. Mantle instead roared with laughter and gladly signed a waiver for the line to be used, on the condition that he and his lawyer continue watching the film to their enjoyment.
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