A police officer (Gene Hackman) blows into a rough Manhattan bar with a torrent of profanity in William Friedkin’s The French Connection, 1971. It’s a scene that lives up to its reputation as one of the most exciting and gripping action thrillers ever made, capturing New York’s ugly underbelly in gritty documentary style and setting the tone for the film. It’s also a fine moment of screenwriting brilliance by Ernest Tidyman, who wrote the film’s screenplay and received an Academy Award nomination for his work.
The film was based on the true story of NYPD narcotics detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, who pursued a Corsican-American drug ring across the Atlantic. The plot’s climax is famous for its high-speed car chase shot without permits on real city streets, which has become one of cinema’s most famous scenes. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, winning five, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Hackman. It was ranked number 36 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years/100 Thrills list and was The french connection keep in touch inducted into the National Film Registry in 1996.
It was the company’s arresting FCUK branding that really put French Connection on the map, tapping into the logo-laden zeitgeist of the Nineties. Simple T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan and what seemed like a million permutations of it struck a chord with both genders, looking fabulous teamed with combat pants and a girl-power pout or the requisite parka and scowl depending on your fashion predilections.
However, with 14 of the brand’s UK stores now turning over to the red and founder Stephen Marks having sold his loss-making Nicole Farhi label in 2010, it seems that FCUK isn’t quite what it used to be. Still, with a recently re-launched homeware collection and plans to expand in China and India, the retailer may prove that it’s not yet FCUKed out.
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