In director William Friedkin’s 1971 crime classic, “The French Connection,” two New York cops work to catch a massive heroin shipment from France. Gene Hackman plays pugnacious police officer Jimmy ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Simon is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers film and TV. Nov 11, 2021, 01:00pm EST This article is more than 4 years old.

This commentary’s title gives the impression that I’m writing about the 1971 film, “The French Connection,” starring Gene Hackman. I’m not. This is about the utterly insulting relationship between the ...

It’s the dead of winter. As Santa Claus rings his bells on a pavement in Brooklyn, a hot dog vendor wanders into a bar. That’s when the commotion begins. A drug dealer with a knife bursts out of the ...