game: a random dvd from your collection v1.0

[alasdairm]

my #91 is:


leon

gary oldman is one of my favourite actors and his performance in this is just depraved, violent, mad and marvelous. it's been a while since i watched it. i need to watch it again.

next up: 4

alasdair

 

[lurkerguy]

French Connection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see The French Connection.

The French Connection was an infamous scheme through which the drug heroin was smuggled from Turkey to France and then to the United States, culminating in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when it provided the vast majority of the heroin consumed in the United States.

[edit] From the 1930s to the 1950s

Illegal heroin labs were first discovered near Marseille, France, in 1937. These labs were run by the legendary Corsican gang leader Paul Carbone. For years, the Corsican underworld had been involved in the manufacturing and trafficking of illegal heroin abroad, primarily in the United States. It was this heroin network that eventually became known as the "French Connection".

The Corsican Mafia was closely allied with the CIA and the SDECE after World War II in order to prevent the French communists from bringing the port of Marseille under their control.

Historically, the raw material for most of the heroin consumed in the United States came from Turkey. Turkish farmers were licensed to grow opium poppies for sale to legal drug companies, but many sold their excess to the underworld market, where it was manufactured into heroin and transported to the United States. It was refined in Corsican laboratories in Marseille, one of the busiest ports in the western Mediterranean. Marseille served as a perfect shipping point for all types of illegal goods, including the excess opium that Turkish farmers cultivated for profit.

The convenience of the port at Marseille and the frequent arrival of ships from opium-producing countries made it easy to smuggle the morphine base to Marseille from the Far East or the Near East. The French underground would then ship large quantities of heroin from Marseille to New York City.

The first significant post-World War II seizure was made in New York on February 5, 1947, when seven pounds (3 kg) of heroin were seized from a Corsican sailor disembarking from a vessel that had just arrived from France.

It soon became clear that the French underground was increasing not only its participation in the illegal trade of opium, but also its expertise and efficiency in heroin trafficking. On March 17, 1947, 28 pounds (13 kg) of heroin were found on the French liner, St. Tropez. On January 7, 1949, more than 50 pounds (23 kg) of opium and heroin were seized on the French ship, Batista.

[edit] The 1960s

The first major French Connection case occurred in 1960. In June, an informant told a drug agent in Lebanon that Mauricio Rosal, the Guatemalan Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, was smuggling morphine base from Beirut, Lebanon, to Marseille. Narcotics agents had been seizing about 200 pounds (90 kg) of heroin in a typical year, but intelligence showed that the Corsican traffickers were smuggling in 200 pounds (90 kg) every other week. Rosal alone, in one year, had used his diplomatic status to bring in about 440 pounds (200 kg).

The Federal Bureau of Narcotics's 1960 annual report estimated that from 2,600 to 5,000 pounds (1,200 to 2,300 kg) of heroin were coming into the United States annually from France. The French traffickers continued to exploit the demand for their illegal product, and by 1969, they were supplying the United States with 80 to 90 percent of its heroin. The heroin they supplied was approximately 85 percent pure.

Because of this increasing volume, heroin became readily available throughout the United States. In an effort to limit the source, U.S. officials went to Turkey to negotiate the phasing out of opium production. Initially, the Turkish Government agreed to limit their opium production starting with the 1968 crop.

[edit] The 1970s and the dismantling of the French Connection

Following five subsequent years of concessions, combined with international cooperation, the Turkish government finally agreed in 1971 to a complete ban on the growing of Turkish opium, effective June 29, 1972. During these protracted negotiations, law enforcement personnel went into action. One of the major roundups began on January 4, 1972, when agents from the US Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and French authorities seized 110 pounds (50 kg) of heroin at the Paris airport. Subsequently, traffickers Jean-Baptiste Croce and Joseph Mari were arrested in Marseille. From a 1973 French Connection seizure in France, 210 pounds (95 kg) of heroin are worth $38 million.

In February 1972, French traffickers offered a US Army sergeant $96,000 to smuggle 240 pounds (109 kg) of heroin into the United States. He informed his superior who in turn notified the BNDD. As a result of this investigation, five men in New York and two in Paris were arrested with 264 pounds (120 kg) of heroin, which had a street value of $50 million. In a 14-month period, starting in February 1972, six major illicit heroin laboratories were seized and dismantled in the suburbs of Marseille by French national narcotics police in collaboration with U.S. drug agents. On February 29, 1972, French authorities seized the shrimp boat, Caprice des Temps, as it put to sea near Marseille heading towards Miami. It was carrying 415 kilograms of heroin. Drug arrests in France skyrocketed from 57 in 1970 to 3,016 in 1972. Also broken up as part of this investigation was the crew of Lucchese family soldier Vincent Papa, whose members included Anthony Loria Sr., and Virgil Alessi. The well-organized gang was responsible for distributing millions of dollars in heroin up and down the East Coast during the early seventies, which in turn led to a major NYPD corruption scheme. The scope and depth of this scheme is still not known, but officials suspect it involved a corrupt NYPD officer/officers who allowed access to the NYPD property/evidence storage room, where hundreds of kilograms of heroin lay seized from the now-infamous French Connection bust, and then replaced the missing heroin with white baking flour. The substitution was only discovered when officers noticed insects eating all the bags of "heroin". By that point an estimated street value of approximately $70 million worth of "smack" had already been taken. The racket was brought to light and arrests were made. Certain plotters received jail sentences, including Papa. (Papa was later assassinated in federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia; several conflicting reasons why have been suggested). The French Connection investigation demonstrated that international trafficking networks were best disabled by the combined efforts of drug enforcement agencies from multiple countries. In this case, agents from the United States, Canada, Italy, and France had worked together to achieve success.

This text incorporates public domain material from the US Department of Justice. [1]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Connection"

Categories: Genovese crime family | Drug traffickers

I chose this DVD, because it is my favorite one I own.

My random number is 17.

Hope that makes sense, I don't fully understand the game.

 

[lurkerguy]

Film itself:

The French Connection (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The French Connection.

The French Connection
Directed by William Friedkin
Produced by Philip D'Antoni
Written by Robin Moore (Novel)
Ernest Tidyman (Screenplay)
Starring Gene Hackman
Fernando Rey
Roy Scheider
Tony Lo Bianco
Music by Don Ellis
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Running time 104 min
Language English
Budget $1,800,000 (est.)
IMDb profile

The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood 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 porkpie hat-wearing New York City police detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle), Roy Scheider (as his partner Cloudy), and Fernando Rey. 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 added to the list of films preserved in the United States National Film Registry.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Casting challenges
* 2 Plot
* 3 Additional details
* 4 Cast
* 5 Related projects
* 6 Trivia
* 7 References and footnotes
* 8 External links

[edit] Casting challenges

Though the cast ultimately proved to be one of the film's greatest strengths, Friedkin had problems with casting choices from the start. He was strongly opposed to the choice of Hackman for the lead, and actually first considered Jackie Gleason and a New York columnist, Jimmy Breslin, who had never acted before.[1] However, Gleason, at that time, was considered box-office poison by the studio after Gigot had flopped, and Breslin refused to get behind the wheel of a car, which was required of Popeye's character for an integral car chase scene. Steve McQueen was also considered, but he did not want to do another police film.

The casting of Rey as the main French heroin smuggler, Alain Charnier (irreverently referred to throughout the film as "Frog One"), resulted from mistaken identity. Friedkin had asked his casting director to get a Spanish actor he had seen in the French film, Belle de Jour, who was actually Francisco Rabal, but Friedkin did not know his name. Rey was instead contacted but did not speak a word of French. However, after Rabal was finally reached, they discovered he spoke neither French nor English, and Rey was kept in the film.[2]

[edit] Plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film revolves around the smuggling of narcotics between Marseilles, France and New York City. The film opens in Marseilles with a policeman staking out Alain Charnier, a French criminal who ostensibly works as a former stevedore-turned-shipping executive but is in fact involved in smuggling heroin from France to the United States (at one point, Charnier remarks that he hasn't done an honest day's work "since [he] stepped off the crane"). The French policeman is eventually assassinated by Charnier's henchman, Pierre Nicoli.
"Popeye" Doyle and "Cloudy" Russo
"Popeye" Doyle and "Cloudy" Russo

In New York City, detectives "Popeye" Doyle and "Cloudy" Russo are also performing an undercover stakeout, with Doyle dressed as Santa Claus and Russo pretending to be a hot dog stand operator. Eventually the suspect they are waiting for makes a break for it, and the detectives pursue him on foot. After catching up with their suspect (and delivering a severe beating after the suspect cuts Russo on the arm with a knife), the detectives aggressively interrogate the man and eventually force him to reveal where his "connection" is based (during this scene, a long-running joke is established, as Doyle bewilders the suspect by demanding to know if he "picks [his] feet in Poughkeepsie").

After Russo's arm injury is treated, Doyle convinces him to go out for a drink. At the nightclub they go to, Doyle becomes interested in two people: Sal Boca and his beautiful young wife, Angie. Doyle persuades his partner to come along as they tail the couple; several scenes are shown establishing the fact that although the Bocas run a modest newsstand/diner, their extravagant lifestyle (which includes nearly nightly trips to several nightclubs, as well as driving several different new cars) indicates they may be involved in some sort of criminal activity. Eventually there is a link established between the Bocas and a well-to-do person named Joel Weinstock, who is rumored to have extensive connections in the narcotics underworld. After rousting an all-black nightclub which involves Doyle questioning (and then beating up) his informant--about an apparent shortage of hard drugs on the street; Doyle is told that there is word a major shipment of heroin is on its way. The detectives convince their supervisor, Simonson, to pursue wiretapping the Bocas' phones and use several ruses (including Russo playfully flirting with Angie while her husband is out of earshot) to try to obtain more information on their subjects.

The film then centers on three main points: the criminals' efforts to smuggle drugs into the U.S. (which is made easier when Charnier dupes his friend Henri Devereaux into importing an automobile into the U.S.; unbeknownst to Deveraux, the drugs are carefully concealed within the vehicle) and the eventual sale of the drugs to Weinstock and Sal Boca; the efforts of Doyle and Russo to shadow Boca and Charnier; and the conflicts the two detectives have with both Simonson (their superior) and a federal agent named Mulderig. Both Doyle and Mulderig openly dislike each other; Russo and Doyle feel that they can handle the bust without the government's help; and Mulderig never hesitates to criticize Doyle on items ranging from trivialities like Doyle's appearance ("You look like shit") to an unspecified incident in the past, where Mulderig caustically states to Doyle, "the last time [you] were dead certain, we had dead cops" (the two nearly come to blows after this statement is made).

Charnier soon "makes" Doyle and decides he has to be eliminated. Charnier's henchman Nicoli (the one who assassinated the French detective) offers to do the job and tries to kill Doyle using a sniper rifle. However, he botches the job and a cat-and-mouse pursuit begins, which eventually leads up to the car chase scene described below. The chase ends when the elevated train Nicoli has hijacked crashes into another train; when Doyle catches up with Nicoli, he ruthlessly shoots Nicoli in the back (Nicoli was attempting to escape yet again by running back up the stairs leading to the train platform).
A car accident that serves as the setting for the Doyle-Mulderig scuffle, and an allusion to the epic car chase that occurs later in the film.
A car accident that serves as the setting for the Doyle-Mulderig scuffle, and an allusion to the epic car chase that occurs later in the film.

The car containing the drugs that Devereaux imported into the U.S. is eventually staked out by the police and impounded when some young thieves try to strip the car of its' valuables (the police initially thought the car's owners were returning to retrieve the drugs). Doyle and Russo then rip the car apart in an hours-long search, before eventually finding the narcotics after the mechanic states that he has stripped everything on the car except the rocker panels.

At the film's climax, it seems like the drug deal (which took place at an abandoned factory) has been a major success; Boca and Weinstock's resident heroin expert tests the substance and declares it to be of top quality. In return, using an old car that Sal Boca's brother Lou picked out, the criminals stash the money in almost the same hiding place that was used on the car Devereaux brought in (the car is to be imported into France, where Charnier will then retrieve the money). Charnier and Sal Boca drive off and only moments later run into a roadblock consisting of a large force of police officers, led by Doyle. The police chase Charnier and Sal Boca back to the factory grounds, where Sal is killed during a shootout with the police and almost all of the others surrender after tear gas is used by the police.

Charnier escapes into the warehouse and a tense sequence ensues as Doyle hunts Charnier down. Russo joins him in the search, which takes a sudden shocking turn as Doyle, trigger-happy and high on adrenaline, sees a shadowy figure in the distance and empties his pistol at it only a split-second after shouting a warning. To Russo's horror, the man Doyle kills is not Charnier, but Mulderig. Doyle seems unfazed by this and vows to capture Charnier, reloading his pistol and running off into another room in the distance. The last sound heard in the film is a single gunshot.

Title cards before the closing credits note that of the people arrested and tried, only Joel Weinstock and Angie Boca got away without any prison time (the case against Weinstock was dismissed, and Angie received a suspended sentence). Alain Charnier was never found or tried in the U.S. It also states that both Doyle and Russo were transferred out of the narcotics division.
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Additional details
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film is often cited as containing one of the greatest car chase sequences in movie history. [1] The chase involves Popeye securing a civilian's car and then obsessively chasing the out-of-control elevated train, on which a hitman is trying to escape. The scene was filmed in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn roughly running down the old B subway line which ran on an elevated track down 86th Street.[3] Many of the shots in the scene were "real", in that Hackman actually drove the car at high speeds through uncontrolled traffic and red lights (legendary stunt driver Bill Hickman, who also had a small role in the film as FBI agent Mulderig, handled many others and outlined the entire chase with Friedkin and D'antoni), with Friedkin running a camera from the backseat while wrapped in a carpet for protection. The production team received no prior permission from the city for such a dangerous stunt, but they had the creative consulting and clout provided to them by Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso, (which allowed normal protocol for location shooting like permits and scheduling to be defunct) and the only precaution taken was to place a "gumdrop" police siren on the car's roof and blare the horn. Other shots involved stunt drivers who were supposed to barely miss hitting the speeding car, but due to errors in timing accidental collisions occurred and were left in the final film.[4] Friedkin said that he used Santana's song "Black Magic Woman" during editing to help shape the chase sequence; though the song does not appear in the film, "it [the chase scene] did have a sort of pre-ordained rhythm to it that came from the music." [5]
Spoilers end here.

The movie established the careers of both Friedkin and Hackman, and was instrumental in ushering in an era of neo-realist directors in Hollywood during the early 1970s. In an audio commentary track recorded by Friedkin for the Collector's Edition DVD release of the film, Friedkin notes that the film's documentary-like realism was the direct result of the influence of having seen Z, a French film.

[edit] Cast

* Gene Hackman - Det. Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle
* Fernando Rey - Alain Charnier
* Roy Scheider - Det. Buddy 'Cloudy' Russo
* Tony Lo Bianco - Salvatore 'Sal' Boca
* Marcel Bozzuffi - Pierre Nicoli, Hit Man
* Frédéric de Pasquale - Henri Devereaux
* Bill Hickman - Bill Mulderig
* Ann Rebbot - Mrs. Marie Charnier
* Harold Gary - Joel Weinstock
* Arlene Farber - Angie Boca
* Eddie Egan - Walt Simonson
* André Ernotte - La Valle
* Sonny Grosso - Bill Klein
* Benny Marino - Lou Boca (as Benny Marino)
* Patrick McDermott - Howard, Chemist (as Pat McDermott)
* Alan Weeks - Willie Craven, drug pusher
* Sheila Ferguson - The Three Degrees (as The Three Degrees)
* Eric Jones - Little Boy (uncredited)
* Darby Lloyd Rains - Stripper (uncredited)

[edit] Related projects

The French Connection was followed in 1975 by a less-acclaimed sequel, French Connection II, as well as the 1973 film The Seven-Ups starring Roy Scheider. In 1986, a television movie, Popeye Doyle, starring Ed O'Neill in the title role, was also produced.

Friedkin later attempted to outdo the "Connection" chase scene with the infamous backwards car chase on a freeway in To Live and Die in L.A..

In the summer of 2004, a television show named NY-70 filmed a pilot episode that was based directly on The French Connection. The pilot stared Bobby Cannavale and Donnie Wahlberg, and was filmed entirely in Harlem.[6]

[edit] Trivia

* The film's car chase scenes were parodied in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers.
* Production of the film started in November 1970 and was completed in March 1971.
* Peter Boyle was originally casted to play the role of "Popeye" Doyle but later turned down the role because his agent thought the movie was going to be a failure.
* The famous chase sequence was "parodied" by British Rail in an advertisment [2]
* The scene where Popeye is targetted by the sniper on the roof is being watched by the character Josh baskin in the Tom Hanks film Big

[edit] References and footnotes

1. ^ Friedkin recounts his casting opinions in Making the Connection: The Untold Stories (2001). Extra feature on 2001 "Five Star Collection" edition of DVD release.
2. ^ This story is recounted in Making the Connection, supra.
3. ^ The train that is running on the elevated line during the chase scene in the film is actually an N train.
4. ^ This account of the shooting is described in Making the Connection, supra.
5. ^ "From 'Popeye' Doyle to Puccini: William Friedkin" with Robert Siegel (interview), NPR, 14 Sep 2006
6. ^ NY-70 at TV.com

[edit] External links

 

[L2R]

French edition?

nein. that's just a random google image i found

my #17 is Band of Brothers boxed set

i'm really bad at catching every episode to any series on television, and so when one comes about with such a rep., i had to check it out. Bought it before i saw it and am glad i did.
although being a long story, i've only seen it once.

next number is 152

 

[keiths31]

Well since I only have 53 DVD's in my collection I had to count through three times and I got...

The Simpsons Season 7



Next number 31

 

[alasdairm]

31 in my collection is mr. show - the complete third season

smart, hilarious, often surreal comedy from david cross and bob odenkirk. the highest compliment i can pay to mr. show is that, since discovering it, my life has become a succession of mr. show references. if somebody asks for change for a dollar, i crack up...

i hve all 4 seasons on dvd but i think this one's my favourite - so many excellent episodes.

alasdair

 

[tribal girl]

^Next number please alasdair! 8)

 

[alasdairm]

ack!

next number is: 40

alasdair

 

[The Liberal Media]

For me its just one of those timeless classics, I like pretty much everything Simon writes, and this is my personal fave of his.

Lemmon and Matthau's comedic timing is a joy to behold, and this movie just gets BETTER with each viewing, every comment Walter makes is comedic gold, and its ratio of sarcastic acerbic but witty one liners per minute is unsurpassed in any film.

Makes a great double bill with the darker " The Prisoner of Second Avenue" for hardcore Lemmon/Simon/Saks fans like me.

Matthau utters one of the greatest lines in film history: "You keep leaving notes all over the house. I found one under my pillow: Oscar, we're out of cornflakes. F.U. It took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Unger."


Seen it a good 50 times, and at the end of a hard day I like nothing better than to pop this one in. It's the ultimate buddy comedy.

next # 29

 

[L2R]

Casino Special Edition

Fantastic film we all know, but doesn't stand quite as tall as Scorsese's bestest.

88 deux non petite madamoiselles (i don'a speaka da frencha)

edit: image fixed

 

[tribal girl]

Serial Mom:

Probably my favourite John Waters film.

Dottie Hinkle: Hello?
Beverly Sutphin: Is this the Cocksucker residence?
Dottie Hinkle: God damn you! Stop calling here!
Beverly Sutphin: Is this 4215 Pussy Way?
Dottie Hinkle: You bitch!
Beverly Sutphin: Now let me check the zip code. Two-one-two-fuck-you?
Dottie Hinkle: The police are tracing this call this very minute.
Beverly Sutphin: Well, Dottie Hinkle, then why aren't they here, huh, fuckface?
Dottie Hinkle: FUCK YOU!
[hangs up]
Beverly Sutphin: Bwaahahahaha!
[immediately calls her back]
Dottie Hinkle: DIDN'T I JUST SAY FUCK YOU?
Beverly Sutphin: [in a different voice] I beg your pardon?
Dottie Hinkle: Who is this?
Beverly Sutphin: Mrs. Wilson from the telephone company. We understand you're having some trouble with an obscene phone caller?
Dottie Hinkle: Oh Mrs. Wilson, I'm so sorry. These calls are driving me crazy! I've had my number changed twice already. I'm a divorced woman, please help me.
Beverly Sutphin: Well what exactly does this sick individual say to you?
Dottie Hinkle: I can't say the words out loud, I don't use bad language.
Beverly Sutphin: Oh yes I know it's difficult but we need to know the exact words.
Dottie Hinkle: I'll try. COCKSUCKER, that's what she calls me.
Beverly Sutphin: [reverting to the original voice] LISTEN TO YOUR FILTHY MOUTH, YA FUCKIN WHORE!
Dottie Hinkle: GODDAMN YOU!
Beverly Sutphin: MOTHERFUCKER!
Dottie Hinkle: COCKSUCKER!

LOL

Next number: 101

 

[Pathogen]

 

[tribal girl]

^Some more information and the next number would be nice.

 

[wanderlust]

^whip them into shape, please

 

[AlphaCharlieID]

Night at the Roxbury

Doug Butabi: So anyways, I was standing there waiting to use the pay phone.
Steve Butabi: Yeah, he was, seriously.
Doug Butabi: And this guy who was on the phone, turns around and tips his hat like this.
Steve Butabi: And who do you think that guy was?
Doug Butabi: Emilio Estevez.
Steve Butabi: The Mighty Duck man, I swear to God, I was there.
Doug Butabi: Of course you were, you were the one who yelled the Breakfast Clubber's name.
Steve Butabi: I was like, "Emilio."

 

[tribal girl]

^Next number please. We're really not getting the hang of this are we guys?

 

[wanderlust]

im picking the next number- 76


people, please! a short description of the movie or the story of how you came by the movie and what you love about it... and then the NEXT NUMBER!

 

[keiths31]

Shawshank Redemption

One of my all time favourite movies. I can watch this over and over and never get bored or tired of it. I watch it on TBS whenever it is on. Love it.

Next number is...1

 

[AndyChrist]

I freakin' LOVE this series.

I remember watching the old shorts along with the MAXX on Liquid TV.

Next number will be nineteen (19).

And that's how we play.

 

[wanderlust]

i started my love of aeon flux with liquid tv too

19:
batman returns.
not my movie, not my choice of something i would watch.
but, heh.

next number: 47