Film Screening: The French Connection at the Ultimate Picture Palace

Join us for a screening of William Friedkin’s neo-noir crime classic The French Connection at the Ultimate Picture Palace, presented as part of UPP’s In Memoriam 2025 season. We will watch the film together and might go for drinks and a debrief after the screening.

This January, UPP pays tribute to five remarkable artists we lost in 2025 by bringing some of their most beloved films back to the cinema. This screening celebrates the legacy of Gene Hackman, whose performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle remains one of the defining roles in film history.

Film description
Set on the gritty streets of early-1970s New York City, The French Connection follows hard-nosed narcotics detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy Russo as they pursue an international heroin smuggling ring with links stretching from Marseille to Manhattan. What begins as routine surveillance escalates into an obsessive, high-stakes hunt that blurs the line between justice and compulsion.

Released in 1971, The French Connection is a landmark of American cinema and a defining work of the New Hollywood era. Its raw, documentary-style realism, morally ambiguous characters, and famously relentless car chase redefined the crime thriller and influenced generations of filmmakers. Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Gene Hackman, the film remains as tense, provocative, and exhilarating as ever.

I’ve booked the seat G5 for Sunday 25 January 2026 at 14:15. Feel free to book a seat nearby if you’d like to sit close by.

https://uppcinema.com/show/the-french-connection/

Please RSVP only once you have booked your ticket.

Looking forward to seeing you there!