On this day in 1971, the premiere of the best police action film in the history of world cinema took place in New York.

Cinema history knows several instances of a country suddenly developing its own "new wave," as happened in France in the late 1950s—for example, in South Korea. However, there's a key difference: in South Korea, the films of Wong Kar-wai and Park Chan-wook emerged practically out of nowhere, while the "new wave" in France was a reaction to the fading era of the once-great French cinema. (Similarly, nearly a century earlier, Impressionism had replaced academic painting in France.)

US cinema of the 1970s belongs to the second, "French," version. At the beginning of the decade, three films were released almost in quick succession that completely transformed the traditional Hollywood genres in which they were shot. And although more than half a century has passed, they remain among the best in the history of world cinema in their respective genres. "The Godfather" is a gangster saga, "Cabaret" is a musical, and "The French Connection" is a police thriller.

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Interestingly, all three films were started without any plans for future resounding success. For example, after watching "The Godfather," the studio's management even doubted whether it was worth releasing a film in which, as they said at the time, "half the scenes take place in the dark."

So, 35-year-old director William Friedkin, although he intended to make a police thriller in the style of the French New Wave—that is, "like a reportage," with outdoor street shots, a moving camera, and so on—otherwise saw it as a completely traditional Hollywood film, as evidenced by his initial casting choices.

Initially, he believed that the main character, ultimately played by Gene Hackman, should be played by the then-famous Paul Newman, who had completely different psychophysical characteristics. He's even more handsome than Hackman. Now, when talking about "The French Connection," it's simply impossible to imagine him as a slightly ironic Hollywood hunk (remember, for example, "The Sting," where he starred opposite another Hollywood hunk, Robert Redford).

Steve McQueen was another candidate for the role of "Popeye" (the film's protagonist was nicknamed so for his hat), and he was much more suitable for the role than Newman. But McQueen had played a similar role a year earlier in "Bullitt," so he turned it down, not wanting to repeat himself.

After all, if the role had been played not by a model of beauty like Newman, but by a model of rugged masculinity like McQueen, it would have been a repetition of the past. But the fact that Hackman, with his accountant-like appearance and almost insane gambling (it's no wonder he accidentally hits a colleague during the pursuit scene at the end of the film, shooting at random), played the cop was a revelation. And The actor Friedkin was most reluctant to cast won an Oscar for the role.

And, of course, the car chase scene will never be forgotten; despite 53 years having passed since the film's New York premiere on October 7, 1971, no one has managed to surpass it. Incidentally, it's possible Friedkin borrowed the idea for the chase from the aforementioned "Bullitt," but his version was much more impressive.

And two years later, Friedkin released another of the best films in world cinema, this time in the horror genre: "The Exorcist."

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