William Friedkin’s 1971 action thriller features a famous chase scene that has gone down as one of the best in cinema, but filming the scene was quite risky. Friedkin’s The French Connection opened to a warm reception from both audiences and critics, and wound up taking home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Gene Hackman. In the decades since its release, The French Connection has been widely considered a staple in movie history for its memorable performances, documentary-style filmmaking, and its thrilling car chase sequence throughout the streets of Brooklyn.

The French Connection is based on the 1969 book of the same name by Robin Moore, which details a drug ring investigation by two New York City detectives a few years prior. In the film, Hackman and Roy Scheider play detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, respectively. The moral ambiguity in The French Connection and the obsessive behavior of its main characters set up a fascinating, ever-relevant narrative about the moral complexities within the criminal world and the efforts to shut it down. A scene in The French Connection that best exemplifies Popeye’s obsession is the thrilling car chase.

How The French Connection’s Car Chase Was Filmed & What Happened Behind The Scenes

Friedkin Strived For Authenticity And Made The Most Out Of His Limited Resources

In the scene, Popeye is chasing after a hitman (Marcel Bozzuffi) who briefly escapes by boarding an elevated subway train. In a desperate attempt to catch the man, Popeye waves down pᴀssing drivers before successfully driving off in a civilian’s Pontiac LeMans, speeding through the streets to keep up with the train moving above him. The French Connection‘s car chase goes above and beyond those seen in many of the action thrillers before it, and even modern thrillers equipped with CGI and hefty budgets.

Hackman’s character is made to maneuver through the streets crowded with fellow drivers and the occasional pedestrian, all while driving at roughly 90 miles an hour. Limited by budget and time restrictions, Friedkin was made to put his creativity and instincts to the test. Hackman’s double in the driver’s seat was stunt driver Bill Hickman, and teaming up with camera operator Enrique Bravo, Friedkin was able to pull off an incredibly risky chase sequence. Unlike most action sequences, The French Connection‘s car chase wasn’t as thoroughly planned or storyboarded before filming began.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Friedkin says the only staged part of the entire sequence was an instance when Popeye barely avoids colliding with a woman and her child. The French Connection team otherwise flew past other cars on the road, with additional cameras mounted to the exterior of the Pontiac, capturing footage that would be edited to add to the sense of urgency and speed in the scene. Though no one was injured, an unscripted crash into another vehicle made it into the final cut of the film.

Why The French Connection’s Car Chase Is Still One Of Movie History’s Best

There Is A Great Sense Of Danger And Realism Not Often Seen Or Easily Replicable

Over the years, Friedkin has spoken against the reckless filmmaking techniques used to film the car chase scene (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline). The director has frequently acknowledged the lives he put at risk to pull the scene off, even if it’s what the limitations of ’70s filmmaking pushed him to do. Still, the behind-the-scenes details about the car chase in The French Connection are only part of what makes it such a lauded moment in movie history.

The entirety of the chase sequence —both on the buzzing Brooklyn streets with Hackman’s character and on the elevated train with Bozzuffi’s hitman on the run— is characterized by a strong sense of danger. It’s regarded as one of the best car chases seen in movies, which can be credited to its gritty realism and unconventional methods of filmmaking. Friedkin’s spontaneity when filming the scene gave rise to a refreshing, unmatched level of authenticity that’s rarely seen in action thrillers like The French Connection, and that’ll likely never be captured to such an extent again.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, and Entertainment Weekly