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Retired NYPD Det. Sonny Grosso, of ‘French Connection’ fame, dead at 88
NY Daily News ^ | 22 January 2020 | Cathy Burke and John Annese

Posted on 01/23/2020 8:19:37 AM PST by oh8eleven

“He was some narcotics detective. He made that case. He made the French Connection case," said retired Det. Randy Jurgensen, who also worked on the case and on the award-winning movie as the NYPD adviser.

“Sonny Grosso was a legendary cop who made the transition to filmmaking with gritty cinema verite stories about cops," Denis Hamill said Wednesday night, praising him for being the inspiration for the Scheider character in “the best cop movie ever made.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: cathyburke; frenchconnection; johnannese; movies; nypd; randyjurgensen; sonnygrosso
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A great story, a great movie - but - is it the best cop movie ever made?
1 posted on 01/23/2020 8:19:38 AM PST by oh8eleven
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To: oh8eleven

I didn’t appreciate how great the French Connection was until like the fourth or fifth viewing. But my favorite scene still is the frogs having the delicious French food for lunch while Doyle toils in the cold with bad pizza and hot chocolate.

I have found that my love of any movie often revolves around a great food scene. Not sure why but that’s just I.


2 posted on 01/23/2020 8:24:35 AM PST by NohSpinZone (First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers)
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To: oh8eleven

Certainly the best car chase scene ever made.


3 posted on 01/23/2020 8:24:57 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: oh8eleven
A great story, a great movie - but - is it the best cop movie ever made?

It's hard to think of a better one.

Bullitt and To Live and Die In L.A. come to mind, but neither is as much based on a true story, at least to my understanding.

I suppose the case could be made that L.A. Confidential is also based on reality; it too is surely one of the best copy movies ever made.

4 posted on 01/23/2020 8:26:36 AM PST by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrats' John Dean])
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To: oh8eleven

5 posted on 01/23/2020 8:27:44 AM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: oh8eleven

One of the first CIA protected dope operations!

“In its first year of existence, agency operatives help the Mafia seize total power in Sicily and it sends money to heroin-smuggling Corsican mobsters in Marseille to assist in their battle with Communist unions for control of the city’s docks. By 1951, Luciano and the Corsicans have pooled their resources, giving rise to the notorious `French Connection’ which would dominate the world heroin trade until the early 1970s.”


6 posted on 01/23/2020 8:28:14 AM PST by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: oh8eleven
Second best.


7 posted on 01/23/2020 8:30:42 AM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: NohSpinZone
while Doyle toils in the cold with bad pizza and hot chocolate.

Having on occasion bumped into Eddie Egan, I can guarantee you he wasn't drinking hot chocolate:) These two were legends, and deservedly so.

8 posted on 01/23/2020 8:30:43 AM PST by JonPreston
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To: DesertRhino
One of the first CIA protected dope operations!

Yes, proving any number of old adages.

“If you dance with the devil, then you haven't got a clue, for you think you'll change the devil, but the devil changes you.”

"If you mix a gallon of clean water with a gallon of dirty water, what you've got is two gallons of dirty water."

9 posted on 01/23/2020 8:32:52 AM PST by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrats' John Dean])
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To: JonPreston

Ha! Well they were technically on duty but I doubt that would have stopped them from imbibing.


10 posted on 01/23/2020 8:33:11 AM PST by NohSpinZone (First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers)
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To: JonPreston
French Connection movie trivia.

The bar Popeye Doyle did his dialogue, "picking your feet in Poughkeepsie", was actually the Oasis bar & grill on Broadway in Brooklyn. It was a real dump. It was across the street from John & Al's Sporting Goods, the scene of a three day hostage situation in the mid 70s. Some of the more senior posters might remember that :)

11 posted on 01/23/2020 8:39:19 AM PST by JonPreston
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To: Buckeye McFrog
Certainly the best car chase scene ever made.

Now that, Buck, that right there, that is enough to suspend your FR account for at least 90 days.

12 posted on 01/23/2020 8:40:29 AM PST by frog in a pot ( "It's not enough to hold winning cards, ya gotta' know how to bet 'em.")
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To: Buckeye McFrog
Certainly the best car chase scene ever made.

No argument from me.
13 posted on 01/23/2020 8:41:21 AM PST by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: oh8eleven

RIP


14 posted on 01/23/2020 8:44:18 AM PST by laplata (The Left/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: oh8eleven
best cop movie ever made?

Everybody KNOWS the best cop movie ever made is

15 posted on 01/23/2020 8:45:12 AM PST by Karma_Sherab
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To: Karma_Sherab

Forgot to add “NOT”


16 posted on 01/23/2020 8:45:56 AM PST by Karma_Sherab
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To: Steely Tom; oh8eleven; Buckeye McFrog

“The Seven-Ups” with Roy Scheider is another good one from that era.

Think I’ll dig out all of these great flicks from the collection this weekend and have a cop film marathon.


17 posted on 01/23/2020 8:46:57 AM PST by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: Larry Lucido

The mall where they shot that sat empty for another thirty years. It turned into a hangout for homeless squatters and druggies. I’m afraid that is going to be happening to a lot of our dead malls.


18 posted on 01/23/2020 8:51:14 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: NFHale
Yes, The Seven-Ups was not quite up to the standard of Bullitt and The French Connection, but still very good.

The Seven-Ups is interesting because it shows the deteriorated condition of New York City in the early '70s in many scenes. Also, it's musical score was written by jazz innovator Don Ellis, who I think did an incredible job. Unfortunately, he died very young.

19 posted on 01/23/2020 8:56:29 AM PST by Steely Tom ([Seth Rich] == [the Democrats' John Dean])
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Moonlight Feels Right Starbuck HQ Audio

Moonlight Feels Right Starbuck HQ Audio
BTW, the best cop movie was "Dirty Harry". :^)

20 posted on 01/23/2020 9:00:41 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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