Movies:
The Connection
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2004
- Français subtitles
- Scene access
- Complete Shirley Clarke filmography
- Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Docudrama, Addiction Drama
- Themes: Drug Addiction, Filmmaking, Inner City Blues
- Director: Shirley Clarke
- Main Cast: Warren Finnerty, Garry Goodrow, Carl Lee, William Redfield
- Release Year: 1961
- Country: US
- Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
Experimental director Shirley Clarke's first feature film is a no-compromise look at the dead-end world of drug addiction in Manhattan. Awaiting their next "connection", eight dopers sit in a bleak New York loft. The addicts agree to allow filmmaker William Redfield to shoot a documentary of their lifestyle--for a price. When their connection arrives, he suspects the filmmaker of being a narc and abruptly runs away. The film ends with Redfield agreeing to try some heroin himself in order to more thoroughly understand his "actors". While it appears totally improvised (especially a supposedly impromptu jam session with four musician junkies), The Connection was adapted from a play by Jack Gelber. Roscoe Lee Browne appears in the cast in one of his earliest movie roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
The Connection is an unforgettable cinematic experience. It will not by any means be to everyone's taste, but those who are able to appreciate its riches will find it a treasure. Certainly, there's plenty here for a viewer to legitimately criticize, starting with the disturbing subject matter, which many may take to be an endorsement of drug abuse. The fact that Connection resolutely stays rooted in one location will also cause discomfort, and with good cause; yet director Shirley Clarke demonstrates a remarkable facility for finding ways to get her camera moving. True, the film is often many long, long takes, some of them quite static; but these do have a mesmerizing quality to them, and she does find opportunity to alleviate this situation much more often than might be supposed. For those with stick with her, Clarke makes a tough, gut wrenching, yet often funny, humane and at times even beautiful film. It's also a social critique -- of cinema verite movie making, of the drug culture, of racial relations, of poverty conditions, of myths and dreams, and of so much more. One watches Connection with a mixture of distaste and awe, but if a viewer gives himself over to it wholeheartedly, it becomes impossible to pull away. For those unable to make this commitment, Connection also offers a brief jam session featuring excellent work from Freddie Redd and Jackie McLean. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie GuideCast
- Warren Finnerty - Leach
- Garry Goodrow - Ernie
- Carl Lee - Cowboy
- William Redfield - Jim Dunn
Roscoe Lee Browne - J.J. Burden; Henry Proach - Harry; Freddie Redd - Piano Player; James Anderson - Sam; Jackie McLean - Alto Sax; Giorgia Moll - Francesca Vanini; Linda Véras - Siren; Robert Blake; Jerome Raphel - Solly
