(1971)

Submitted by Curt aka The Grand Poopbah

Academy Award – BEST PICTURE – 1971
POOPER:
Popeye Doyle sets a trap for French drug kingpin Alain Charnier, but the
trap fails, and Charnier manages to escape.

LONG VERSION: (Submitted by Dan)
The movie follows the story of New York City narcotics detectives Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy ‘Cloudy’ Russo (Roy Scheider) as they investigate a large heroin smuggling operation. The film begins in Marseille, France, where a French police officer is killed by hitman Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi) while surveilling drug kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey). In New York, Popeye and Russo, working under Captain Simonson (Eddie Egan), suspect a local businessman, Sal Boca (Tony Lo Bianco), of being involved in the drug trade. Their surveillance leads them to discover that Charnier is planning to smuggle heroin into the United States via a car. After a series of intricate police work, including tailing and wiretapping, they manage to capture the car and find the heroin hidden in its rocker panels. However, their efforts are complicated by Charnier’s cunning maneuvers and the eventual assassination attempt on Popeye by Nicoli, which leads to a famous car chase where Popeye pursues Nicoli on an elevated train.

The climax of the film sees Popeye and Cloudy raiding an abandoned warehouse where they believe the drug deal is taking place. During the raid, Popeye accidentally shoots an undercover agent, thinking he is Charnier. Charnier escapes, and in the final moments, Popeye, still determined to catch him, fires a shot into the darkness of the warehouse. The film ends ambiguously with the sound of a gunshot, and the closing text reveals that Charnier was never captured, leaving the ending open to interpretation.
Academy Awards:
WON:
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gene Hackman)
Best Director (William Friedkin)
Best Film Editing (Gerald B. Greenberg)
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Ernest Tidyman)

NOMINATED:
Best Supporting Actor (Roy Scheider)
Best Cinematography (Owen Roizman)