The Connection

Play trailer

The Connection

1962,

1h 50m,

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

95%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

100+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In a cramped and dirty apartment, eight junkies variously goof off, chat and play jazz music while waiting for their heroin connection to show up. They've also struck a deal with documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn (William Redfield) : They'll let him film them provided he pays for their drugs. When the dealer, Cowboy (Carl Lee), arrives, he's suspicious of the filmmaker and his camera, enough so that Dunn considers trying heroin himself to prove he's no narc and to better understand his subjects.

Penelope Gilliatt

Sight & Sound

Feb 11, 2020

For Shirley Clarke's direction there can be nothing but praise... This is a film with more creative flair than any that has come out of America for years.

Go to Full Review

J. Hoberman

The New York Review of Books

Mar 7, 2019

The Connection is not a great movie but it is a singular and multi-faceted historical artifact.

Go to Full Review

Archer Winsten

New York Post

Sep 21, 2018

With so much to offer, the picture can be excused from the duties of entertainment in the pleasurable sense.

Go to Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Seattle Film Blog

Sep 8, 2022

3.5/4

[Shirley] Clarke, a dancer-turned-independent filmmaker, was no finger-wagging moralist. Her depiction of junkies may have been more realistic than most, but the entire film serves as a disincentive to try the stuff.

Go to Full Review

Amelie Lasker

FF2 Media

Feb 25, 2021

Director Shirley Clarke's performance background strongly influences this carefully paced, masterfully acted, beautifully scored drama.

Go to Full Review

Dwight MacDonald

Esquire Magazine

Jul 30, 2019

The danger was that it would be just a photographed stage play. Miss Clarke has avoided this partly by brilliant technical effects, but chiefly by using the camera as the voyeur's eye of the director who is supposed to be making a documentary.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Shirley Clarke

Director

Warren Finnerty

Leach

Garry Goodrow

Ernie

James Anderson

Sam

Jerome Raphael

Solly

Carl Lee

Cowboy

Alice in the Cities

100%

91%

Alice in the Cities

Watchlist

Requiem for a Heavyweight

89%

88%

Requiem for a Heavyweight

Watchlist

Foolish Wives

89%

70%

Foolish Wives

Watchlist

The Wild Child

100%

81%

The Wild Child

Watchlist

The Saragossa Manuscript

94%

90%

The Saragossa Manuscript

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Definitive Jazz Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

In a cramped and dirty apartment, eight junkies variously goof off, chat and play jazz music while waiting for their heroin connection to show up. They've also struck a deal with documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn (William Redfield) : They'll let him film them provided he pays for their drugs. When the dealer, Cowboy (Carl Lee), arrives, he's suspicious of the filmmaker and his camera, enough so that Dunn considers trying heroin himself to prove he's no narc and to better understand his subjects.

Director: Shirley Clarke
Producer: Lewis M. Allen, Shirley Clarke
Screenwriter: Jack Gelber
Distributor: Films Around The World [us], Mystic Fire Video [us]
Production Co: The Connection Company
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 20, 2016
Runtime: 1h 50m
Sound Mix: Mono

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings