25 best police movies ever

The French Connection (1971)

Gene Hackman bagged an Oscar for his role as pork pie-hatted detective "Popeye" Doyle, an unconventional hero whose alcoholism and blinkered attitudes stand in stark contrast to the suave poise of heroin supplier Alain Charnier.

Charnier's importing pure heroin to the US from Marseilles – the French Connection of the title – and it's down to Doyle to work out how he's getting the drug into the country.

Director William Friedkin lends a gritty feel to the film – most notably in the infamous car chase that hurtles through the New York streets at breakneck speed.