Which 1971 crime thriller starring Gene Hackman features a car chase under an elevated train?

The 1971 crime thriller starring Gene Hackman with a famous car chase beneath an elevated train is The French Connection.

Directed by William Friedkin, the film follows New York Police Department detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy Russo as they investigate an international heroin-smuggling operation. Hackman played Doyle, while Roy Scheider portrayed Russo; both characters were fictionalized versions of real narcotics detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso.

The celebrated chase occurs in Brooklyn, where Doyle commandeers a civilian Pontiac LeMans and pursues a hitman escaping on an elevated subway train. The sequence was filmed beneath the BMT West End Line and became one of the most influential car chases in American cinema. It is sometimes confused with Bullitt, another 1960s crime film famous for automotive action, but Bullitt stars Steve McQueen and is set in San Francisco.

The French Connection won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay.