If you thought these guys were bad when it came to Iraq ... : "The French Connection"

The clock's ticking on some of these TCM and IFC movies. I keep adding them to the TiVo list, and before long those little hourglasses show up, warning me of their impending deletion. That's also enough to give the missus an itchy "erase" finger, especially since there's no end to Lifetime movies and reruns of "Judging Amy" she deems worth taping. Oh, the humanity.

So I hopped to it the other night and knocked out "The French Connection," a not-bad '70s police movie. Not sure I give it four stars like most reviewers, probably because we've had plenty of gritty cop movies since Gene Hackman ("Superman IV: The Quest for Peace") was running wild in 1970s Manhattan. Then again, there's an element of truth to this tale, a la "Serpico," and both Hackman and some of the action scenes are fun to watch.

Our man Geno plays Popeye Doyle, a New York narcotics cop who along with his partner stumbles onto a big heroin deal coming from France. There's just one problem: They need to catch the frogs in action. We get some set-up on how Doyle is something of a mess, alternately abusive to civilians and money with the ladies. But the movie mostly zips along as Hackman and his partner, played by Roy Scheider ("Blue Thunder"), shadow the players in the deal with mixed success.

Some scenes stand out and porbably are considered classics. One situation with Doyle following the lead villain had the two comically stepping into and out of a subway car before the bad guy finally shakes Doyle. Then there's the big chase scene, which definitely is unique. After all, you have a cop in a car chasing a subway. Now that's something you don't see everyday, and -- spoiler alert -- when all the swerving, screeching and crashing is done and the bad guy sees Hackman waiting for him at the bottom of the subway stairs, it's pretty satisfying.

Overall, everyone probably should see this just because it's an Oscar winner -- best picture, actor and director, as well as others. It also offers a nice look at flawed cops and '70s NYC, complete with a seedy Times Square. I swear there were a bunch of hookers and a peep show where the ESPN Zone now stands. Progress? You be the judge.