The French Connection (geeky anecdote)

Last Saturday, I had a craving for junk food (Wimpy) and I was in the mood to watch The French Connection. I watched the movie only once, about ten years ago, but recently I really want to watch it again. Maybe because it is set during Christmastime, because I have been reading on organised crime and it is a movie based on a true story. Anyway, I was in the mood to munch a big bad quaterpound with cheese, chips, Coca Cola while watching a classic movie. So I stopped at the local Blockbuster, looked for the movie in the renting section, the sale section, everywhere, I couldn't find it. I asked one of the staff members if he had it. He was tall and big, looking very geeky, and he was a geek: he actually knew the movie I was referring to. Not only this, he knew it had been released in DVDs and Blue Rays, he had seen it and it was "a fantastic movie". But unfortunately it was not available there.

That said, this little non-event, or frustrating non-event gave me hope in civilisation. That a man in such a low-paid, thankless job knew his movie classics and could talk about them with enthusiasm is definitely a sign that not everything is lost and that those movies will not be forgotten. It also shows that geeks are actually cool, knowledgeable creatures, in spite of their social ineptitude. And I count myself among them, without any shame. It also inspired me to put The French Connection on my Christmas gift list. With any luck I will be watching it on Christmas Day. My Christmas season movies may seem rather strange (you can read more about it here), but I think The French Connection fits the season perfectly. So I have decided to put the trailer here. It is a bit out of sync, but it is still enjoyable.