my favorite movie. it won, i think, four oscars. it was made on virtually no money, and should therefore be an inspiration to the aspiring filmmaker of today. this film has, for my money, the best car chase ever shot, beating out steve mcqueen's masterful performance in bullitt, sheerly by force of hackman's incomparable acting. speaking of which, hackman makes popeye doyle, our hero, a psychological house of cards in a split second in the closing seconds of the film, not by snapping, but by merely continuing to do what he's done, which hackman's likable and warmly real presence has made seem inconspicuously happy until then. a pit bull fighting an aircraft carrier. the film doesn't win you with charm, which it has, with action, which it has, with almost grostesque humanity, which it has... it is simply, indefinably, a winner.