10 Ridiculous Secrets Behind Iconic Movie Scenes

3. The Car Chase Was Shot Without Permits - The French Connection

William Friedkin's Best Picture-winning crime thriller features one of the most exciting and unpredictable car chases ever put to film, in which NYPD detective "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) commandeers a civilian's car in order to pursue an elevated train on which a hitman is attempting to escape.

And in typical Friedkin fashion, he decided to fly by the seat of his pants, shooting the sequence without obtaining the necessary city permits.

The production did manage to liaise with the NYPD to help control traffic for five blocks, but the precise nature of the chase was never outlined to the authorities.

In a highly illegal move, Friedkin decided to continue the chase past the bounds of the traffic control, where civilian vehicles and pedestrians were going about their lives and included in the final chase.

What passed for health-and-safety was the director placing a flashing police light on top of Doyle's 1971 Pontiac LeMans to warn people.

In fact, it was such a risky set-piece to shoot that any scenes that had to be shot from the car's backseat were filmed by Friedkin himself, given that all of the camera crew were married with children while he wasn't.

It'd be virtually impossible to get away with such cavalier filmmaking today, but with a budget of just $1.8 million in 1971 - about $11.4 million in today's money - Friedkin lacked the money to stage the set-piece the legal way. Insane.