If you’re in the mood for a midnight movie, TCM presents a double feature tonight that teams two of the best and most influential and iconic movies of the early 1970s. First up, at midnight ET, is 1971’s The French Connection, director William Friedkin’s stunningly evocative portrait of New York City in its declining era. (HBO’s The Deuce clearly tapped this film as a primary resource. Gene Hackman (pictured) stars as Popeye Doyle, a tough detective pursuing his own stubborn brand of justice – and pursuing, in the process, a villain, in a car vs. train pursuit that still ranks as the ultimate in movie chase scenes. Roy Scheider co-stars. Then, afterwards, comes 1976’s Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese’s horrifyingly intense character portrait, starring Robert De Niro as a war veteran whose own brand of street justice makes Popeye Doyle look like a social worker. Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd co-star.