The version released on Blu-ray features a radically-different color scheme from all earlier versions - it was recolored with the assistance of 'William Friedkin (I)'.
A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround remix was created for the 2001 2-disc Special Edition DVD from Fox Home Entertainment. Aside from creating stereo effects from the original mono elements, all the gunshots were replaced with more contemporary sound effects.
A "special edition" of The French Connection features several scenes that never made the final cut of the movie. One of these scenes has actor Marcel Bozzuffi being whipped by a topless hooker in his New York City hotel room. The trivia here is that the hooker is played by actress Darby Lloyd Rains who, several years later, would become one of the earliest stars of the adult film industry in such releases as Naked Came the Stranger (1975).