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The Conversation
1974
Gene Hackman stars in THE CONVERSATION as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert whose job is taping the lives and conversations of others. With the character of Caul, director Francis Ford Coppola has created a complex role for which Hackman is perfect--a man in complete control on the outside but breaking down within. Teri Garr, .. Read more
| Starring | Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams |
|---|---|
| Director | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Genres | Drama, Thriller |
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The Conversation
Gene Hackman stars in THE CONVERSATION as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert whose job is taping the lives and conversations of others. With the character of Caul, director Francis Ford Coppola has created a complex role for which Hackman is perfect--a man in complete control on the outside but breaking down within. Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, and Elizabeth MacRae co-star, but Hackman, in top form in every scene, is the real reason to watch this true classic.The stirring, classic opening shot of the film is a long, slow zoom into Union Square in San Francisco. A young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams), are having what seems like a mundane conversation while Harry and his assistant Stanley (John Cazale) eavesdrop from a nearby van. But when Harry carefully analyses his tape, he uncovers bits of unsettling dialogue. Suspicious of his client's motives for wanting the tape, he becomes uncharacteristically worried about the people he may have endangered.
| Starring | Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest |
|---|---|
| Director | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Studio | WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 48 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 01 Aug 2005 Production year: 1974 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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In this small masterpiece from director Francis Ford Coppola, Gene Hackman gives a superb performance as the lonely surveillance expert tracking the movements and voices of Frederic Forrest and Cindy Williams, only to find that the marital infidelity he supposes he is observing could be part of a murder plot. Coppola tweaks the idea to surreal effect, while editor Walter Murch orchestrates the eavesdropping to produce a uniquely baffling wall of sound. Made two years after Coppola's The Godfather, this haunting thriller skilfully taps into post-Watergate paranoia resulting in an intensely fascinating study of a perpetrator turned victim of the surveillance society.
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An inner rather than outer-directed film about the threat of electronic surveillance, conceived well before the... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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33 out of 36 people found this review helpful
My Favourite Film.... Ever!!!
This has to be my favourite film, I'll tell you why...
1. Gene Hackman is in it and he's the don. I think this has to be his best role. Hackman plays it to a tea. Subtle and understated, we feel his pain. Always worth watching!!
2. Its got a great plot!!! Which unravels as the film moves along.. Nice & neat twist.
3. Great film sound. I love the sound in this film. Its paranoid and edgy and it makes the atmosphere claustrophobic. I also love the music soundtrack with its eery signature theme which represents Harry's pain, loneliness and isolation.
For me this is Coppola at the pinacle of his powers. He made 'The Conversation' between the two 'Godfather' films which a lot of people consider to be the best Hollywood cinema of all time.
Peace. Gonz -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
'The Conversation: Listen to paint drying'
I watched this movie expecting it to get better, for some secret to be reveiled, for it to make sense, to have some direction, but nothing - it just goes on and on.
Soon I was fast forwarding it to find some sort narrative ankor but nothing.
This is a movie with no start(just jumps in) or conclusion (well I coukld not take any more and ejected it - then went looking on Cable)
I selected this movie due to its star rating (little else in my renta list).
Now I have to find someone on here with taste and check their 5star movies as it is beyond me how this one ever made any money.
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- dougthom from Brighton,UK
- Posted 20 Jul 2008 17:33
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News and features
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Gene Hackman stars in THE CONVERSATION as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert whose job is taping the lives and conversations of others. With the character of Caul, director Francis Ford Coppola has ... -