The Conversation

Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION is a towering achievement, a masterfully constructed portrait of one man's descent into madness. Gene Hackman delivers a devastating performance as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who gets paid to invade the privacy of strangers. The film's classic opening shot is a long, slow zoom into Union Square in San Francisco, as a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams), are having what seems like an otherwise mundane conversation. However, when it is revealed that Harry and his assistant Stanley (John Cazale) are eavesdropping from a nearby van, it becomes clear that something more serious is happening. Later, after Harry painstakingly reconstructs the conversation from several different audio sources, he uncovers a snippet of dialogue that unsettles him. Suspicious of his client's motives for wanting the tape, Harry becomes uncharacteristically worried about the people he may have endangered, sending him into a dangerous mental tailspin. With Harry Caul, Coppola and Hackman have managed to create one of cinema's most unforgettable characters, a man who appears to be in control on the outside but who is, in fact, crumbling on the inside. Though Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, and Allen Garfield deliver standout supporting turns, THE CONVERSATION is Hackman's show. Inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's BLOW UP (1966), THE CONVERSATION in turn went on to influence Brian De Palma's own surveillance thriller, BLOW OUT (1981).

Cast:

Year - Presenter		Award Category		Result		Name
1974 - Cannes		Palme d'Or		Winner		Not Applicable

"...Subdued, wrenching, beautifully calibrated....Thrillingly uncompromised..." -- Rating: A -- Mark Harris , (Entertainment Weekly)

"...A taut, intelligent thriller..." -- Roger Ebert , (Chicago Sun-Times)

"...Too few movie lovers have seen Francis Ford Coppola's cult masterpiece THE CONVERSATION..." -- Mike Clark , (USA Today)

"...Coppola's spare thriller works as a brilliant deconstruction of the medium..." -- Daniel Webb , (Total Film)

"Francis Ford Coppola's conspiracy thriller stands up well 30 years on." -- Uncut Staff , (Uncut)

"Gene Hackman gives a perfect performance as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who stumbles on an ominous conversation that wasn't meant for his ears or anyone else's." , (Wall Street Journal)

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