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The Conversation (1974) 7.9
Ratings:
7.9/10 from 69,573 users
Metascore: 86/100
Reviews: 309 user | 143 critic | 6 from Metacritic.com A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered. Director:Francis Ford CoppolaWriter:Francis Ford Coppola |
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Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Gene Hackman | ... | ||
| John Cazale | ... | ||
| Allen Garfield | ... |
Bernie Moran
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| Frederic Forrest | ... | ||
| Cindy Williams | ... | ||
 |
Michael Higgins | ... |
Paul
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| Elizabeth MacRae | ... |
Meredith
(as Elizabeth Mac Rae)
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| Teri Garr | ... |
Amy
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| Harrison Ford | ... | ||
| Mark Wheeler | ... |
Receptionist
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Robert Shields | ... |
The Mime
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Phoebe Alexander | ... |
Lurleen
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Edit
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Harry Caul is a devout Catholic and a lover of jazz music who plays his saxophone while listening to his jazz records. He is a San Francisco-based electronic surveillance expert who owns and operates his own small surveillance business. He is renowned within the profession as being the best, one who designs and constructs his own surveillance equipment. He is an intensely private and solitary man in both his personal and professional life, which especially irks Stan, his business associate who often feels shut out of what is happening with their work. This privacy, which includes not letting anyone into his apartment and always telephoning his clients from pay phones is, in part, intended to control what happens around him. His and Stan's latest job (a difficult one) is to record the private discussion of a young couple meeting in crowded and noisy Union Square. The arrangement with his client, known only to him as "the director", is to provide the audio recording of the discussion ... Written by Huggo
Taglines:
Harry Caul will go anywhere to bug a private conversation. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
June 1974 (France) See more »Also Known As:
La conversación See more »Box Office
Budget:
$1,600,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Passerby: Well, I want to go over to my place and start, you know, getting it on...
Ann: Oh, that's terrible.
Mark: Yeah. Do you ever, uh... ballet?
Ann: Be thankful. Do you have a quarter for them?
Mark: Yes, I do.
Ann: [gives it to street band]
Ann: What about me?
Mark: You'll see.
Ann: A lot of fun you are. You're supposed to tease me, give hints, make me guess, you know.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Coppola had written the outline in 1966 but couldn't get financing until The Godfather (1972) became a success. See more »Goofs
At the party in Caul's workshop, Stan describes the targets of a job only as "two people". At that time, Caul was at the far side of the shop, leafing through photos of them, many yards away - and obscured by fellow attendees and equipment - from a woman in the group who later asks, "What did they do...the boy and the girl?" Even had she been able to see the photos, there was no way she could have connected them with the subjects, no way she could have known their gender nor age. (She may however, knew about the job and merely slipped her tongue.) See more »Quotes
[first lines]Passerby: Well, I want to go over to my place and start, you know, getting it on...
Ann: Oh, that's terrible.
Mark: Yeah. Do you ever, uh... ballet?
Ann: Be thankful. Do you have a quarter for them?
Mark: Yes, I do.
Ann: [gives it to street band]
Ann: What about me?
Mark: You'll see.
Ann: A lot of fun you are. You're supposed to tease me, give hints, make me guess, you know.
See more »
The Conversation is a quiet film that slowly builds on the central theme of paranoia. Gene Hackman is hired to record a conversation between two people. As Hackman pieces the dialouge together, we get to hear more and more of what's being said. Only thing is, we don't know exactly what is being referred to. Hackman seems to have an idea, as does the audience. As he starts to realize what's at stake, Hackman starts to develop a feeling of regret and refuses to hand over the tapes to the "director." Along the way, we see just how alone Gene Hackman's character is. His only solace in life is playing the saxaphone along with jazz records. He values his privacy and has trouble connecting with people, even members of his own team. Francis Ford Coppola keeps the story moving and lets it build naturally. He gives us glimpses into Hackman's mind as he "thinks" he knows what's going to happen to the people he recorded. The only way to see what happens in the end is to watch this quiet masterpiece. To tell about the ending would ruin the fun, not to mention the suspence of this understated thriller.