What a STUPID conversation | The Conversation

fantastic | The Conversation | Gene Hackman, John Cazale

DVDs:


	• The Conversation Gene Hackman, John Cazale Paramount, 2000 average customer review:based on 135 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

'I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of murder.'

THE CONVERSATION may be a 36 year old film, but it remains one of the finest suspense thrillers of this genre. Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed this gem between making Godfather and Godfather II and his degree of subtlety and mastery of understatement and jolting events shows. This film is restored now on a new release and the result is a crisp, flawlessly produced souvenir of just what Coppola does best - along with his current TETRO.

Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a very private person with memories of an incident in his past that permanently scar his ability to trust anyone or anything. He is a private surveillance expert, living in San Francisco, and with his partner Stan (John Cazale) is in the process of taping both audio and visual evidence of an affair of a young couple for a fee of $15,000. for tapes and photos. In studying his tapes he discovers a planned murder and his tension mounts as he realizes he could be considered a participant in a killing not unlike what happened in his past. He becomes paranoid when he attempts to turn over the achieved evidence to the man who hired him and in turn finds he is to give the tapes and photos to an 'assistant', one Martin Stett (Harrison Ford in a very early bit part). Fear consumes him: he distances himself from his girlfriend (Teri Garr) and loses his partner Stan when his obsession with personal privacy drives Stan away. Gaul, well respected in his field, meets his New York counterpart and becomes part of a surveillance scheme himself! How Gaul copes with his situation is the resolution of the film.

The pace of the film is slow, not unlike the patience required by those who invade the privacy of others. Coppola allows us to understand the psyches of each of his characters, no matter how small their roles. Hackman and Cazale are superb as they keep the flow of the film tense like a drawn out tightrope. It is a film to see repeatedly and one that has many of the qualities Coppola polishes in TETRO. Grady Harp, June 10

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What a STUPID conversation

Regardless of my title--a quote from the film meant to be ironic in this context--The Conversation was a brilliant, intelligent film. On paper it doesn't sound like the sort of drama that lends itself to cinematic treatment: A man eavesdrops and records conversations for a living. He is tops in his field and takes great pride in his professionalism. Sometimes his work results in great harm to people, even death, so he tries to detach himself from what he is doing. He is conflicted. Knowing also about how easy it is to tap phones, bug rooms, and eavesdrop on people, he is understandably a little paranoid. He guards his personal privacy zealously. Is it still paranoia, though, when they actually are listening--are out to get you? With a protagonist who keeps so much hidden, it hardly seems like a formula for a compelling film, but in the hands of Director Francis Ford Coppola, with Gene Hackman giving one of his greatest performances, a compelling film is exactly what you get.

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Martin Stett: We know that you know, Mr. Caul. For your own sake, don't get involved any further.
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Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a professional Surveillance Expert. In an early scene Caul is talking to his landlady on the phone, disturbed that she has entered his apartment and left him a birthday gift. He wants to have the only copies of his keys. He seems to be over reacting, but subsequent events will make you wonder if he wasn't correct in his suspicions. While Hackman's character may be over reacting, Hackman is certainly not over acting. He holds back and trades in subtle nuance. Slowly, piece-by-piece, the puzzle is put together. There is a murder plot, but that is merely subtext. The real drama is what is happening to Harry Caul, and his futile attempts to stay detached from the consequences of his job.

For this role, Hackman learned to play tenor saxophone, and it was an excellent choice for his character. He acts on the saxophone, playing it exactly like his character would. He plays along with old jazz recordings, fitting in with the song being played, but in an abstract, almost obtuse manner. His audiophile equipment and intense listening to the tapes he plays along with, and the way he concentrates on his own tone, speak volumes about his character and his chosen profession.

Along with the vintage jazz recordings on the soundtrack there is also some great music composed for the film by David Shire. In fact, Shire scored the music before the film was shot, and Copolla played it on the set to set the mood. Shire wrote a great piano theme of jazz-influenced 20th Century Classical Music. It is haunting and captures the existential angst quite well. Bravo, David Shire.

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Martin Stett: [Final Line] We'll be listening to you.
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Allen Garfield's William P. 'Bernie' Moran is Harry Caul's rival, but while Caul is introverted, Bernie is anything but. He is a crass, brash practitioner of surveillance with little or no regard for the consequences. The scenes at the Surveillance Convention and the party later at Caul's studio are brilliant. Garfield stands out in a field of fine performances by Teri Garr, Cindy Williams (Shirley on Laverne & Shirley), Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, and the rest (as they say on Gilligan's Isle).

Robert Shields plays a mime in Union Square. In real life he actually did get his start working the crowd at Union Square. This is a crucial scene, as the crucial conversation is recorded here, with the subjects thinking that all the commotion and extraneous noise would make recording them impossible. A mime, impersonating people without making a sound, is somehow bitterly ironic. Here and throughout, Coppola uses the San Francisco location well, as only a true San Franciscan could. Not the picture postcard scenes a tourist would send, but places like Embarcadero Center, with its poured concrete effect, or the Jack Tarr Hotel. Some very ugly architecture that nevertheless made me feel homesick for The City by The Bay. Have you seen my heart anywhere? I think I left it there.

The bottom line is that The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Copolla, is not only entertaining, but also intelligent and thought provoking. It says so much about our modern condition, and its message has only grown more relevant as time goes on. The Conversation was like a brilliant, scintillating conversation with a beautiful woman in Cafe Trieste over espresso after the San Francisco Opera.

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Stan: What a STUPID conversation.
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Heartbreakers (2001) Gene Hackman was William B. Tensy
Postcards from the Edge (1990) Gene Hackman was Lowell Kolchek
The Cotton Club (1984) Allen Garfield was Abbadabba Berman
One From The Heart (1982) Frederic Forrest was Hank, Teri Garr was Frannie, and Allen Garfield (as Allen Goorwitz) was Restaurant Owner; directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Blade Runner (The Director's Cut) (1982) Harrison Ford was Rick Deckard
Apocalypse Now (1979) Frederic Forrest was Jay 'Chef' Hicks, Harrison Ford was Colonel Lucas, and Robert Duvall was Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
Nashville (1975) Allen Garfield was Barnett
American Graffiti (1973) Cindy Williams was Laurie Henderson and Harrison Ford was Bob Falfa
The Godfather (Widescreen Edition) (1972) John Cazale was Fredo Corleone; directed by Francis Ford Coppola
To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition) (1962) Robert Duvall was Arthur 'Boo' Radley

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Ann: This conversation is over.
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fantastic

for all coppolaphiles, this is a must-see. especially the 1st shot. and the film really brings to mind the genius song by robyn hitchcock, "dont talk to me about gene hackman". look it up!!

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Moral Quandary

"The Conversation" was made in 1974, and has a tremendous cast, featured and supporting. Gene Hackman plays a loner, who also happens to be a genius in surveillance. He is admired by his peers on his meticulous work and a policy of never getting personally involved. However, he faces a moral quandary when he suspects that a couple whose conversation he's been hired to record will be murdered. He does not want to get involved, but the surveillance tape becomes something that challenges his code of non-intervention.

Slowly he succumbs to getting emotionally involved with a young couple he has taped. It is an interesting case and raises issues on Big Brother and technology in general.

The paranoid lifestyle of a surveillance pro is examined along with a surprising plot. The supporting cast is amazing, as it includes Harrison Ford, John Cazale and Teri Garr.

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A routine wire-tapping job turns into a modern nightmare as Harry hears something disturbing in his recording of a young couple in the park.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 8-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD