The Conversation (1974)

In the Pantheon of Greatness

A bona fide film fanatic, in my nearly sixty years I've seen literally thousands of movies. This one has easily been in my top ten since I saw it for the first time thirty some years ago; it will always remain there. Coppola's brilliance is astonishing. This is a perfect movie, certainly one of the greatest movies ever made. Why? It deals with a deeply flawed but brilliant man who makes the mistake of beginning to care about people, which, in a sense, could become his redemption. But we don't really know. The movie is wonderfully enigmatic, understated, documentary-like at times. You have to listen carefully and to think; Coppola resists hitting you over the head to make a point. Gene Hackman in his greatest role, by far. The late John Cazale in a typically riveting performance (how's that for a filmography for John C: The Deerhunter, The Godfather Saga, The Conversation)! The great Alan Garfield (now Gurwitz) as the "best bugger on the east coast". Robert Duvall as the auto exec, with his creepy aide, Harrison Ford.
I won't attempt to summarize the film; I wouldn't do it justice. You may not like it, but it truly and eloquently spoke to me, and it continues to haunt me to this day. June 12, 2008

The Conversation...is a boring one!

Ugh.....I was really psyched to see a film that would be juicy and all I got was a long-drawn-out, hollow flick written, directed and played out by big-time names! I feel like I wasted 2 hrs. of my life watching this thing. Two better films on intrigue are "The Falcon & the Snowman" and "Three Days of the Condor". May 14, 2008

The epistemology of sound -- jazz and reverberation

After the success of the first Godfather picture, Francis Ford Coppola could do anything he wanted. He chose a very loose adaptation from the leading character and basic scenario of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-up, to create this both exciting and provocative thriller about a surveillance specialist who finds himself involved in a murder plot.

In Blow-up, a fashion photographer takes a picture in the park and comes to believe that he may have evidence of a murder. The difficulty is that the visual evidence is not conclusive -- it demands interpretation and no amount of manipulation can overcome the ambiguity of the image. Here, Harry Caul uses elaborate techniques to record and collect fragments from what seems to be an innocuous conversation, but that he begins to suspect will be used in a murder plot.

Just as Blow-up became not only a film about a photographer and a murderer but also a meditation on vision and on the cinema -- so The Conversation is a rich and sophisticated film about the nature of sound and the interpretation of sound and in particular about the way in which sound is captured for film. Apart from having an excellent jazz soundtrack, the film is very subtle in its sound editing.

It opens on a crowded park, and we immediately become aware that the sound of the crowds and the music and the individual people and the cars is recorded sound. We hear the subtle distortions that come from blowing up sound recorded from a distance, and that in a finished soundtrack would be removed. It turns out we are both watching the crowd and watching and listening in as a couple in the crowd is being recorded through a number of highly specialized surveillance techniques. Later in the film, we are reminded at several points and in several ways that the sound in a film is an artificial construction and that it is independent of the visuals. Some scenes that initially seem like they are part of the normal exegesis of the film, turn out to be reconstructions based on how certain characters heard and interpreted recorded sound; in other scenes the aural artifacts we have become familiar with show up to indicate that we can never be sure whether the sound is just part of the film or whether it is being recorded by a third party.

This is an excellent film on a number of levels, as a political thriller, as a portrait of a paranoid individual, but also as a meditation on the nature of sound in film. Definitely one to watch ... and listen to. March 5, 2008

CALLING HARRY CAUL

Outstanding psychhological and spiritual film that, because of the content, is basically timeless. Hackman (Caul) is an expert on private surveillance work.A sordid past has cost him 3 innocent lives in the !960's while doing govermental work. His contention circa 1975 is that he is a private contractor who delivers his "bugging" work for a fee. Paranoid that he's being watched, and totally convinced that he's stumbled across another potential murder, he hasn't the courage to contact the police, for fear (real or imagined) of his own safety and reputation. Instead he freezes,and contents himself with eavesdropping on the homicide. Only afterwards does he involve himself in the surprising conclusion, thereby aiding his subsequent psychiatric breakdown.Throughout,Hackman gives a first rate performance, and Coppola's production and direction are, well, what one expects from him. Look for baby faced Harrison Ford; you may have trouble recognizing him. February 25, 2008

ONE OF THE BEST FILM SCORES OF ALL-TIME

This is one of the finest films of the 1970s. The plot, the character development, the acting, and the directing are all outstanding. However, the thing that gets talked about the least is the musical score from the film by David Shire. How this did not even receive an Oscar nomination is a crime. Not until a couple of years ago did it become available on CD (or in any form for that matter). If you loved the film, purchase the soundtrack. It is hard to find but you won't be disappointed. Unless you dislike intelligent films and only watch action or comedy flicks, then you will enjoy this classic. Movies today have an overload of fast paced edits. If that is all you are used to, then I guess you might not care for this. February 19, 2008

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