The Conversation (1974)

Directed by

Francis Ford Coppola

Genre

drama film, crime film, mystery film, thriller film, psychological thriller film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 49m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 2,050 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A surveillance expert records a conversation between a couple that hints at a crime. His obsession with uncovering the truth starts to tear apart his own isolated life.

paranoidtenseslow-burnclaustrophobicemotionally restrainedmorally complexmelancholicsubdued

What happens

The Conversation is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as surveillance expert Harry Caul who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential murder. Supporting cast members include John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, and Frederic Forrest. Harrison Ford and Teri Garr appear in credited roles, and Robert Duvall in an uncredited role. Mackenzie Phillips, who had just worked for Coppola on American Graffiti along with Williams and Ford, had a supporting role as Harry Caul's niece that was dropped during the film's editing stage. Likewise, Abe Vigoda's role as Caul's lawyer also ended up on the cutting room floor. The Conversation premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or, and was released theatrically on April 7, 1974, by Paramount Pictures to critical acclaim. It made $4.4 million during its original release, and after several re-releases, its total rose to $4.8 million on a $1.6 million budget. The film received three nominations at the 47th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound. In 1995, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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