The Conversation | Gene Hackman, John Cazale | A Fantastic Little-Seen Masterpiece

The Conversation | Gene Hackman, John Cazale | Better than the "Godfather"(sacrilege to some I know but true)

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The Conversation

	The Conversation Gene Hackman, John Cazale Paramount, 2000 average customer review:based on 121 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Fantastic Little-Seen Masterpiece

"The Conversation" is a little seen masterpiece from Francis Ford Coppola, made in between "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Pt. II." It's a mystery-drama, that plays like a horror movie similar to the Nicolas Roeg film "Don't Look Now" in the sense that works with dread, rather than fright. Two-time Academy Award winner Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul, a wiretapper whom we first meet as he's recording a conversation between a young couple in a park. Caul sees his job as a job, he doesn't get involved with the people he records nor does he pay much attention to the details of the conversation. He's supposed to record it and deliver it. His suspicions begin to grow about the tape when he tries to personally deliver it the mysterious person who asked for it and is instead badgered by the man's assistant (Harrison Ford) for it. At the same time we begin to realize how bad Caul is at his job. His partner Stanley (John Cazale) has quit and has already began working for another wiretapper. The superintendent at his apartment building has managed to get inside his multi-locked apartment to drop off a birthday present. A ladyfriend of his tells Harry about a time she watched his spying on someone for an hour...It's no wonder that when a rival wiretapper comes to his office with him he manages to record an intimant conversation between Harry and a woman. While the mystery revolving around "the conversation" continues, Harry begins deciphering some of the sentences and his suspicions are confirmed when he hears the sentence: "He'd kill us if he got the chance?" This question fuels the rest of the movie, until the very creepy and superb climax. Some of the most haunting parts of the film come at the end and this is due to the visuals of the film. One much-talked about scene comes when Harry flushes a toilet in a motel room and it begins overflowing with blood. This scene (and the few that follow it) are some of the most effectively creepy scenes I've seen in a long time. Gene Hackman is superb as Harry Caul, a multi-layered character that on the page must have seemed very one-dimensional. Harry is a man with no personal life, almost no friends, and he's a man that lives shrouded in mystery. Coppola had already proved by the time this movie came out that he was a cinematic genius, but he's mostly known for movies like "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now." Those films are 3 hour long epic films, but I think to really see how much range Coppola has as a director it's nice to take a look at "The Conversation." Few people have seen this movie, it's a much smaller scale film that most of his movies but it's truly a masterwork. Great acting, great direction, great art direction, and great cinematography.

GRADE: A

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Better than the "Godfather"(sacrilege to some I know but true)

Yes I said it and I'm glad i said it,I love the "Godfather" and it is one of the best movies ever made but this is one rung above it. Now that I've mad everyone mad< let me tell you why I love it this much.
Gene Hackman HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER THAN HE IS HERE. His Harry Caul is a man defined by his work only. He has no real life of his own, he just spies on real lives for his own gain. He just does a job, it's the people who hire him who are responsible for what is done with the knowledge he gives them. All of this changes on his latest job, as he begins to suspect that the young couple he is asked to tape is being set up to be killed. From the first shot to the last heartbreaking, but logical shot Hackman owns this spellbinding movie about paranoia and personal liberties being taken from you. It more than holds up today,even if the technology is now dated. There is no wild car chase or big bangs here only food for thought tied to a very downbeat but fantastic script. Mr. Coppola has outdone himself here and the film is his masterpiece in my eyes. Not one false note or scene in this one,as close to prefect as a movie gets. YOU WILL NEVER FORGET IT ONCE YOU SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Coppola's Masterpiece: An Impossibly Interesting Film With One of the Screen's Saddest Characters

Having just watched THE CONVERSATION for the first time, I must say that I am utterly stunned. It is one of the best films I have ever seen. And to think, I just added it to my queue on the off-chance that Francis Ford Coppola's other films in the 1970s would reveal some of the same mastery as the GODFATHER franchise. Francis Ford Coppola is, indeed, at the top of his game in THE CONVERSATION and the director's own fascination with his own screenplay is evident. While many have flagged this movie as a 1970s exploration of lies & secrecy stemming from the Watergate incident, ultimately this film proves to be a character study on one of the saddest and complex characters ever to have graced the screen.

The film opens up with a masterful long shot of a park in San Francisco, slowly zooming more and more on a character in the park, whom we later find out is Harry Caul (masterfully played by Gene Hackman in one of the best performances of his career). Caul looks about him nervously as if paranoid that someone is watching him. Of course, here we are, silently hovering above him, eavesdropping on Harry Caul's life. It is the first of many such "voyeuristic" shots. The plot soon becomes apparent. Caul seems absorbed in following a couple as they walk around in circles in the park, sharing a conversation. Gradually, it is revealed that there are several characters listening in with powerful directional microphones, all orchestrated by the able hands of Caul. Harry Caul is one of the best surveillance men in the country and we learn that he gets paid top dollar to do what he does best--tail people, violate their privacy, and emerge with an audio tape of their intimate conversations. Using the various recorded bits of audio, Harry is able to weave together a single master recording of the couple's conversation. It is part art and part science. Everything is going smoothly until Harry begins to listen to the content of his most recent assignment. While piecing together the final tape, Harry discovers that his tape may lead to the couple's harm. Despite his professional oaths to complete the job and tune out the content of the audio, Harry plays the tape over and over, further convincing himself that he may be responsible for something terrible. The truth is that this has happened to Harry before and he has never gotten over it. Try as he might to cling to the scientific and technical aspects of his craft, he is tortured by his knowledge.

As Harry begins to become more and more involved with his most recent assignment, he becomes involved in a horrible and sinister plot that exposes him to just the sort of surveillance he fears. What follows is Harry's descent into madness. Given the nature of Harry's profession, he is a paranoid person, incredibly secretive and constantly convinced that he is being watched. The sad irony of this fact is that Harry's life is so guarded and closed-off that there is nothing for other's to spy on. In fact, we (the audience) are the ones who are violating Harry's private life. There is no pleasure in this voyeurism. Watching Harry's sad life unravel is a painful experience. And yet we cannot take our eyes away from the screen. THE CONVERSATION grabs your attention from the top of the film and doesn't let you go for an instant. Coppola's shots seem to purposefully mimic the movements of surveillance cameras. The shots are left open, characters walk in and out of frame, culminating in the film's final shot--a perfectly timed pan (back and forth) across Harry's apartment that feels exactly like watching a surveillance monitor.

The twist at the end of THE CONVERSATION is shocking and mesmerizing--sparking as many questions as it answers. If you haven't already seen this film, you must drop what you are doing and see it right away. Gene Hackman turns in one of the best performances of his career, if not the best. Normally, Hackman plays supermen who are supremely confident of themselves. It is amazing to see his transformation here, a broken shell of a person, sneaking around in a plastic see-through rain parka. Coppola's direction is amazing and his camera work is perfectly calibrated to match the mood of the film. The effect of the "voyeuristic" shots is that we feel like intruders into Harry's world, eavesdropping on his private affairs. And yet, as close as we are brought to Harry, the cold feel of the camera also serves to distance us at the same time. I now have to see more of Coppola's work, but I can say that this is (by far) the best film that I have seen Coppola direct. Buy it today; rent it; watch it.

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"Apt"

The best thing about the film is the particular conversation that happens between a man and a woman.To hear that conversation, repeatedly, you must watch this film just once. No, this film won't change your life but yeah it will make you smile that odd smile we go to the movies to watch. It's been 33 years and I should add this film has aged well. WATCH OUT FOR THE START. This is an ideal watch when alone. Don't watch it with Harry or Sally. A dog? Yeah, maybe. Cheers.

A clever, gripping film

This film keeps you waiting for the big event, and when it happens it's such a twist you're left shaking your head.

A must see for anyone who likes good, solid suspense films.

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