The Conversation | Gene Hackman, John Cazale

The Conversation | Gene Hackman, John Cazale | 70s gem ripe for rediscovery

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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

Coppola's finest

This is meticulous filmmaking, and it succeeds.

The film begins with a faraway scene, leading into a public square and leading in turn into a broken conversation, and an everyday, but somehow interesting, one at that (because of how it's filmed and edited).

This leads into a fascinating story about this conversation and possibly the greatest character studies ever developed in film, in my opinion, that of a careful wiretapper named Harry Caul, played by Gene Hackman. He is quite neurotic, and maybe even paranoid, but definitely eccentric.

As Coppola puts it, he could've taken the side of principle, or he could've taken the side of the eavesdropper in this film, and he decided to take the perspective of the voyeur, with fascinating results. Beyond the greater scope of the ethics of privacy, and the question of when to step in to possibly stop something horrible, the viewer will delight in how originally this story is told, in cryptic fragments.

This film has one of those plots that is impossible to describe with justice without seeing and too good to even reveal with spoiler warnings.

The actors, crew, and the director all seem to be in accord. The result is seamless. I consider this an essential, must-see film, and it is better than The Godfather or Apocalypse Now.

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70s gem ripe for rediscovery

I was only a youngster when the Conversation was doing the rounds at the cinema. I preferred movies with blowing each other's heads off. And make no mistake, an action flick this ain't. In fact there isn't any action at all. Or sex for that matter. And it gets worse - this is also a film which requires your sustained attention, from the beginning if possible. This is a tall order for most people nowadays, but rest assured, once you get past the first fifteen minutes or so, you won't want to leave the sofa.
Thoughtful, sensitive meditation on a man who is being slowly torn apart by his own contradictions. The lot unravels slowly, giving the viewer plenty of time to get under the skin of the protagonist, the bespectacled surveillance man, a consummate professional, dedicated, paranoid, emotionally blocked. Although Gene Hackman plays the role brilliantly, he's not the main attraction - that's the film itself. Much has been made about the film's paranoia motif, but it's not just about surveillance technology gone bonkers, it's about a man who is forced to face his own shortcomings. A great package, then, rather than a Hackman vehicle. A beautifully crafted film, with s superb soundtrack. And I'm glad I took the time to watch it after all these years.

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Very good movie!

Gene Hackman plays a surveillance expert who feels a murder may be committed because of a conversation he caught on tape. He's somewhat religious, a point made in the film and his conscience is bothering him. In the past, a family was murdered that he watched. I admit I found it slow during the first half but worth watching for the second half. The last 20 minutes or so is especially good. It also has a very young Harrison Ford. Three years before Star Wars. One reason I watched this movie is because it was an Academy Award Nominee for Best Picture.

Great seventies' film . . . one nagging issue though.

A very enjoyable experience about voyeurism and who's watching the watchers (... Jerry? [sorry for the "Seinfeld" reference]). I won't go into detail about the film as others have already done so, but one thing I don't think the Gene Hackman character would have done is to invite everyone back to his place after the convention. I mean, the guy is so obsessive-compulsive and particular about his stuff that he wouldn't let a bunch of drinkers into his workshop. Not a big deal, but something that bothers me a bit . . .

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