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The Conversation
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Year: 1974
TRT: 1:53

Reviewed: 10/26/2024
VIDEO REVIEW

Tight drama. Interesting intrigue. And if you’re an audio and/or spy junkie, even more so!

Harry Caul is a freelance surveillance man. Best in the business, if the SpyGuy trades have anything to say about it. His latest job is a bit of a challenge, but he nails it. Harry really isn’t a people person. He’s got his job he excels at, plays some late-night jazz sax alone in his apartment, and has a little missy on the side he can’t really talk to. But despite his seeming lack of understanding of human nature and curiosity, this latest job gets to him. And he slowly gets drawn in to the recordings he’s made.

Good story here, slowly unwrapping the pieces of Harry (played exceptionally by Gene Hackman), as he struggles against caring about the latest conversation he’s put onto tape. Written and directed by Coppola, this is a great combination of drama and technology which stars a lot of actors you will recognize in supporting roles that Coppola likes to use in his films, from John Cazale to Harrison Ford and Robert Duvall. And some good sound design too, which is kind of a given considering the subject matter. The analog world has some cool shit.


Great Scene: There’s a surveillance tech convention he attends, interesting look at the technology and Harry’s relationship to the people there.

Meaningful Quote: “I don’t care what they’re talking about. All I want is a nice, fat recording.” -one cold-hearted sonovabitch


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