Review by Stuart Barr
Stars Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest,
Cindy Williams, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Macrae, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford,
Mark Wheeler, Robert Shields, Phoebe Alexander, Robert Duvall | Written by Francis Ford Coppola
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £22.99 | BD Region B | Runtime 109 minutes | Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Made between the first two Godfather films which elevated Coppola to the very top tier of 70s movie brat directors, 1974’s The Conversation sometimes feels like the forgotten film among the four masterpieces the director made in that decade. In fact, Coppola had been working on the film long before The Godfather. It’s often forgotten that he was a director for hire on the classic gangster saga, and Coppola regarded the source material as pulp. After the film smashed box office records Paramount were desperate to have him back in the chair for The Godfather Part 2, and the studio lured a reluctant Coppola by promising to fund the more personal project he had been unsuccessfully touting around Hollywood.
The Conversation has a very slight plot. A surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman) has been hired to record a conversation between two people, apparently lovers, in a crowded city square. Caul is haunted by an earlier incident when a surveillance job had tragic consequences, so when he isolates a key piece of the conversation “He’d kill us if he had the chance” he refuses to turn over his tapes, fearing that he may initiate a murder. As his guilt and personal isolation increase, Caul becomes convinced he is himself being bugged.
The Conversation is a very European feeling American film, it is based on character, mood and the deft exploration of ideas of freedom, paranoia and perception. Inspired by Antonioni’s Blow Up (1966) Coppola had written the screenplay in the late sixties but with uncanny timing the surveillance equipment shown in the film was the same as used in the Watergate scandal. The Conversation is often grouped with a series of conspiracy themed films from the same decade but as it was written in the 1960s the parallels with the era defining US political scandal are pure serendipity.
Although the film has a superb cast which includes the late John Cazale, Robert Duval and a very young Harrison Ford, this is Gene Hackman’s film. Hackman had made a huge impact as the tough cop “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s superb The French Connection, but the introverted loner Harry Caul was a major departure from the fiery parts for which the actor was known. He is simply superb, creating a complex and fascinating character.
EXTRAS ★★★★ Studio Canal’s Blu-ray presentation of the film is top notch, film grain is preserved and there is a very fine surround remix (the original track is also available). Extras are well worth investigating and include audio commentaries from Coppola and legendary editor Walter Murch, on-set footage of Coppola at work, a short but interesting interview with Hackman during shooting, interviews with Coppola and composer David Shire, and a selection of screen tests. There is also a booklet in the package. All in all, this is a great presentation.