Forgive me for coming to this review so late, but I'm new to your channel. Being someone who was a teenager in the late seventies, and having fallen in love with cinema during what I consider to be the greatest period for American film, it does my heart good to see young people taking to these movies. I agree with everything you say about this film, it is one of my favorites, and you're so right, it's character study. One of my favorite sub-genre of movies from the 70s are thrillers, particularly those that address the paranoia of that time. Movies such as Alan Pakula's Klute, All The President's Men, and The Parallax View, as well as Pollack's Three Days of the Condor are some others I love. How about Dave Grusin's amazing score for The Conversation. The piano suggests a downward spiral. Love your reviews, and thanks for the 70s Cinema Love.
Great review! I saw The Conversation for the first time last year, and it's one of the most unforgettable movies I've ever seen. The ending is so chilling
It is a remarkable movie. Coppola, his achievements in the 1970's are so immense, its hard to get your head around the value of these films he made, their greatness and permanence. But the greater mystery is, what happened to him? Whilst Scorsese expanded, it seems that Coppola contracted. One more thing - John Cazale. Always excellent, and I always want to mention that brilliant man
deepfocuslens u made me want to see this movie again its so underrated. Coppola still did one movie later in his career that was good. That was The Rainmaker
Totally agree, Maggie. The Conversation is a masterpiece. Walter Murch's editing and sound design are way ahead of their time. People keep mentioning Blow Up in relation to this but I think it's a better movie and I think the Watergate/paranoia background of its time makes it more relevant. Blow Up is also more random whereas this hones in on the obsession of the main character which drives the mystery. It's endlessly rewatchable for the sheer pleasure of watching and hearing it all unfold.
This is a movie about deception in which Harry Caul is deceived and conned several times by several people, and we are effectively made to feel how he feels. It reminds me of "The Sting," where people pull con jobs left and right and nothing is what it seems. It reminds me of "Blow-up," in which a mystery engulfs the protagonist to the point that he is literally lost. It also reminds me (digressing heavily now) of David Fincher's "The Game," where a paranoid man thinks he is being constantly fooled and tricked. Sometimes a movie makes me think of a lot of other seemingly unrelated movies.
Just rewatched the Conversation and checked out your review... wonderful job, you had some great insights. I do agree that this may be Coppola's masterpiece, at least of his smaller, personal stories... though I think that the Rain People (1969) is another great, underrated film of his. One little trivia note I found reading about the movie... Harrison Ford decided that his character was a gay man... Coppola liked the characterization so much, he expanded Ford's part.
I just discovered your channel. Great review about The Conversation. In my opinion the main theme of the movie is about isolation. This theme was rather prevalent in movies from the early to mid 70s. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Douglas Trumbull's Silent Running also deal with this theme.
Wow. Your review is really insightful and interesting. Ive been digging through old films and trying to see as many as I can. Just saw this a few months ago. I knew it was Coppola and knew it was highly regarded as a great work of cinema. I recognized something about it as being very intense and relatable in a personal way. Having it explained in such great detail really helps me put it all together. Good job.
finnibert lunchiken I relate to Harry Caul. Not really his shyness as much as his disconnect from people, in that introverted way. For that I consider it Hackman's most convincing performance if not one of the most convincing I've ever seen. And big kudos to Coppola's writing.
You are possibly the best person practicing film criticism on TH-cam (and, in fact, there is more interesting, er, conversation about cinema here, particularly about classic film, than there is in the New Yorker, NYT, Slate, Salon, bla bla bla...)
I had my hands clasped over my mouth for the last 20 minutes of this film. I realised that pathological solitude has been here since the dawn of the dinosaurs.
One the best dvd commentaries I've ever heard is by Walter Murch for this film. I think he has an editing credit on it and maybe sound design but you get the sense that is essentially a codirector. Brilliant guy.
The "Walkman," and then the cell phone, destroyed social interactions -- communication. Families used to talk at the dinner table. Now each is on a "device" "communicating" with a fantasy.
Meh, I rode public trans before smartphones, and people kept to themselves reading books and newspapers. If a "family" wants to communicate, then it is up to the "family" coming together to communicate. It really is that simple.
People are lame. My favorite is when people ask me for movie recommendations and then do not bother to watch them. Watch Klute. I also recommend Vengeance is Mine (Japan)
This is one of my favorite movies ever! There's a strange meta-ness to this film watching it now with all the revealed information about the NSA. It would be cool if someone made a movie like this about an NSA employee. What an interesting character study that would be.
4 generations of films that have a similar vibe to each other with each subsequent one being influenced by the former: If _The Conversation (1974)_ could be considered the _son_ in that generational tree, then _Blow-up (1966)_ would be the _father_ and _Rear Window (1954)_ would be the _grandfather._ I guess that would make _Blow Out (1981) the _grandson._
I really like these classic reviews, please keep them coming. Been a while since I saw this film, not sure it had the same affect on me, I still love Apocalypse Now the best. The real question is how does the guy that Makes those 4 films turn into the guy the made the rest of his filmic catalog? The rest of his films are not even in the same universe of film-making and daring as those 4.
deepfocuslens I could be wrong but I think thanks to the making of Apocalypse Now he ended up in massive financial problems. There was so much went wrong with the filming of that movie I wouldn't be surprised if it broke his spirit at least a bit!
Have you seen Blowup (1966) from Michelangelo Antonioni? It was a massive influence on The Conversation. I really love both films. In Blowup I love how the film really gets into the ambiguity of the recorded image, what did the protagonist really see? As the picture gets blow up more and more it becomes less and less clear.
Absolutely. This film is a work of art, and nails every goal it set. In fact, I would put the dream sequence anything Bunuel ever did (you should watch Bunuel). I would characterize this as subtly music driven movie, and the ending is one of the greatest of all time. I would put it up there with Chinatown and The Searchers. I highly recommend Klute - its brother movie.
The Conversation is my favorite Coppola film. The paranoia that Caul experiences is incredibly palpable to the viewer. The scenes are often executed with such duplicity that even Harry's most mundane of interactions often leave you feeling uncertain of the other characters' intentions. I found the plot to be executed in that same satisfyingly subversive manner used in Chinatown, released the same year. Harry Caul is lauded by his peers as one of the best surveillance men in the business. However, despite his proposed competency and attempts to maintain his anonymity, he falls short of the recognizing the truth and consistently has his privacy compromised. I really loved the choice of the semi-transparent raincoat that Gene Hackman wore, as it's a thoughtful example of how this character is trying so desperately to be invisible, but it's really only a thin veil of protection. Great performances, skillful editing, a fantastic, minimal score... So much to gush about.
good review, helpful insights for those wanting to watch this great film. A good film by any measure and happened at a time that privacy and power was starting to get out of control.
I watched about half an hour of this on TV a couple of years ago, but had to go out and missed most of it. I'll have to add this to my ever expanding list of movies I need to see - you have yet to give me a bad recommendation.
2001 is stupid and boring. Why did Kubrick allow the scene with the apes to drag on as long as it did? I think he made his point after about 5 minutes. This was just bad film making. Also, why do I spend so much time watching people eat space food? I get it - people eat in space. Finally, the idea that HAL can pretty much kill the astronauts at will but allow the one to open the hatch and make his way into the motherboard is silly.
One could reasonably ask,is he inherently "socially awkward"; or,is the "awkwardness",necessitated by the secrecy of the profession? a sort of, "Chicken and egg" conundrum.
Doesn't anyone think that Coppola chickened out by changi g the line reading from HED Kill us if had the chance to HED Kill US if HE had the chance? It takes me out of the movie.
How fascinating;that this was just a couple of years before Cindy Williams,would get comedically typecast,forever;on the 'Laverne & Shirley' TV series. i'd love to know,just how she feels about it.
I watched this film for the first time today. If your main exposure to Coppola (like mine) has always been the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, you may find this rather jarring. It's an incredibly cold, detached, unemotional work that shares so much of that in common with it's protagonist (played by Gene Hackman, in the most withdrawn and subdued performance I've ever seen him give). It also has an undeniably perverted, even seedy undertone. Not to mention an ending you won't soon forget - truly haunting.
i literally just finished revisiting the conversation for the second time. idk, it didn't hold up as well as it did the first time i watched it a few years back. yes, solid for what it is. but its a movie that after two viewings its rewatchability factor is super low for me at least
deepfocuslens it's not quite as good as The Conversation, but it's still a great detective thriller that also has a fantastic character study element to it. It's by the same director of All the President's Men
MatthewLedZepfan Listening to her talk about this movie reminded me of Alan J. Pakula's "Paranoia Trilogy." I'm curious to hear her analysis. Please do it, deepfocuslens.
As much as I tried to like this film, I find the main protagonist annoyingly distant, most of the storylines don't have a conclusion,the ethical dilemma isn't complex enough to carry the whole film and it has been redone immensely better imo with the German "The lives of others"
Two things: 1. This movie is amazing. 2. Harry Caul is definitely not getting his rent deposit back...
it was in the sax ;)
Especially after he shit on the landlord for giving him a gift on his birthday
LOL, brilliant.
@@funlesbian Boy, that would _blow_ if true.
@@cigsindoors Wonder if the bug was in that gift?
This is probably the most spot-on film review I've ever seen. Instant subscribe. Thank you!
Forgive me for coming to this review so late, but I'm new to your channel. Being someone who was a teenager in the late seventies, and having fallen in love with cinema during what I consider to be the greatest period for American film, it does my heart good to see young people taking to these movies. I agree with everything you say about this film, it is one of my favorites, and you're so right, it's character study. One of my favorite sub-genre of movies from the 70s are thrillers, particularly those that address the paranoia of that time. Movies such as Alan Pakula's Klute, All The President's Men, and The Parallax View, as well as Pollack's Three Days of the Condor are some others I love. How about Dave Grusin's amazing score for The Conversation. The piano suggests a downward spiral. Love your reviews, and thanks for the 70s Cinema Love.
Klute is one of the greatest movies ever, and very much in the tone and spirit of The Conversation.
Great review! I saw The Conversation for the first time last year, and it's one of the most unforgettable movies I've ever seen. The ending is so chilling
One of the greatest endings of all time, right up there with Chinatown and The Searchers
It is a remarkable movie. Coppola, his achievements in the 1970's are so immense, its hard to get your head around the value of these films he made, their greatness and permanence. But the greater mystery is, what happened to him? Whilst Scorsese expanded, it seems that Coppola contracted.
One more thing - John Cazale. Always excellent, and I always want to mention that brilliant man
Yeah, Coppola's career really fizzled. John Cazale is one of the great understated actors of all time. He never hits a false note. Remarkable.
deepfocuslens
u made me want to see this movie again its so underrated. Coppola still did one movie later in his career that was good. That was The Rainmaker
Coppola became disenfrancized by the hollywood system, and said to hell with it.He was content to grow grapes.
@@jerrynosek8499 He also did a lot of nose candy.
@@CEWIII9873 true
Totally agree, Maggie. The Conversation is a masterpiece. Walter Murch's editing and sound design are way ahead of their time. People keep mentioning Blow Up in relation to this but I think it's a better movie and I think the Watergate/paranoia background of its time makes it more relevant. Blow Up is also more random whereas this hones in on the obsession of the main character which drives the mystery. It's endlessly rewatchable for the sheer pleasure of watching and hearing it all unfold.
This is a movie about deception in which Harry Caul is deceived and conned several times by several people, and we are effectively made to feel how he feels. It reminds me of "The Sting," where people pull con jobs left and right and nothing is what it seems. It reminds me of "Blow-up," in which a mystery engulfs the protagonist to the point that he is literally lost. It also reminds me (digressing heavily now) of David Fincher's "The Game," where a paranoid man thinks he is being constantly fooled and tricked. Sometimes a movie makes me think of a lot of other seemingly unrelated movies.
Yes, but The Sting is stupid, and relies on people doing exactly what the plot needs it do from an array of options
Just rewatched the Conversation and checked out your review... wonderful job, you had some great insights. I do agree that this may be Coppola's masterpiece, at least of his smaller, personal stories... though I think that the Rain People (1969) is another great, underrated film of his. One little trivia note I found reading about the movie... Harrison Ford decided that his character was a gay man... Coppola liked the characterization so much, he expanded Ford's part.
Eh...I do not see Ford as a gay man, I simply see him as a manipulator who saw his opportunity to seize the throne himself.
If you liked The conversation, you should check out Network and Three days of the condor (Redford)
Thanks Steve, I will give it a go,
I just discovered your channel. Great review about The Conversation. In my opinion the main theme of the movie is about isolation. This theme was rather prevalent in movies from the early to mid 70s. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Douglas Trumbull's Silent Running also deal with this theme.
Agreed
Wow. Your review is really insightful and interesting. Ive been digging through old films and trying to see as many as I can. Just saw this a few months ago. I knew it was Coppola and knew it was highly regarded as a great work of cinema. I recognized something about it as being very intense and relatable in a personal way. Having it explained in such great detail really helps me put it all together. Good job.
finnibert lunchiken I relate to Harry Caul. Not really his shyness as much as his disconnect from people, in that introverted way. For that I consider it Hackman's most convincing performance if not one of the most convincing I've ever seen. And big kudos to Coppola's writing.
If you loved The Conversation you will love 'Incendies'- a great Canadian French film. It is very underrated and truly compelling.
You are possibly the best person practicing film criticism on TH-cam (and, in fact, there is more interesting, er, conversation about cinema here, particularly about classic film, than there is in the New Yorker, NYT, Slate, Salon, bla bla bla...)
Just got around to this movie. I was happy to stumble on your review, I’ve been a subscriber for about a year and it’s cool to see these older reviews
Phenomenal film - a microcosmic companion to Orwell's 1984. As you say, definitely ahead of its time being prophetic of things to come.
I had my hands clasped over my mouth for the last 20 minutes of this film. I realised that pathological solitude has been here since the dawn of the dinosaurs.
Are you sure it was your hand?
One the best dvd commentaries I've ever heard is by Walter Murch for this film. I think he has an editing credit on it and maybe sound design but you get the sense that is essentially a codirector. Brilliant guy.
This movie also has one of my favorite scores, a series of lonely Erik Satie like piano pieces.
@@travisbest9041...and the jazz.
In fact, I would call this a music driven movie.
One of my favorite character study films you learn so much through the details
The "Walkman," and then the cell phone, destroyed social interactions -- communication. Families used to talk at the dinner table. Now each is on a "device" "communicating" with a fantasy.
Meh, I rode public trans before smartphones, and people kept to themselves reading books and newspapers.
If a "family" wants to communicate, then it is up to the "family" coming together to communicate.
It really is that simple.
@@CEWIII9873 I agree: riding public transit with strangers is the same as a family sitting at the dinner table.
Great film. I have recommended this film to many friends of mine, and I don’t think any of them ever watched it. 🙁
People are lame.
My favorite is when people ask me for movie recommendations and then do not bother to watch them.
Watch Klute.
I also recommend Vengeance is Mine (Japan)
@@CEWIII9873 thank’s I will check them out when I get a chance.
This is one of my favorite movies ever! There's a strange meta-ness to this film watching it now with all the revealed information about the NSA. It would be cool if someone made a movie like this about an NSA employee. What an interesting character study that would be.
Hmm...maybe we could call that...Snowden?
Holy shit! I just saw this for the first time last week. God damn this movie was amazing
I love how sound was so well thought out in films like this. Makes me want to revisit Blow Out too.
4 generations of films that have a similar vibe to each other with each subsequent one being influenced by the former: If _The Conversation (1974)_ could be considered the _son_ in that generational tree, then _Blow-up (1966)_ would be the _father_ and _Rear Window (1954)_ would be the _grandfather._ I guess that would make _Blow Out (1981) the _grandson._
I really like these classic reviews, please keep them coming. Been a while since I saw this film, not sure it had the same affect on me, I still love Apocalypse Now the best.
The real question is how does the guy that Makes those 4 films turn into the guy the made the rest of his filmic catalog? The rest of his films are not even in the same universe of film-making and daring as those 4.
That is a mystery. Maybe he sold out, or perhaps he ran out of good ideas. hahaha
deepfocuslens I could be wrong but I think thanks to the making of Apocalypse Now he ended up in massive financial problems. There was so much went wrong with the filming of that movie I wouldn't be surprised if it broke his spirit at least a bit!
Ironballs69 I believe he also had a heart attack, maybe the genius brain cells died during that :(
Media by Aaron It was Martin Sheen that had a heart attack during the filming of Apocalypse Now, not Coppola.
In the words of Rick James:
"Cocaine is a hell of a drug!"
Have you seen Blowup (1966) from Michelangelo Antonioni? It was a massive influence on The Conversation. I really love both films. In Blowup I love how the film really gets into the ambiguity of the recorded image, what did the protagonist really see? As the picture gets blow up more and more it becomes less and less clear.
Blowup is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Have you seen Il Conformista?
Splendid movie! The ending always gives me goosebumps.
Gene Hackman in one of his best roles in my opinion.
Great review. The musical theme in this film is incredible, so is Hackman.
Absolutely.
This film is a work of art, and nails every goal it set.
In fact, I would put the dream sequence anything Bunuel ever did (you should watch Bunuel).
I would characterize this as subtly music driven movie, and the ending is one of the greatest of all time.
I would put it up there with Chinatown and The Searchers.
I highly recommend Klute - its brother movie.
The Conversation is my favorite Coppola film. The paranoia that Caul experiences is incredibly palpable to the viewer. The scenes are often executed with such duplicity that even Harry's most mundane of interactions often leave you feeling uncertain of the other characters' intentions. I found the plot to be executed in that same satisfyingly subversive manner used in Chinatown, released the same year. Harry Caul is lauded by his peers as one of the best surveillance men in the business. However, despite his proposed competency and attempts to maintain his anonymity, he falls short of the recognizing the truth and consistently has his privacy compromised. I really loved the choice of the semi-transparent raincoat that Gene Hackman wore, as it's a thoughtful example of how this character is trying so desperately to be invisible, but it's really only a thin veil of protection. Great performances, skillful editing, a fantastic, minimal score... So much to gush about.
good review, helpful insights for those wanting to watch this great film. A good film by any measure and happened at a time that privacy and power was starting to get out of control.
Your love for film and art is same as mine . I also have same amount of opinion for conversation .
haunting film. i have never been able to get this film out of my mind
I watched about half an hour of this on TV a couple of years ago, but had to go out and missed most of it. I'll have to add this to my ever expanding list of movies I need to see - you have yet to give me a bad recommendation.
Well?
2:00 i too use microscopes to view things from a far... tee hee. Great review. Just teasing yah
Have you found your pen15 yet?
@@CEWIII9873 you're a pen15
All my film buff friends love this film, as much as, say, "2001."
Hard to say which i like better. I might go with "the convo" very interesting (just watched it)
We are nerds ;) film buffs.
Aww it feels so good to be on the cusp of the unknown in terms of films that ppl know of, let alone talk about. Lol
2001 is stupid and boring.
Why did Kubrick allow the scene with the apes to drag on as long as it did?
I think he made his point after about 5 minutes.
This was just bad film making.
Also, why do I spend so much time watching people eat space food?
I get it - people eat in space.
Finally, the idea that HAL can pretty much kill the astronauts at will but allow the one to open the hatch and make his way into the motherboard is silly.
So no props for David Shire's score? Bummer.
He'd kill us if he got the chance.
Good point. It's such an underrated score!
Very interesting - thanks. Did you ever see THE LIVES OF OTHERS, which also revolves around bugging? Incredibly great, powerful film.
Great review!
One could reasonably ask,is he inherently "socially awkward"; or,is the "awkwardness",necessitated by the secrecy of the profession? a sort of, "Chicken and egg" conundrum.
Thanks for this great review! I didn't know the film existed. I'm totally watching it.
What did you think?
Religion as dealing with guilt
Narrow margin is my favorite Hackman film, this being second
Doesn't anyone think that Coppola chickened out by changi g the line reading from HED Kill us if had the chance to HED Kill
US if HE had the chance?
It takes me out of the movie.
I'm shocked you haven't reviewed Inherit Vice yet since PT Anderson is your favorite active director.
Haven't seen it yet.
How fascinating;that this was just a couple of years before Cindy Williams,would get comedically typecast,forever;on the 'Laverne & Shirley' TV series. i'd love to know,just how she feels about it.
The Conversation and Apocalypse Now are Coppola's best films.
I watched this film for the first time today. If your main exposure to Coppola (like mine) has always been the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, you may find this rather jarring.
It's an incredibly cold, detached, unemotional work that shares so much of that in common with it's protagonist (played by Gene Hackman, in the most withdrawn and subdued performance I've ever seen him give). It also has an undeniably perverted, even seedy undertone. Not to mention an ending you won't soon forget - truly haunting.
See "Blow-Up".
Apocalypse now is pretty good too.
Yeah, that's probably my all time favorite Coppola film.
Marlon brando. Amazing .
MrCakir53 Martin Sheen too. Hell, the entire cast was gold.
What do you think of Apocalypse Now?
I love it!
Yeah me too. Love how dark and crazy it is yet also thought-provoking.
You mean telescope not microscope.
i literally just finished revisiting the conversation for the second time. idk, it didn't hold up as well as it did the first time i watched it a few years back. yes, solid for what it is. but its a movie that after two viewings its rewatchability factor is super low for me at least
Keep watching it until you get a new religion. I'll be praying for you, my son.
Have you ever seen Klute?
No, I haven't.
deepfocuslens it's not quite as good as The Conversation, but it's still a great detective thriller that also has a fantastic character study element to it. It's by the same director of All the President's Men
MatthewLedZepfan Listening to her talk about this movie reminded me of Alan J. Pakula's "Paranoia Trilogy." I'm curious to hear her analysis. Please do it, deepfocuslens.
@@MatthewLedZepfan I disagree - Klute is just as good
Deepfocuslens you are one beautiful young woman.
@RenegadeCossack you are one creepy old man
S1mp
Put them away ffs
I wasn't a fan of the pacing of this film.
As much as I tried to like this film, I find the main protagonist annoyingly distant, most of the storylines don't have a conclusion,the ethical dilemma isn't complex enough to carry the whole film and it has been redone immensely better imo with the German "The lives of others"
I love you man!
S1mp
I love you gorgeous
S1mp
It was bore film ffs
Actually this movie sucks