Rent The Conversation (1974)
3.8 of 5 from 355 ratings
1h 53min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a respected but less-than-perfect surveillance expert who is wracked with self-doubt and carrying a heavy conscience since his work led to the death of two of his subjects. So when he comes to believe that his latest assignment - eavesdropping on a pair of young lovers - may end in murder, Harry can no longer avoid confronting the moral consequences of his chosen profession.
- Actors:
- Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, Mark Wheeler, Robert Shields, Phoebe Alexander, Ramon Bieri, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Robert Duvall, Richard Hackman, George Meyer, Al Nalbandian, Erick Vinther, Billy Dee Williams
- Directors:
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Producers:
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Writers:
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Others:
- Walter Murch, Richard Chew, Art Rochester, Nat Boxer, Mike Ejve, Arthur Rochester
- Studio:
- Buena Vista
- Genres:
- Classics, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like Klute, Action & Adventure, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., JFK on Screen, People of the Pictures, Remembering Julian Sands and Frederic Forrest, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, The Coppola Clan: Hollywood's Most Creative Family, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Steven Soderbergh, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Brian De Palma, Top 10 Best Picture Follow-Ups, Top 10 Camping Films, Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top Film and TV Detectives: Guide to Screen Sleuth, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 31/10/2011
- Run Time:
- 114 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS 2.0 Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 2.0
- Subtitles:
- English, German
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- Bonus:
- Never-Before-Seen Archival Audio of Director Francis Ford Coppola Dictating the Original Script
- Audio Commentary with Francis Ford Coppola
- Audio Commentary with Supervising Editor Walter Murch
- Never-Before-Seen Interview with Francis Ford Coppola and Composer David Shire
- Never-Before-Seen Archival Screen Tests
- Archival on-Set Interview with Gene Hackman
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 15/07/2024
- Run Time:
- 114 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Q&A with Walter Murch, filmed at Curzon Soho, 2017
- Francis Ford Coppola audio commentary
- Walter Murch audio commentary
- Close-up on 'The Conversation'
- Coppola dictates script; Opening Sequence, The Life of Harry Caul, The Convention, Introduction to Frank Lovišta, Jack Tar Hotel, Police Station Ending
- Cindy Williams screen test
- Harrison Ford screen test
- David Shire interviewed by Francis Ford Coppola
- Interview with Gene Hackman (1973)
- Harry Caul's San Francisco: Locations Then and Now
- No Cigar (1956 short by Francis Ford Coppola)
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- 50th Anniversary trailer
- Behind the Scenes
- Stills Gallery
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Reviews (5) of The Conversation
Stunning - The Conversation review by ST
Stunning classic, fabulous soundtrack, great acting, amazing shots- and young Harrison Ford as well.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
One of the great films of the 70s - The Conversation review by GB
A brilliantly observed film with Gene Hackman the observer - in one of his finest performances. An absolute must.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
A masterpiece of suspense and tension around the theme of electronic surveillance - The Conversation review by Philip in Paradiso
Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a highly regarded surveillance expert based in San Francisco; he specializes in wiretapping services. We are in the analogue world but, as the movie shows in great detail, electronic surveillance was already highly advanced, very effective and scarily intrusive in the 1970s (and one dreads to think the extent of it, today, in the internet age, as denounced by, among others, Edward Snowden). Harry Caul and his team work for a range of clients, usually in the private sector. They are given an assignment and carry it out, without asking too many questions. Caul prides himself on his professionalism and focuses on the technical aspects of the job; he appears to have no scruples or, rather, no interest in the actual nature of the cases he is asked to put together, or in the reasons his clients have for seeking the information that Caul gives them.
Caul and his team are hired by a mysterious corporate client to eavesdrop on a couple, seen walking around Union Square, in San Francisco. Despite the ambient noise, Caul works on the various tapes to the point where he has a clear recording of the couple's conversation. The meaning is ambiguous but Caul soon feels that his work may be used in a way that could have tragic consequences. The story develops from there.
Harry Caul is, really, a dull character and a loner (played very well by Gene Hackman). There is a strong technical angle to the movie, as the practical and technological conditions of the surveillance work are described in some detail. In spite of all this, the film is a gripping thriller. And, unlike many such movies, the story gets more interesting, more intriguing and more powerful as it develops, to reach its climax in the last 30 minutes of the film. Highly recommended.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.