Rating: 
Summary: "The Conversation" on DVD
Review: "The Conversation" is one of those great little masterpieces of the 1970s that just so happens to be directed by Francis Ford Coppola. "The Conversation" tells the tale of Harry Caul, (geniously played by Gene Hackman) a surveillance expert who makes the mistake of getting personally involved in a disturbing assignment. Gene Hackman's performance is so subtle, underplayed, and finely-tuned that it alone makes the film worthwhile. The script is fabulous, with a twist that makes "The Sixth Sense" look like kid's stuff.The DVD of "The Conversation" is great. To start off, it has good, animated menus. The theatrical trailer is nice, just for nostalgic purposes. There is also a featurette, "Close-Up on The Conversation". It makes for a nice, brief look at the making of the film, and it's fun to see Coppola so young. What really makes this DVD great though, are the two commentary tracks. The first is by the director himself, Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola's commentary is one of the most comprehensive I've ever heard. If you don't appreciate this movie now, you will after you've heard his commentary. The second commentary is by editor Walter Murch, which is also very good, especially if you are specifically interested in the editing process. If you like Coppola, Hackman, or are just a sucker for a clever script, this DVD is for your collection.
Rating:
Summary: A memorable and disturbing film.
Review: Yes, it moves along slowly, particularly in the beginning, but one gradually begins to understand the character of Harry Caul (a top "bugger"), wonderfully played by Gene Hackman. How will the audio tapes he makes be used? Caul finally becomes concerned, then racked by guilt (even going to confession) about his latest job. What will he do? The film builds in suspense, culminating in a terrific, ironic ending. This film is beautifully written and directed by Francis Coppola, with very good supporting acting by Allen Garfield, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Cindy Williams, and John Cazale. The DVD has a nice, little documentary about the making of the film that I thought was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A CHAMBER-MUSIC MASTERPIECE
Review: Reading over the reviews here of this remarkable movie, I'd say most of its virtues have been well covered, and what's behind most of the bad reviews uncovered: people who don't get this movie are ones who need the usual thriller or Godfather stuff, which this film doesn't provide. It's small-scale, enormously subtle in story and acting, and its originality is as subtle as the rest of it. Among the trio of friends who came up together--Spielberg and Lucas the others--I think Coppola was the only real grownup, and the most ambitious to say something truly serious, though he also had the grand visual flair of the other two. The Conversation is at the heart of his work. If I had to compare it to anything, it'd be the Melville story "Benito Cereno," in which we think we know what's going on but we don't, not at all. Other reviewers mention the "philosophical" aspect. For me, here's what that's about: With the most sophisticated technology available, professional bugger Harry Caul finds out what two people said. But what he doesn't understand is the _meaning_ of what they said, and the meaning is what makes the difference. The way Coppla reveals that, with a little trick of sound, is for all its quietness one of the most brilliant and hair-raising moments I know in film. It's a parable of technology, of the meaning of truth, of the nature of preconceptions (who we expect to be the bad guys aren't) and lots else--the philosophically inclined can take their pick. In my own list of greatest movies of all time, this is somewhere in the first five. If you don't need exploding fireballs in your thrillers and know great acting and directing when you see it, this movie is as good as it gets.
Rating:
Summary: One of Coppola's finest hours
Review: Francis Ford Coppola made four masterpieces in a row in the 70's beginning with "The Godfather". The film was followed by "The Conversation", one of the best films of the decade. It was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and lost to "The Godfather Part II". The film stars Gene Hackman as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert from San Francisco. One day, he records a conversation between two lovers which ends with the crucial words: "He would kill us if he could". Since Harry Caul doesn't know the whole background of these words, he fataly misinterpretes them. The film shows in a subtle and fascinating way that everything small is linked with a larger whole and things depend on each other more than we think. Another hint for that is also given during the conversation of the couple when the man says that when the newspapers went on strike, many homeless people died because it was too cold and they didn't have newspapers to cover themselves at night. "The Conversation" also works as a brillaint character study of a man whose live turned into a great sadness because of his profession. When he returns home on his birthday, Harry finds a present on the table by the owner of his appartment, but the only thing that bothers him is how she managed to get in there. He doesn't want anybody to know much about him, not even his girlfriend. Everything in this picture is just perfect. Coppola's direction and his original screenplay are both fantastic, as is Gene Hackman in the lead. Another standout is the sound by Walter Murch. Hackman somewhat reprised this role 24 years later in Tony Scott's "Enemy of the state".
Rating:
Summary: MASTERPIECE
Review: Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, THE CONVERSATION is presented with a featurette, a trailer and two separate commentaries of Francis Coppola and editor Walter Murch. Sound and images are excellent for a 1974 movie. Gene Hackman is a private spy hired for his ability to record conversations that should have been kept secret. We can imagine that jealous husbands or big corporations are his main clients. The first 15 minutes of THE CONVERSATION are magistral, describing how Gene Hackman, with the help of his assistants, try to record a conversation between Cindy Williams and Frederic Forrest who are strolling in a public park. Gene Hackman is described as a solitary man becoming more and more paranoiac as he tries to recreate the conversation he has recorded through three different microphones. He soon loses his girlfriend and his longtime assistant played by Teri Garr and John Cazale, two Coppola favorite actors, and must confront Robert Duvall and Harrison Ford whom he suspects to plot the murder of Duvall's lovely wife, Cindy Williams. THE CONVERSATION is a great thriller with suspense and twists as the director adopts the subjective point of view of Gene Hackman, it's also a drama involving a man tortured by his conscience and slowly closing his mind to the world. Gene Hackman recreating the reality by mixing recorded tapes is without a doubt a metaphor of the film director at work but Gene Hackman trying to recreate famous saxophone jazz solos alone in front of his record player is nothing less than one of the most tragic figures a director has ever created on screen. A DVD for your library.
Rating:
Summary: One gem: one lady between two giants
Review: A Cannes' winner among other virtues, this film is like the fourth symphony of Beethoven: a princess between two power muscle men.
In fact the godfather I and II literally absorbed and in a certain way detoured, (together with Appocalyse now) the attention about this movie.
A genuine masterpiece that confirms the status of Mr. Coppola to the highest rank in the cinema's story.
Hcakman has never been best.
Rating:
Summary: "The Conversation" on DVD
Review: "The Conversation" is one of those great little masterpieces of the 1970s that just so happens to be directed by Francis Ford Coppola. "The Conversation" tells the tale of Harry Caul, (geniously played by Gene Hackman) a surveillance expert who makes the mistake of getting personally involved in a disturbing assignment. Gene Hackman's performance is so subtle, underplayed, and finely-tuned that it alone makes the film worthwhile. The script is fabulous, with a twist that makes "The Sixth Sense" look like kid's stuff. The DVD of "The Conversation" is great. To start off, it has good, animated menus. The theatrical trailer is nice, just for nostalgic purposes. There is also a featurette, "Close-Up on The Conversation". It makes for a nice, brief look at the making of the film, and it's fun to see Coppola so young. What really makes this DVD great though, are the two commentary tracks. The first is by the director himself, Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola's commentary is one of the most comprehensive I've ever heard. If you don't appreciate this movie now, you will after you've heard his commentary. The second commentary is by editor Walter Murch, which is also very good, especially if you are specifically interested in the editing process. If you like Coppola, Hackman, or are just a sucker for a clever script, this DVD is for your collection.
Rating:
Summary: A gem of 70s paranoia
Review: The 70s were the heyday of conspiracy paranoia in popular entertainment: 1974 The Conversation, 1975 The Three Days Of The Condor, 1975 The Parallax View, 1976 All The President's Men ... The worldview advanced in those films, was that a Cold War mindset had infected American domestic life ... powerful, mysterious forces were foisting a secret spy game on the unsuspecting public. Those jaded messages resonated with Americans, who had lost their innocence to political assassinations, Vietnam, and Watergate. The Conversation is perfectly representative of those times. Gene Hackman is ideally cast as a lonely electronic surveillance professional, whose carefully detached world cracks apart when a routine assignment goes wrong and drives him over the moral edge. Deprived of a human support system, Hackman's intelligence turns on itself and leads him into a series of dangerous mistakes. In the end Hackman finds himself no longer the safe detached observer, but instead, a vulnerable pawn in a cruel conspiracy plot. The film's direction is masterful in the hands of Francis Ford Coppola at his restrained best. The style is European noirish: spare, cerebral, brooding, enhanced by masterful photography and intellectual jazz music. Though the film is shot in color, you may find that you remember it in black and white. Viewers beware: The Conversation is not for action lovers, it moves slowly and requires a love of introspection.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding work!
Review: In between Godfather films, Francis Ford Coppola made this masterpiece. There are many actors that would go on to bigger and better things. Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, John Cazale to name a few. But it's Gene Hackman's show, who gives his best performance since the French Connection. A classic!!
Rating: 
Summary: "I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of murder."
Review: Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" will not be confused with any of his "Godfather" films. This film is not epic in scope. It is instead a small, claustrophobic character study told without the cinematic operatics. It is also a film that leaves virtually no impression on the viewer after it is over. Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a surveillance expert with a tragic past. Hiring himself out for private jobs, he accepts an assignment to eavesdrop on two individuals walking together in public. The recording he produces is not perfect but it suggests that a murder might soon be taking place. Harry tries to ignore the fact that his recording might lead to dire consequences by telling himself he was just doing his job. However, his conscience continues to torment him and he becomes obsessed with solving the mystery behind the conversation he recorded. "The Conversation" is fascinating for providing a behind-the-scenes look at the art of professional eavesdropping. Yet, it is tedious as a character study. The film does a great job of defining Harry Caul as a disaster of a man on both a professional and a personal level. However, watching Harry come apart at the seams is not exactly riveting entertainment despite Hackman's wonderful performance. The entire film simply feels out of balance because there is too much emphasis on character and not enough emphasis on story. Upon its release, "The Conversation" offered up some interesting commentary on current events in light of the Watergate scandal, but it just feels over-simplistic and lacking content-wise when viewed today.
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