Purely Joyful Movie!

People are voting emotionally.

Not even bad in a good way

The acting in this movie is really good.

Looking at various lists on IMDb,I found a great list by Red-Barracuda,which had a rather overlooked Francis Ford Coppola title near the top. Catching up on eps of Screen Junkies News the next day,I was taken aback when one of the hosts picked the same film as the best underrated movie by a famous director,which led to me joining the listening party.View on the film: Attempting to get the film made since the early 60's,writer/directing auteur Francis Ford Coppola proves that it was worth him spending all that time fighting for this title with immaculate stylisation. Changing cinematographers in mid-production, Coppola impressively keeps the visual motifs consistent, with Caul's spy centre given a dour brown appearance where extended takes hold on Caul's worker drone mindset the surroundings build,whilst Caul's mysterious baker is given a chic, Wall Street elite tower. Playing David Shire unsettling electronic score when filming and having Walter Murch cast the sound montages, Coppola manipulates the soundtrack with masterful procession,as Caul's obsession to unscramble the audio reels the viewer into piecing together their own interpretation of the recordings.Keeping in the dark the reason the recording has been made for the first half, the screenplay by Coppola brilliantly records Caul as a meek Winston Smith,who never questions the people who are paying him,and treats the taping he makes as a mundane part to his lonely life. Uncoiling Caul's obsession, Coppola plays a sly line in misdirection which cleverly mis-matches what is seen and what is heard,and leads into an ending that turns Caul into one of the plumbers of paranoia in the era. Peeling away all the movie star charm,Gene Hackman gives an outstanding performance as Caul,who Hackman squeezes into every corner of doubt and anxiety, by listening to all the conversations.

Did Orsen wells write this garbage. This movie was so highly rated I was kinda excited about watching it. Boy was I disappointed. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war...............That'll do pig that'll do.............

This film is a hidden gem that I would almost rate above "the Godfather. It is a perfect example of the slew of paranoia films in the mid 70s. One of the reason's why you can't compare it to Coppola's masterpiece is of course that the scope is radically different. "The Conversation" is a very intimate, quiet but compelling and ultimately terrifying character study. They don't make 'em like that anymore. At least not in a mainstream film with a major actor, Gene Hackman, who has at the height of his game. To me this stands as an excellent example of form and content coming together to form a near flawless whole. Using this film for teaching two aspects that are very foregrounded is the use of cinematic space and sound. It unfolds, for a 21st century audience at least, at a slow pace but the fact that it is also a thriller helps the film along. It is not entirely an art film but also plot-driven. If you want to begin to understand what was great about American Cinema in the 70s, still post-Easy Rider this is a good starting point.

"The Conversation" feels rather overblown to me. The plot is a bit on the thin side but Gene Hackman gives another great performance as the surveillance expert who doesn't always enjoy his work. He is cast against type here and is easily up to the task. Hackman is much more reserved, unassuming and slightly withdrawn from the world. He lives for his work and not much else. He doesn't seem to have much in the way of friends and prefers it that way. Look out for Harrison Ford in a small role as a Government man who avoids answering Gene Hackman's questions. Parts of "The Conversation" work but the film doesn't quite gell as a whole. A shame as Francis Ford Coppola's direction is very good and the photography is effective.