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« Last post by Kaos on July 20, 2025, 08:19:35 PM »
The Conversation
At some point around the same time he was finishing Godfather 2, FFCoppola wrote and directed this film. Despite an Oscar nomination for best picture (lost to G2) it is kinda lost to the annals of time. Few probably even know it existed. I didn’t.
Thats unfortunate. It’s a good watch for a number of reasons.
First, it’s got a strong 70s look and feel. It’s the kind of introspective, intellectual move they just don’t make any more. It doesn’t beat you over the head with exposition. You figure it out as you go along. Characters aren’t good or bad. They’re a mixture of both, with agendas and flaws.
Second is the cast. Superb. Gene Hackman is the lead. But look for Cindy Williams (cute and right before her career was engulfed in Shirley). Robert Duvall and Fredo Corleone make appearances. So does Harrison Ford in a strange turn as an evil henchman. Teri Garr shows up in a short but poignant scene. And then there’s Lou Ann Poovie (shout out to Gomer Pyle) in a nude scene!
Today’s audience would probably call it slow and boring. The film very much hinges on Hackman’s internal struggles with his chosen career and the moral dilemma it poses.
Third, the film is about surveillance and the perils of watching and listening to people’s private conversations. That still applies today. Looking at all the surveillance tech on display and considering this took place in the era of Watergate added a level of interest.
I found it intriguing. But I like the gritty, sweaty, color burned 70s style films. Stuff like The Gauntlet. It won’t be for everyone. But it is a well scripted, well acted, well directed film.
The best thing? In one scene I saw a gold Shell Pest Strip box stuck to a wall. I haven’t thought about those things in 40 years. Everybody had one back in my day. The slice of toxic cheese inside it always fascinated me. Of course they were outlawed. I think Ralph Nader made his bones going after them. They killed the crap out of bugs though.