"AN IMMACULATE THRILLER,
a study in paranoia and loneliness, partly inspired by Antonioni's Blow-Up, and released as the Watergate scandal was unfolding, [with] one of
Gene Hackman's greatest performances."
— Philip French, The Guardian
NEW 50TH ANNIVERSARY 4K RESTORATION
December 6 – 12 ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMAS
December 13 – 19 ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMAS
December 20 – 22 Lincoln, NE THE ROSS
February 2 Toronto, ON REVUE CINEMA
"AN IMMACULATE THRILLER,
a study in paranoia and loneliness, partly inspired by Antonioni's Blow-Up, and released as the Watergate scandal was unfolding, [with] one of
Gene Hackman's greatest performances."
— Philip French, The Guardian
USA, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Fred Roos, Mona Skager
Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams
Screenwriter: Francis Ford Coppola
Cinematography: Bill Butler
Music: David Shire
Supervising Editor and Sound Montage: Walter Murch
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Color
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Language: English
Running Time: 113 minutes
Synopsis:
Lonely wiretapping expert and devout Catholic Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired to record a seemingly innocuous conversation in San Francisco's Union Square between two lovers. Upon re-hearing the tapes, however, Caul believes he may be putting the couple in danger if he turns the material over to his client (Robert Duvall). But what one hears can ultimately turn out to be quite different from what was actually recorded.
Awards and Nominations:
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival, 1974)
Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound nominations (Academy Awards, 1975)
Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director - Motion Picture, Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture nominations (Golden Globes, 1975)
Best Film Editing, Best Soundtrack (BAFTA Awards, 1975)
Best Actor, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay nominations (BAFTA Awards, 1975)
Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Top Ten Films (National Board of Review, 1974)
Named to the National Film Registry, 1995
Restoration:
Restored in 4K in 2024 by American Zoetrope, in collaboration with Studiocanal at Roundabout Entertainment and American Zoetrope laboratories, from the original negative accessed for the first time. An approved 35mm reference print was used for the color grading. 5.1 soundtrack created in 2000 by Walter Murch. Restoration approved by Francis Ford Coppola.
"The Conversation remains a potent paranoid thriller, at once a deeply personal work for its director and one of the defining artistic documents of a cynical era."
— Zachary Barnes, The Wall Street Journal
"A BLEAK AND DEVASTATINGLY
BRILLIANT FILM!"
— Time Out
"The Conversation was ripe for the Watergate era...Coppola's wasn't the first movie to hang our anxieties on the mechanisms of surveillance...but it stood at the threshold of a new age in technology, filmmaking and the stories we tell about the world we live in."
— Ty Burr, The Washington Post