A Francis Ford Coppola Gem Back in Theaters
More about The Conversation restoration and new home video releases
The name Francis Ford Coppola usually inspires discussion about his most famous movies— The Godfather Trilogy or Apocolypse Now. The former consists of two of the best movies in American cinema history (and one that’s fine), while the latter is considered one of the greatest war movies ever recorded. In between the first two Godfather movies in 1974, Coppola directed The Conversation, a thriller focused on surveillance. For some additional context, The Conversation was released during the height of the Watergate scandals, and this fear and confusion about surveillance was at an all-time high. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Rialto Pictures is theatrically releasing a new 4K restoration of The Conversation in theaters across America. I had never seen the movie before and given it was made during Coppola’s most prolific period, I relished the opportunity to screen it.
Gene Hackman stars as wiretapping extraordinaire Harry Caul. When he’s given a new assignment to record a conversation between two lovers (Frederic Forrest and Cindy Williams), their discussion seems innocent enough. Further inspection from Caul reveals a nervousness in their demeanor and maybe their lives could be in danger. Due to a previous trauma in his career, Caul debates handing over the tapes to his employer (Robert Duvall). Sometimes even when you're the best at what you do, paranoia can leech into your work.
There are a few performances that I think of when I think about Hackman. Certainly, his roles in The French Connection, Superman, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums came to the forefront. Now I can comfortably say that I’ll think of The Conversation when I think of Hackman in the future. Hoffman’s Caul is viewed as a genius in the realm of survellance from his peers, but even he has faults. His personal relationships leave a lot to be desired, as he has trouble connecting with people. Although he’s a devout Christian, he has frequent reservations about his work. And honestly, Caul simply is a miserable man— despite all the accolades, he frequently sleeps alone, near his tapes, in a locked cage.
It takes a little while for The Conversation to really find its footing. The beginning sequence, which becomes so pivotal to the direction of the movie, replicates what it must be like to run survellance on people. The lovers are seen strolling around the park, discussing topics of little significance, but on further inspection the discussion might not be what it seems. Once Hackman meets Duvall, The Conversation is full steam ahead to a great finale and an even better end sequence. I wouldn’t go as far as proclaim it an underseen classic, but many of the themes of paranoia and survellance are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago making The Conversation worthy of appreciation now.
The Conversation is now playing in theaters in New York & Los Angeles. For those in the Northeast, the new restoration will be playing Boston at the Alamo Drafthouse Seaport on August 23rd - 29th.
Home Video Releases
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga debuts on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on August 13th before heading to MAX on August 16th. A prequel to the legendary Mad Max: Fury Road, this movie focuses on the character of Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) and how she would eventually come in contact with Mad Max. When Furiosa was young she was snatched from her home and taken into the custody of Warlod Dementus (Christ Hemsworth). The prequel isn’t the non-stop thrill ride of Fury Road, but its a still an exciting adventure that expands the story of one the cinema’s great heroines.
Another new release is Michael Mann’s Collateral hitting 4K UHD for the first time in honor of its 20th anniversary. I remember really loving this movie when it came out with Tom Cruise playing a character of an assassin who forces a cab driver (Jamie Foxx) into driving him around town while Cruise elminates his contracts. Indiewire has a new interview with Mann celebrating the movie and talking about its development. I’m looking forward to revisiting this one for sure.