Don’t Be So Political: THE CONVERSATION (1974) – New 4K Restoration!

Don’t Be So Political is a monthly film series that engages with films through a political lens. Each screening is preceded by an expert Q&A. Hosted by Zach Wortzman

“I don’t care what they’re talking about. All I want is a nice fat recording.” 

Harry Caul is the best surveillance expert in the business. He records the conversation of a young couple in a park and becomes convinced that his recording will lead to their murder. 

Released in the wake of the Watergate Scandal and paying homage to Antonioni’s Blow Up, Coppola’s Neo-noir, The Conversation foretold the spread of the surveillance and information economy. Hackman embodies the paranoia of someone who knows that you are never truly alone, someone is always listening, someone is always watching, that nothing is ever private. 

Nominated for four Oscars, Copolla lost Best Director and Best Picture to himself as Godfather: Part II, released in the same year, won both awards. The Conversation won the Palme D’Or at Cannes and is preserved in the Library of Congress. (Zach Wortzman) 

Part of the Don’t Be So Political series!

Cast/Crew Info
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams