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The Conversation

1974
Become a fan of its genres:
7.5/10

Release Date

12/04/1974

Popularity

🍅 Rotten Tomatoes
94%
🎬 Internet Movie Database
77%
Ⓜ️ Metacritic
88%

Harry Caul is a invader of privacy. The best in the business.

Harry Caul is a surveillance expert from San Francisco. His colleagues across the country recognize his reputation as a specialist in audio recording and security systems. Along with his team, he takes on a job for a client known only as "the Director," who wants a couple spied on. The agents record the two as they stroll in circles through Union Square, and background noise makes the job harder. Harry filters and splices the tapes to get a clean recording, but the meaning of what can be heard remains ambiguous. Gene Hackman plays the lead in this film, written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

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Facts about The Conversation

Releases, age ratings, box office, post-credit scenes and more.

Post-credits sceneNone
Age ratingNot recommended for viewers under 18 years old
Spain releaseDecember 21, 1974
Worldwide premiereApril 7, 1974
Runtime1 h 53 min
Original languageEnglish
Original titleThe Conversation
CountryUnited States
Production companiesThe Directors Company, The Coppola Company
Budget$1.6M
Worldwide box office$4.8M
Return on investmentx3.0 Box office hit
Trailer views1,177

More ratings

4.1/5Letterboxd74/100Trakt7.9/10Metacritic (público)4.0/4Roger Ebert

Awards for The Conversation

8total awards
12total nominations
Oscars 3 nomsGolden Globes 4 nomsBAFTA 2 4 nomsCannes 1

Awards won

  • 1974Palme d'Or
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Sound · Walter Murch
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Editing · Walter Murch
  • 1974National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director · Francis Ford Coppola
  • 1974National Board of Review Award for Best Film · Francis Ford Coppola
  • 1974National Board of Review Award for Best Actor · Gene Hackman
  • 1974National Board of Review Award for Best Director · Francis Ford Coppola
  • —National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Nominations

  • 1975Academy Award for Best Picture
  • 1975Academy Award for Best Sound
  • —Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay
  • 1974Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
  • 1974Golden Globe Award for Best Director
  • 1974Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
See 6 more
  • 1974Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Sound
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Direction
  • 1975BAFTA Award for Best Editing
  • 1974Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film

The Conversation Cast

Gene Hackman
Gene HackmanHarry Caul
John Cazale
John CazaleStan
Allen Garfield
Allen GarfieldWilliam P. 'Bernie' Moran
Frederic Forrest
Frederic ForrestMark
Cindy Williams
Cindy WilliamsAnn
Michael Higgins
Michael HigginsPaul
Elizabeth MacRae
Elizabeth MacRaeMeredith
Teri Garr
Teri GarrAmy Fredericks
Harrison Ford
Harrison FordMartin Stett
Mark Wheeler
Mark WheelerReceptionist
Robert Shields
Robert ShieldsThe Mime
Phoebe Alexander
Phoebe AlexanderLurleen
Ramon Bieri
Ramon BieriMan at Party (uncredited)
Gian-Carlo Coppola
Gian-Carlo CoppolaBoy in Church (uncredited)
Robert Duvall
Robert DuvallThe Director (uncredited)
Richard Hackman
Richard HackmanConfessional Priest / Security Guard (uncredited)
Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee WilliamsMan in Yellow Hat (uncredited)

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Cast of The Conversation by the numbers

37average cast age in years
5years of age gap between the leads
20%women in the cast
17%women in the crew

The youngest in the main cast: Cindy Williams, age 27 at release. The oldest: Michael Higgins, at 54.

Cast ages at release

Cast heights

Crew

Trivia about The Conversation

Karl Schnazer, a private investigator and occasional actor, told Coppola that a man he had been tailing for months did not recognize him at a party. That anecdote later inspired a scene in the movie.
The original cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, was fired shortly after filming began. All of his footage was reshot, except for the surveillance scene in Union Square.
Coppola drew inspiration from Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, and wanted to merge its concept with the world of audio eavesdropping.
According to Coppola, Hackman had a hard time getting into the role of Harry Caul, because he was very different from himself.

Sources: Wikipedia (English)

What it's about The Conversation

isolationshadowingsan francisco, californiatechnologyspyaudio tapeparanoiawiretapsaxophoneconspiracymoralitytragic eventsurveillancecynicalwiretappingvoyeurismethicspsychological

Main theme: Cold War, paranoia, privacy, social alienation

What The Conversation is called in other countries

It was released in 37 countries, each in its own language.

  • SpainLa conversación
  • FranceConversation secrète
  • GermanyDer Dialog
  • ItalyLa conversazione
  • BrazilA Conversação
  • PortugalO Vigilante
  • JapanConversation - Tôchô
  • South Korea더 컨버세이션
  • China对话
  • RussiaРазговор
  • AzerbaijanSöhbət
  • BelgiumHet geheim gesprek
See the remaining 25 countries
  • BulgariaРазговорът
  • CanadaConversation secrète
  • CzechiaRozhovor
  • DenmarkAflytningen
  • FinlandKeskustelu
  • Georgiaსაუბარი
  • GreeceΗ συνομιλία
  • Hong Kong對話
  • HungaryMagánbeszélgetés
  • Iranمکالمه
  • Israelהשיחה
  • LatviaSaruna
  • LithuaniaPokalbis
  • PolandRozmowa
  • RomaniaConversaţia
  • RussiaРазговор
  • Saudi Arabiaالمحادثة
  • SerbiaПрислушкивање
  • SloveniaPrisluškovanje
  • SwedenAvlyssningen
  • Taiwan對話
  • Thailandดักฟังอันตราย
  • TurkeyKonuşma
  • UkraineРозмова
  • UzbekistanSuhbat

Where it was filmed The Conversation

FilmingWhere the story takes place

Filming locations

Where the Story Takes Place

Source: Wikidata. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Quotes by The Conversation

  • [to an exhibitor] I build all my own equipment. Thank you.
  • Now look, don't get involved in this, Mr. Caul. Those tapes are dangerous. You heard 'em. You know what I mean. Someone may get hurt. Mr. Caul, be careful.
  • There isn't all that much you ever let me in on, Harry. You won't show me anything. You keep it all to yourself. You know damn well you will.
  • There is no moment between human beings that I cannot record and there is no method that I cannot figure out. I could figure out any of Harry's schemes, right?
  • The Director: I'm tired of this lying, all right. I'm tired of lies!
  • It had nothin' to do with me, I mean, I just turned in the tapes...What they do with the tapes is their own business.

Source: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA)

The Conversation Stats

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Popularity of The Conversation

36KWikipedia page views (30 days)
▼ 3%compared to the previous month

Daily visits to their English Wikipedia article over the last 60 days.

Where to Watch The Conversation

Rent

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Info provided by JustWatch
More info and links

Soundtrack from The Conversation

Original music by David Shire

The Conversation (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
SoundtrackThe Conversation (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)David Shire · 2023 · 14 songs
SpotifyApple MusicDeezer

Songs

  1. 1
    Theme From The Conversation
    3:33
  2. 2
    The End Of The Day
    1:38
  3. 3
    No More Questions Phoning The Director
    2:19
  4. 4
    Blues For Harry (Combo)
    2:39
  5. 5
    To The Office The Elevator
    2:40
  6. 6
    Whatever Was Arranged
    2:09
  7. 7
    The Confessional
    2:21
  8. 8
    Amy's Theme
    2:51
  9. 9
    Dream Sequence
    2:36
  10. 10
    Plumbing Problem
    2:56

30-second previews on Deezer and Apple Music.

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