The Conversation

PG

Released Apr 7, 1974

1 hr. 53 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

97%

72 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide (Harrison Ford) to tail a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams). Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan (John Cazale) manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.

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Critics Consensus

This tense, paranoid thriller presents Francis Ford Coppola at his finest -- and makes some remarkably advanced arguments about technology's role in society that still resonate today.

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Alec C

What you hear is not what it appears to be! Harry Caul is a paranoid surveillance expert who is tasked with monitoring a young couple, where he overhears something that makes him obssessively try to deduce if the couple are in danger, only to realize that he has completely misinterpreted the situation. A tense and nail-biting thriller that makes us question our own privacy, we question if we are being watched right in our own living rooms!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Geoff D

Acting and screenplay was excellent, too slow to develop at times but overall well worth the watch

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

Full Review

Brutus F

Unless you're a serious film student or dedicated Copola fan, there is nothing here you'll enjoy. Performances by Gene Hackman, John Cazales, Harrison Ford, Terri Garr and a pre- "Laverne and Shirley" Cindy Williams as creepy people in shabby situations are clinically precise yet ultimately unrelatable. The cheap plot twist at the end centers on Hackman's character, Harry Caul's, realization that he misinterpreted the inflection of another character's comment in a recording that he, himself, edited on what would have been state-of-the-art electronic equipment in 1974.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/24

Full Review

Shane R

It was very slow moving. I'm personally not overwhelmed by the average psychological thriller, and for me, this was very average.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

Full Review

K B

Boring, awful acting, lame plot line.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/24

Full Review

Gertrude F

One of the first thrillers I've ever watched and my, it did not disappoint. Very interesting, and it kept me on my toes throughout the entirety of it, though the methods Coppola uses to do so aren't extreme and obvious like many films do today. It's really very ingeniously crafted. Some might find it slow, but again, if one has a slightly longer patience than the average teen nowadays seems to have, then it's really not slow at all. Gene Hackman is perfect as Harry, his performance often subtle and really bringing out the detail in this character. He's lonely, closed off, deeply religious, and through it all, angry at and afraid of himself. First Coppola film I've ever watched.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

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Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Gene Hackman

Harry Caul

John Cazale

Stan

Frederic Forrest

Mark

Allen Garfield

William P. "Bernie" Moran

Cindy Williams

Ann

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

Although not as formidable in scope and ambition as the Godfather films, this paranoid thriller is arguably one of the high points of the director Francis Ford Coppola’s extraordinary run of form in the early 1970s.

Nov 13, 2023

Full Review

Joy Gould Boyum

Wall Street Journal

As a thriller alone, The Conversation would be worth our attention. But as a thriller which also expresses our actual and collective nightmares, it absolutely demands it.

Aug 11, 2022

Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Its enveloping chill feels, looks and - crucially, in a story about a man who eavesdrops for a living - sounds as arresting as ever.

Rated: 4/4

Jan 28, 2022

Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

Yes, Coppola made this between the first two Godfathers. But it's also important about the 1972/1974 interregnum is that it was the years between the Watergate break-in and Nixon's resignation (50th anniversary)

Rated: 5/5

Apr 5, 2024

Full Review

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

Although lacking the epic sweep and operatic grandeur of the movies that bookended it, it more than makes up for it with spare, assured, and measured storytelling, supreme character development. It's the finest solo screenwriting of Coppola’s career.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 12, 2023

Full Review

Paul Kanieski

KSQD Community Radio

The Conversation is a classic thriller, but it’s Coppola’s nuanced exploration of Harry’s life that elevates it above typical genre fare.

Jul 22, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide (Harrison Ford) to tail a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams). Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan (John Cazale) manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Screenwriter: Francis Ford Coppola
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: The Directors Company, American Zoetrope
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 7, 1974, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 14, 2022
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $143.2K

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