The Conversation (1974)
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The Conversation (1974)
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Re: The Conversation (1974)
#2Re: The Conversation (1974)
#3If you like analog electronics and reel-to-reel tapes, this movie is like pornography.
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#4I submitted the Netflix link last week but didn't comment in the discussion...I'll just chime in with this:
* Reportedly Gene Hackman's favorite role of all time
* Young pre-Star-Wars Harrison Ford plays a total asshole in this movie
* Great ending
* One of the 5 John Cazale movies (Fredo in Godfather)
* The movie Coppola had scripted a decade before, but had to wait until Godfather was a success before he could finally film it
* Competed with Godfather 2 for Best Picture (and lost)
* On Netflix Streaming (for U.S. customers) http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Conversation/60003586?fcld=...
It's a little slow for today's crowd, but really one of the best cinematic portrayals of paranoia and the surveillance state.
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#5Obviously, this is being posted because of the NSA and FBI scandals even though it was, originally, more of a response to the Watergate scandal. Even if you're sick of hearing about all of those this is still a fantastic film and well worth watching.
Gene Hackman plays a private consultant who specializes in the surveillance of difficult targets, such as people talking as they walk through a crowd. Technology is handled brilliantly in this film. It's antiquated analogue 70's tech obviously, but it's also both believable and impressive. Hackman's character is layered and complex. He specializes in surveillance but values his own privacy to the point of paranoia. The Conversation makes an incredibly strong statement about the value of privacy and the price of destroying it. Who watches the watchers? Somebody apparently, and the watchers don't like it one bit!
If you're not convinced, read one of Ebert's reviews.
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-conversation-1974
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-conversati...
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#6> [Gene Hackman's] office is enclosed in wire mesh in a corner of a much larger warehouse
Neat. Gene Hackman's office in Enemy of the State is identical.
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#7The Conversation is one of the classics of 70s cinema, really worth a watch. To match today's paranoid times, Tony Scott's spiritual successor film "Enemy of the State" is also worth a watch. It's updated more as a star vehicle / action flick, but it's also pretty good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_State_(film)
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#8"He'd kill us if he got the chance."
"He'd kill us if he got the chance."
"He'd kill us if he got the chance."
"He'd kill us if he got the chance."
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#9Obviously, this is being posted because of the NSA and FBI scandals even though it was, originally, more of a response to the Watergate scandal. Even if you're sick of hearing about all of those this is still a fantastic film and well worth watching. Gene Hackman plays a private consultant who specializes in the surveillance of difficult targets, such as people talking as they walk through a crowd. Technology is hand…
The film is also still really fresh if you are a seasoned technologist. Hackman's character goes to a trade show in one part of the movie where he looks at all the new surveilance equipment he can buy and talks to some vendors, and it really feels amazingly real and accurate.
Re: The Conversation (1974)
#10Yep, great movie.