SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

gsfsu If you like movies with a story hidden under layers of stifling boredom where actor's face close-ups are displayed with regular monotony, this is the film for you. Apparently the director intended for viewers to use their mental telepathy to understand what is going on in the lead character's head and then figure out how the other characters fit into the story. I could not do it. It was boring beyond belief - something I would not expected given the name actors. One of the worst wastes of time ever.

ypandalove This film started to depict usual park.  It was so funny day.  There were some couples, parents and children and performers.  But one couple was tapped by some men.  I thought this couple was just main character in this film, because they looked victim indeed and this seemed to center around this couple.  So I had no idea about Harry Caul who was the real main character and the incident waiting for him at first. I think this film has multiple theme. One of the theme is the fear of surveillance.  We go several places and live in everyday life.  There are some surveillance camera everywhere of town.  Then, does one might say that our privacy is protected?  The answer is no.  Our privacy is infringed unconsciously.  This film might want to say about that.

alexanderdavies-99382 "The Conversation" feels rather overblown to me. The plot is a bit on the thin side but Gene Hackman gives another great performance as the surveillance expert who doesn't always enjoy his work. He is cast against type here and is easily up to the task. Hackman is much more reserved, unassuming and slightly withdrawn from the world. He lives for his work and not much else. He doesn't seem to have much in the way of friends and prefers it that way. Look out for Harrison Ford in a small role as a Government man who avoids answering Gene Hackman's questions. Parts of "The Conversation" work but the film doesn't quite gell as a whole. A shame as Francis Ford Coppola's direction is very good and the photography is effective.

George Wright I saw this movie for the first time on TCM and I was totally enthralled with this understated classic. The movie draws you into the character of Harry Caul, played by Gene Hackman, when we first see him using a surveillance device on a young couple in a crowded square in San Francisco. We continue following him as he goes about his daily routine but with a twist; this time, he feels he was an accomplice in a plot to kill. He replays the scene in his mind and on his tape recorder and is trying to find a secret plot from the innocent conversation of the couple in the square. We are riveted to Harry as he goes home to play his saxophone, visit his mistress, played by Teri Garr, make a phone call to deliver the tape, go to church to make his confession, and encounter a mysterious office assistant, played by Harrison Ford. Harry is a practising Catholic. But his religious scruples stand in stark contrast to his job as a paid eavesdropper. Harry does his job and collects his money by spying on people. It turns out he is a guy who is good at his job. A party that follows a trade show tells us that other practitioners of his art want to know his trade secrets. The ending is not what Harry expects, which leads us to further speculation. Viewers are treated to a mystery that is never resolved but the story itself draws us into the character of Harry Caul, who takes on something of an iconic status. Francis Ford Coppola gives this movie a certain look and feel that often comes with a novel. A great movie.