The Conversation

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Template:Infobox Film The Conversation is a 1974 mystery and political thriller directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Robert Duvall (uncredited), Teri Garr and Harrison Ford.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Harry Caul (Hackman), a paranoid surveillance expert, has the task of monitoring a couple's conversation and activities. Though Caul may be expert at surveilling others, there is ample evidence that he has not taken basic measures to secure his own life from surveillance. A similar theme -- securing one's life from surveillance -- occurs in a later film in which Hackman stars, Enemy of the State.

The film was released shortly after the Watergate scandal broke, and deals with issues of personal responsibility and the encroachment of technology on privacy.

Coppola has cited Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up as a key influence on his conceptualization of the film's themes, such as surveillance versus participation, and perception versus reality.

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Music

The Conversation features an austere, catchy piano score composed and performed by David Shire. The score was created before the movie.Template:Ref On some cues Shire took the taped sounds of the piano and distorted them in different ways to create alternative tonalities to round out the score. The music is intended to capture the isolation and paranoia of protagonist Harry Caul. The score was released on CD by Intrada Records.

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Awards

The film is consistently listed on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It won the 1974 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for the year of 1974: