Gene Hackman, as a professional wiretapper, plays a self-consciously anonymous man at the top of a clandestine profession in which no moment between human beings cannot be recorded.
The postrevolutionary paranoia of the early 1970s suffuses The Conversation. Even so, Francis Ford Coppola depoliticizes this thriller, removing action, character and history by going over the same tape again and again, in an aural, Watergate-era version of Blowup. Gene Hackman, as a professional wiretapper, plays a self-consciously anonymous man at the top of a clandestine profession in which no moment between human beings cannot be recorded. He becomes unglued once he takes an interest in the story beyond its audio quality.
Made between The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974), Coppola’s Palme d’Or-winning Conversation applies the eeriness and quiet of San Francisco to the murk of the corporate thriller. The doomed quality of the talented cast of character actors deepens the atmosphere of mistrust and conspiracy that’s on display in this hesitant masterpiece of Murchian sound design.
$10 - Regular Admission / $8 - Non-Harvard Students, Harvard staff and Senior Citizens
Free for all Harvard students with a valid photo ID.
Discounts apply for Harvard Film Archive Members
Tickets available online or 30 minutes before showtime at the cinematheque on the lower level of the Carpenter Center.
Phone: (617) 496-3211
Email: hfa@fas.harvard.edu
2024/04/01 - 2024/04/01
Harvard Film Archive
Harvard Film Archive Cinematheque, Cambridge, MA 02138
Although parking in Cambridge is difficult (most of the surrounding streets have restricted parking for Cambridge residents only), metered parking on Broadway and Harvard Streets, as well as the rest of Harvard Square, is free after 8pm. Film-goers are encouraged to use public transportation, particularly the MBTA Red Line.
wheelchair access