The Conversation

Unfortunately, it appears with every passing day that the great American paranoid political thrillers of the 60's and 70's, with its strongest work bookended by 'The Manchurian Candidate' (eerily foreseeing the JFK assassination) and 'All the President's Men' (placing a coda of closure on the Waterg…

"The Conversation" is a tense thriller that explores how paranoia can take over all aspects of everyday life once something disturbing is discovered. Paid to eavesdrop on two people in a public place, Harry Caul ( Gene Hackman ) records the conversation and after some work produces a tape with c…

Gene Hackman is superb here as "Harry" - a super-efficient surveillance expert who discovers in the line of duty that a couple he is monitoring might well be about to be murdered. It becomes clear that the couple - Cindy Williams & Frederic Forrest are having an affair but that is just the tip of th…

“The Conversation” is not what you’d expect - but, it must be said, is fantastic and nearly flawless in its own right. It is more similar to Antonioni’s “Blow” than DePalma’s, and a sense of eeriness flows throughout the work, bolstered by Gene Hackman’s solemn and brooding performance. The b…