52 Years Ago, Francis Ford Coppola Made This 94%-Rated Paranoid Thriller – It's Still the Best in the Genre

The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's dark masterpiece. Despite winning the Palme d'Or, the film was initially overshadowed by his other major works.

However, thanks to a critical reappraisal and the astonishing relevance of its subject matter, the movie is now recognized as one of the most significant in cinema history.

What Is 'The Conversation' About?

Harry Caul is both an amateur saxophonist and a professional eavesdropper. The movie opens with his latest assignment: recording a conversation between two lovers in a crowded San Francisco square.

To Caul, the quality of the recording is more important than its content. However, he catches a barely audible phrase: "He'd kill us if he got the chance." "He" is the client, a corporate executive trying to catch his wife cheating.

Caul can't convince himself that he bears no moral responsibility for his work. He tries to prevent the client from committing murder out of jealousy.

Francis Ford Coppola Drew Inspiration From Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Blowup'

Many believe that Coppola's The Conversation was inspired by the Watergate scandal. While there is a connection, the script was written four years before the revelations of political espionage and Nixon's resignation.

Coppola learned of the connection during the final stages of filming in 1973 but didn't change anything.

The idea came to Coppola in the 1960s after a conversation with Irvin Kershner. Kershner explained that people are delusional if they think they can hide from surveillance in a crowded place. Coppola decided to make a film about the person doing the surveillance – the professional.

Another source of inspiration was Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup. The movie's protagonist takes a chance photo of a loving couple in a park. Enlarging the photo, he notices details that lead him to believe that a murder has occurred.

'The Conversation' Is One of the Few Films in Which Sound Serves as the Primary Narrative Tool

The Conversation is one of the few movies in which sound plays a primary role. The recording of the lovers' conversation is repeated in various ways throughout the film – it's not just a hook, as in typical thrillers, it's the main mystery and symbol.

Until the very end, we hear the conversation as Caul hears it. Only near the end are viewers given the line, "He'd kill us if he got the chance," delivered with a different, more ominous accent. This is how it was spoken in reality, not through technology or the unreliable subjectivity of the main character.

Harry Caul is a devout Catholic who rails against those who take God's name in vain. A key scene takes place in a confessional where Cole admits to being haunted by the possible consequences of his final mission.

Obsessed with conspiracy, he trusts only God. The sacrament of confession was perhaps the first invasion of privacy, in other words – eavesdropping.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'The Conversation'?

• The Conversation has 94% from critics and 89% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the movie has a score of 7.7/10.

• On Letterboxd, The Conversation scored 4.1/5.0.