Classic 70s Movie: “The Conversation”
September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Jon Raymond.
Movie Title: The Conversation
Year: 1974 (It was written in the mid sixties)
Writer: Francis Ford Coppola
Lead Actors: Gene Hackman. John Cazale, Alan Garfield, Fred Forest, Cindy Williams, with Robert Duvall, Elizabeth MacRae, Terri Garr and introducing Harrison Ford (his first role after American Graffiti)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
IMDB Plot Summary: A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that a couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Why I Think This Is A Classic 70s Movie: Classic means it stands the test of time. It’s still relevant today. This is a very strong character study of one man, Harry Caul, a lone wolf loner, his own worst enemy. And to top it off he represents the ultimately successful businessman in the modern age. He runs his own business. He’s honored and admired by colleagues. And yet, he is a lost soul. At the pinnacle of his success he finally comes to question what he is doing and who he is; who he has become. Does he have wealth or fame? Yes, to some extent. But at what price? The lives of others?
It’s much like Baxter in The Apartment. You sell your soul for success. But you don’t realize until you finally get there to see what you have become. You don’t get that it’s not the goal. It’s the journey. This is so relevant in the modern world where the catch phrase was/is, ‘loose lips sink ships‘ or ‘see something, say something.’ We are forever paranoid. Everyone is suspect. The nightly news is all about criminals in our midst. There have even been studies about how the news has made people afraid to venture into the world, beyond the front door. This is why this film is a classic. Harry Caul is who most of us are.
Harry is a yes man. He’s just doing his job as expected, and as best he can. He has no clue to what extent he is being taken advantage of, at least not until he decides to look a little closer at what he is really doing. It’s a wonderful core theme of how many of us work just to live, in disregard of the effects of our precious labor?
My Favorite Moment In The Movie: I think it has to be the end, where we see Harry, finally haven given up the fight; realizing he has no power over his destiny. The tables have turned and he is the one being recorded and watched. All he can do is play his sax. A total surrender. He started out in control, but paranoid. He ends up forced into God’s hands, so to speak. It’s beautiful.
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: Stan (John Cazale) says: “What a STUPID conversation.”
I like this line because it breaks the tension. It’s very short, out of left field, but powerful, poignant and very relevant to the overall story. It’s thought provoking. He’s basically saying, what the fuck? This even counters the whole serious nature of the film and of Harry. It escalates a break in their friendship.
Stan is great with his quips. He is something of a comic relief, but very subtly. Stan represents common sense, warmth, and being down to earth. He speaks his mind. He questions what they are doing right off the bat, while Harry fights him at every turn, in the name of doing the job. John Cazale really makes it work. He was a great under-stated actor.
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: The film opens with a beautiful overhead of a San Francisco quadrangle, with a slow zoom in (also very observational), onto two people (the couple) walking around, followed by Harry and his eavesdropping “buggers.” The sounds of musicians and people very gradually get louder as we get closer, along with the electronic garble and static that Stan listens to from his surveillance truck. Very slowly the action reveals what is going on, teasing us with this surveillance operation of two apparently very innocent young lovers, in fear of something. But what? This scene (or rather the recording of their conversation) is played over and over throughout the film, as Harry skillfully filters it to finally determine exactly what is said.
Coppola likes to use a static camera, while people and action go in and out of the frame, especially true in apartment and interior scenes. It gives a strong sense of being present, as an observer, like you are seated in the room. But when Harry is going through some kind of anguish, we see the camera in his face, floating along with him, with a feeling of disorientation. It contrasts nicely with the grounded static shots.
The actual “crime” that Harry thinks he is onto is not at all what it appears. It’s a great plot twist used to the advantage of feeding Harry’s arc, and disorientation. The notorious colleagues whom Harry allows close to him, are the ones who betray him, while the ones he shuts out (Stan and Amy), truly care about him.
The haunting rhythmic piano music by David Shire is carefully worked to match the mood changes throughout, almost like it’s Harry’s theme music. It’s especially saturating whenever Harry faces a downturn, when he walks out on Amy, and then in the end, as he sits in the rubble of his apartment playing his slow bluesy sax, counter to the piano.
Thanks, Jon! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
Jon’s website Out In The Street Films is here.
We already have a set of 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 70s Movies.
Thanks to all of you for your participation in this project, creating a resource for writers, movies we should all watch to help learn the craft of screenwriting!
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