“Harry Caul is an invader of privacy. The best in the business. He can record any conversation between two people anywhere. So far, three people are dead because of him.”

To mark the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, a noticeably nuanced neo-noir drama that’s exquisitely shot, StudioCanal have released a new cinematic 4k restoration of the modern classic that’s in UK cinemas now, plus it’s released as a splendid 4K UHD Collector’s Edition from 15 July.

Proudly announced as one of the director’s favourites of his own work, you can tell this is a passion project because it’s rooted in its desire to tell an absorbing story about an unfamiliar character – and to then entangle that person into a situation they probably would never have expected to be a part of. In The Conversation, we follow Gene Hackman’s Harry Caul, a quiet man who enjoys his surveillance, private-eye-like job and we see this in action in the opening sequence, played out in what feels like a real-life open setting, shot from above a large public square with the voyeuristic sense of watching a couple talking about their life clearly the focus, and it’s slowly revealed we’re part of the team trying to listen to their conversation.

After this initial scene, it’s not long before Harry is pulled into his own world, having previously been detached from any outcome of his work, because the couple he’s been following appear to be just be a man and a woman having an affair, but after he delivers the ‘evidence’ to the client, something doesn’t seem right after a shift in the situation. So, with a suspicious mind (for a man who’s naturally paranoid and inquisitive), he actually refuses to hand over the recordings he has made because he thinks the conversation he has heard must have something hidden within it, and thus makes it his mission to find out what’s really going on.

A Palme D’or winner on its release, you can appreciate why Coppola enjoyed taking on a basic premise with a particular focus on a leading character you might not usually notice. While it might not have the sharpness of edits and pacing, you’d get today, there certainly remains a curious addictive nature to the tale, and when you’re adding characters into the fold played by the likes of Harrison Ford, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest. Cindy Williams and Michael Higgins, there’s a bubbling story unravelling with murky undertones and mystery setups in every scene. The question over who you trust, or even who you believe, is paramount.

Of course, the entire world of The Conversation wouldn’t exist without the sincere ability of Gene Hackman at the centre of it all, much like Michael Douglas in Falling Down, you want to know what will happen. Sometimes it can feel like actors of a certain generation might be less recalled, which can be applied to Hackman, yet he’s a savvy and always notable character performer – and certainly falls brilliantly within the world created here. Equally enigmatic and nervous, Mr Harry Caul resides in the world of espionage, and he clearly trusts nothing and nobody, and it’s Hackman who offers us a thorough portrayal of this person.

The Conversation is also strikingly framed and shot, and while Bill Butler is onboard as the cinematographer, it was originally Haskell Wexler, who’s only remaining work in the film is that opening sequence (and it’s interesting to discover that Wexler was also fired during One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as well, and replaced by Butler in that film as well). In terms of restoration, this is a sharp one that pulls out intricate details, vital in a story such as this, and that work was done via the original negative and then scanned in 4k. I also understand they used the approved reference prince (used for the colour grading and 5.1 soundtrack in 2000) thanks to Walter Murch, Coppola’s favoured editor and sound man in this situation.

The film itself picked up a BAFTA for sound, and that element is vital to the plot. Here it’s used in a unique way that gives the audience an insight into Caul’s job while also showing off the production values to reveal what he can hear to hunt out those secrets he’s paid to investigate, via the clandestine techniques. Sound is everything, each little musical accompaniment and score composed adds to the drama of his life and enhances the thought pattern he’s under.

I also enjoyed getting a 1974 view of spy technology and the earlier essence of CCTV, something we see everywhere today. For me, the film clearly paves a future path to Tony Scott’s outstanding 1998 thriller Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith, plus there’s a nice connection because Hackman plays a character who works on secret surveillance – thus echoing the scope of this film, but in a future sense.

There’s much to admire in The Conversation, and we don’t need to delve into spoilers because if you’ve not seen how it develops, even after many years since release, it’s worth the journey.

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Special Features

The Special Editon release holds a fine selection of extras, as you’d hope from any classic re-release and restoration in 2024. Among the featurettes, it tells the story of the real Hal (Not Harry) Caul and how he inspired and even became part of the fabric of the film.

Also, check out the Q&A interview with Walter Merch, which took place at the Curzon Soho in 2017 and reveals a lot of interesting insights. He talks about how this was filmed in-between The Godfather Part 1 and 2, and the success of the first GF was the bargaining chip to get The Conversation made. He also said that at another Q&A they (as he was with Francis) were told that films like this ‘aren’t made anymore’ to which Coppola replied, ‘they weren’t back then, either!’

Merch also talks about how the film industry back then wasn’t exactly flourishing, as producers and execs believed that television was the future, so that’s where all the money was. So, with only three film schools of note in the USA, a group of young filmmakers moved to San Francisco and that’s also were Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas (yep!) started their own film production company: American Zoetrope.

Then, after gathering pace in the indie film world, “some Gangster film” came up – called The Godfather – and then… what happened, happened. Merch also discusses the beginning of the build of The Conversation, and how much Coppola wanted to make a film about a background character, mentioning films such as Blow Out and The Apartment, with a crossover approach that was part-Hitchcock, part-character study – and thus the creation was eventually born, based on the real-life existence of the aforementioned Hal Caul.

It’s also interesting to hear that it was a quick, late edit process because they had to get on and start The Godfather Part 2, so some scenes were dropped but – if I’m honest – you wouldn’t notice and I enjoyed the snappier, shorter runtime, dropping in just under 2 hours.

Other extras include some fun screen tests with Cindy Williams and Harrison Ford, playing different characters to their final ones; a brief on-set interview with Gene Hackman; one of those ‘Then & Now Location’ features that I love – looking at San Francisco in the past and today, and the a ‘close-up’ featurette on the film, as well as Coppola script dictations. I also enjoyed Coppola’s own introduction to his short film No Cigar from 1956, how it was made (and with who) plus the influence it had on wanting to make The Conversation one day. The additional special features include a behind-the-scenes stills gallery, an interview with composer David Shire, two trailers (old and new), and then the good old feature commentary, of which there are two, so you can choose from either watching the film with writer-director Francis Ford Coppola, or editor Walter Murch.

And one more thing, there’s sublime new artwork from the very talented Laurent Durieux, which fits this release perfectly! So, it’s a great setup for a fine film and – to finish – Francis Ford Coppola had this to say about this release: 

“As you will notice, I have never offered a new version of The Conversation, which is a film I have always been proud of, I’ve never felt the need to improve. It also features my wonderful collaboration with its editor (along with Richard Chew) and sound designer, Walter Murch which reinforces my belief that cinema is a collaborative effort. I am gratified to have made a film that has lived for 50 years.”

The Conversation is in cinemas now, with the Collector’s Edition* arriving on 15th July, order here: https://amzn.to/3zsOO9G

*The physical release also features a 64-page booklet with new essays, an exclusive tape cassette soundtrack and two posters of original artwork, but I haven’t seen these in person.