“The Conversation” directed by Francis Ford Coppola #2

Surveillance expert Harry Caul (played by Gene Hackman) is hired to spy on a young couple who he records as they walk through the crowded Union Square in San Francisco. While listening to the recordings, he begins to suspect that the recorded conversation reveals a mysterious conspiracy. Harry is considered an expert in his field. However, he is obsessively afraid of being eavesdropped on, which is why he keeps to himself, separating his business from his personal life. He is so sensitive about this that he protects his privacy in every possible way. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece. In the style of a thriller, “The Conversation” asks questions about power, moral responsibility, and the effects of technological development. It was made two years after “The Godfather.” The director used to say that he only made the story of Vito Corleone so that he could make a film about Harry Caul. The financial and artistic success of the story about the mafia family meant that Coppola could create his dream project. “The Conversation” is a film that, despite its universal and timeless message, fits into the atmosphere prevailing in the United States at that time caused by the Watergate scandal. With it, Coppola confirmed his status as one of the most interesting filmmakers of the 1970s, whose work combines the features of American and European cinema. For “The Conversation” he received the first Palme d’Or in his career at the International Film Festival in Cannes (he would receive the second 5 years later for “Apocalypse Now”). He is one of nine directors to have received the highest Cannes award twice.