The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola’s outstanding thriller from 1974, is getting a 4K release this month, right as the film reaches its 50th birthday. While you would think half a century would be enough to put it beside other dated films of the 1970s, it is actually a pretty relevant picture that still feels very important.
According to Collider, Lionsgate Home Entertainment is releasing The Conversation in 4K, a first-time release for Coppola’s classic thriller starring Gene Hackman and Harrison Ford. Per Collider, the 4K release will also include the usual goods:
“The Conversation
‘s 50th anniversary 4K edition will come with a new introduction from Coppola, a new trailer, as well as a collection of previously released bonus materials. Also featured is an original cassette tape of the film’s score performed by David Shire. The physical media will be available for purchase this December.”
The Conversation stars Hackman as Harry Caul, an expert at hearing other people’s conversations. Caul uses specialized equipment to wiretap every line his clients require, and while elusive, he’s also a paranoid man whose principles are not in tune with his religious values. Caul’s latest gig is spying on a couple, two people seemingly having an affair. When Caul decides to go beyond his boundaries and tries to prevent a murder, he realizes he was paranoid about a very real and dangerous subject.
The 1974 film was made and released while everyone’s attention was set on Coppola’s other major films: both entries of The Godfather. Nominated for three Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound, The Conversation was instead recognized at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the “Grand Prix du Festival International du Film” award, aka the Palme D’or.
It still holds a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and famed critic Roger Eber was quick to revisit it a few years after its release and add it to his Great Movies list. Today, it’s considered one of the best thrillers ever made, but what doesn’t it get more attention?
Is ‘The Conversation’ Better Than ‘The Godfather(s)’?
We’re going to go ahead and say no. The Conversation isn’t better than The Godfather or The Godfather Part II. It is just an extremely different film that can’t be compared in terms of tone and genre. Coppola’s Italian mafia films are epics based on the dynamics of the real crime underworld, all seen through the eyes of a man whose only fate was to be corrupted, and liking that corruption. The Conversation is a restrained-setting thriller that doesn’t overexpose its plot, and even plays with the doubt of its main character’s fragile state of mind.
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The following films didn’t only thrill audiences beyond their senses. They also blew the minds of critics.
The two worlds converge through Coppola’s storytelling skills. On one hand, he repeats the exercise of co-writing with The Godfather’s author Mario Puzo, and wins two Academy Awards for the original and its predecessor. We can dissect The Godfather and its sequel, and evaluate each element on its own. But in the end, it’s all about the screenwriting work of two masterminds who got together and perfectly wrote a tale about the fall of man. On the other hand, in The Conversation, Coppola locks himself in his mind and spews out a riveting depiction of paranoia. A claustrophobic exercise in tension that arouses the viewer to think about what they’re not seeing in the film, but is very alive due to their imagination.
We dare you to think of a better display of storytelling prowess than what Coppola did in the 1970s, which ended with another “best of,” his war masterpiece Apocalypse Now.
Release Date April 7, 1974
Runtime 113 minutes
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