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Keskustelu

Original title: The Conversation
  • 19741974
  • K-16K-16
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
110K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,673
1,282
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Keskustelu (1974)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:56
4 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Thriller

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

IMDb RATING
7.8/10
110K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,673
1,282
  • Director
    • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Writer
    • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Stars
    • Gene Hackman
    • John Cazale
    • Allen Garfield
Top credits
  • Director
    • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Writer
    • Francis Ford Coppola
  • Stars
    • Gene Hackman
    • John Cazale
    • Allen Garfield
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 433User reviews
    • 172Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 14 wins & 16 nominations total

    Videos4

    The Conversation
    Trailer 1:56
    The Conversation
    The Conversation - Restoration Trailer
    Trailer 1:56
    The Conversation - Restoration Trailer
    'The Conversation' | 45th Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:36
    'The Conversation' | 45th Anniversary Mashup
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 10
    Video 28:39
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 10

    Photos163

    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Robert Duvall and Cindy Williams in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman and Mark Wheeler in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)
    Gene Hackman in Keskustelu (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gene Hackman
    Gene Hackman
    • Harry Caulas Harry Caul
    John Cazale
    John Cazale
    • Stanas Stan
    Allen Garfield
    Allen Garfield
    • Bernie Moranas Bernie Moran
    Frederic Forrest
    Frederic Forrest
    • Markas Mark
    Cindy Williams
    Cindy Williams
    • Annas Ann
    Michael Higgins
    Michael Higgins
    • Paulas Paul
    Elizabeth MacRae
    Elizabeth MacRae
    • Meredithas Meredith
    • (as Elizabeth Mac Rae)
    Teri Garr
    Teri Garr
    • Amyas Amy
    Harrison Ford
    Harrison Ford
    • Martin Stettas Martin Stett
    Mark Wheeler
    Mark Wheeler
    • Receptionistas Receptionist
    Robert Shields
    Robert Shields
    • The Mimeas The Mime
    Phoebe Alexander
    • Lurleenas Lurleen
    Ramon Bieri
    Ramon Bieri
    • Man at Partyas Man at Party
    • (uncredited)
    Gian-Carlo Coppola
    Gian-Carlo Coppola
    • Boy in Churchas Boy in Church
    • (uncredited)
    George Dusheck
    • TV Anchoras TV Anchor
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • The Directoras The Director
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Hackman
    • Confessional Priestas Confessional Priest
    • (uncredited)
    • …
    George Meyer
    • Salesmanas Salesman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Francis Ford Coppola
    • Writer
      • Francis Ford Coppola
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Harry Caul is a devout Catholic and a lover of jazz music who plays his saxophone while listening to his jazz records. He is a San Francisco-based electronic surveillance expert who owns and operates his own small surveillance business. He is renowned within the profession as being the best, one who designs and constructs his own surveillance equipment. He is an intensely private and solitary man in both his personal and professional life, which especially irks Stan, his business associate who often feels shut out of what is happening with their work. This privacy, which includes not letting anyone into his apartment and always telephoning his clients from pay phones is, in part, intended to control what happens around him. His and Stan's latest job (a difficult one) is to record the private discussion of a young couple meeting in crowded and noisy Union Square. The arrangement with his client, known only to him as "the director", is to provide the audio recording of the discussion and photographs of the couple directly to him alone in return for payment. Based on circumstances with the director's assistant, Martin Stett, and what Harry ultimately hears on the recording, Harry believes that the lives of the young couple are in jeopardy. Harry used to be detached from what he recorded, but is now concerned ever since the deaths of three people that were the direct result of a previous audio recording he made for another job. Harry not only has to decide if he will turn the recording over to the director, but also if he will try and save the couple's lives using information from the recording. As Harry goes on a quest to find out what exactly is happening on this case, he finds himself in the middle of his worst nightmare. —Huggo
    • paranoia
    • surveillance
    • murder
    • recording
    • saxophone
    • 137 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Harry Caul will go anywhere to bug a private conversation.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • K-16
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The blue Mercedes limousine that Cindy Williams is sitting in near the end of the film was won by Francis Ford Coppola on a bet with Paramount Pictures. Coppola had complained about the station wagon he shared with five other passengers during the filming of Kummisetä (1972). Studio executives told him that if The Godfather had grossed a certain amount, they would spring for a new car. After The Godfather became the highest grossing film of all time, Coppola and George Lucas went to a dealer and picked out the Mercedes, telling the salesman to bill Paramount Pictures.
    • Goofs
      When Caul is in Stett's office alone, he walks over to the desk and picks up one of Stett's wife's cookies. He smells it and puts it back in the dish and then looks through the telescope. When Stett returns, he hands Caul the money and takes the tapes. When the film cuts to a shot of Caul thinking about the arrangement, the cookie reappears. Caul puts this cookie back in the dish, too.
    • Quotes

      [repeated line from the recording]

      Mark: He'd kill us if he got the chance.

    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Sophisticated Lady
      (1932)

      Music by Duke Ellington

    User reviews433

    Review
    Top review
    Ingenious and frightening!
    "The Conversation" is a really great movie. I was quite surprised when I saw it. Not at how good it was, but how few people have seen it or heard of it. This is a classic suspense thriller, and a terrifying psychological horror film! From the opening credits, I, like the characters, was unsure of where I was going, or what the opening conversation (which is what the entire film is built around) might lead to. It seemed so unusually powerful, despite its masterfully simplistic execution. There is no overkill or excess in this film, nor is it under written or underplayed. It's just perfect! And I was even more surprised at how little was shown, and how much it could engross or frighten the hell out of me! My heart was racing, even though there was little action! This is the kind of film Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud to direct. The direction went to another master instead, Francis Ford Coppola. I felt ahead of the movie at its opening credits. But then, it blasted me and got miles ahead of me. It is an attack on our psyche and our fear, and it's amazing how, like the film itself, the conversation in the film that seemed so small and irrational could lead to something as big as it did!
    helpful•156
    44
    • andy-227
    • May 10, 1999

    FAQ2

    • Is "The Conversation" based on a novel?
    • Is it true that Francis Ford Coppola was a wire-tapper himself?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 24, 1975 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Conversation
    • Filming locations
      • American Roofing Co. Building - 297 Kansas Street, Potrero Hill, San Francisco, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Directors Company
      • The Coppola Company
      • American Zoetrope
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,600,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $4,637,627
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,494
      • Jan 16, 2022
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,658,396
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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