Der Dialog

Francis Ford Coppola’s neo-noir masterpiece starring Gene Hackman shows just how powerful and gripping thriller cinema can be.

Harry Caul is one of the best surveillance experts in the United States. Detached and paranoid, his work has become an obsession. When he takes on what seems like a routine assignment in San Francisco — following an unfaithful wife and her lover — Harry suddenly becomes a victim of the very modern technology he uses to destroy others. When he visits the husband’s office to hand over the incriminating tapes, the client’s assistant tries to intercept him. Harry refuses to surrender the recordings and soon realizes he may have captured a conversation far more significant than a simple marital affair.

The Conversation (Der Dialog) won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1974 and went on to earn numerous other awards, including Oscar® nominations in 1975 for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound.