The Conversation

Part of the special series FROM THE HEART

When eavesdropping on the young couple Ann (Cindy Williams) and Mark (Frederic Forrest), bugging expert Harry Caul (Oscar winner Gene Hackman) comes into conflict with his conscience: All signs point to an impending murder. Harry suspects his client, known only as the director (Robert Duvall), of wanting to murder the couple. When the tapes of the bugging operation suddenly disappear after a party with his colleague Stan (John Cazale) and his rival Bernie Moran (Allan Garfield), he is convinced that something is wrong. It also helps that Harry feels stalked by Martin Stett (Harrison Ford), one of the director's employees. Harry now puts all his energy into finding out more about the background. This proves to be a grave mistake, as he soon realises.

Francis Ford Coppola describes THE CONVERSATION as his most personal film - the success of PATE: Part 1 enabled him to produce THE CONVERSATION completely independently.
The filming of THE CONVERSATION had already been completed before the wiretapping scandal that cost US President Richard Nixon his office. However, the film was only released in American cinemas after this political affair became public knowledge and was seen by the public as a commentary on the current situation in the United States.