The Conversation | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

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93%

Tomatometer

134 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide (Harrison Ford) to tail a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams). Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan (John Cazale) manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.

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Critics Consensus

This tense, paranoid thriller presents Francis Ford Coppola at his finest -- and makes some remarkably advanced arguments about technology's role in society that still resonate today.

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Critics Reviews

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Rex Reed

New York Daily News

It is a superior movie, a dynamic social document, and an exemplary public service. In every way, a Kilimanjaro among motion pictures.

Sep 24, 2024

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The Conversation is driven by an inner logic. It's a little thin, because the logic is the working out of one character's obsession, but it's a buggy movie that can get to you so that when it's over you really feel you're being bugged.

Sep 24, 2024

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Andrew Sarris

Village Voice

Coppola never lets us in on any of the tactical details. Obviously, he opts for surprise over suspense, but even his surprises are muffled by his solemn gaze.

Sep 24, 2024

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Giles M. Fowler

Kansas City Star

To call The Conversation a thriller alone is about as accurate as calling Hamlet a revenge melodrama. Ideas ripple the surface of the film like tremors in disturbed water.

Sep 24, 2024

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Arthur Steele

Birmingham Mail

Hackman is quietly magnificent -- so real in emotions you feel that if you touched the screen you would feel the flesh of his face.

Sep 24, 2024

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Norman Dresser

Toledo Blade

Coppola has delivered in one neatly tied package a near cinematic masterpiece, a work which could not be transformed, without great loss of effectiveness, to the stage, the printed word, or any other art form.

Sep 24, 2024

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Audience Reviews

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Wes Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I was an adult back in the 70s. Boring. It’s interesting getting a look at 70s urban blight. Union Square became a big skate spot 20 years later. Movies like this are why Star Wars was such a hit and came at the right time. What a contrast! Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/26/24 Full Review Alexander Super boring. Francis made this after The Godfather and even explains in the mini interview that he did not screen it with anyone except for a few babysitters. Maybe he knew subconsciously that this is a terrible movie and couldnt stand any honest feedback. Waste of my time and money. I walked out less than halfway into it. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/18/24 Full Review Hao Ian L Francis Ford Coppola delivers a nuanced perspective into the morally gray areas of surveillance and privacy, and the retributions that come with it, with the ethics and arguments surrounding <i>The Conversation</i> that makes it still highly relevant today. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/06/24 Full Review David F This is a tense, dense, thoughtful thriller about eavesdropping that is much more philosophical than most thrillers. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Terry J I love Gene Hackman. Seriously, love Gene Hackman. I wanted to love this movie. But, alas, it fell short. I still love Gene Hackman, but the movie never really got its motor started. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/30/24 Full Review Rebecca T A classic 1970’s understated crime movie. One of my all time favorites. I love everything about this movie & the acting is superb. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/18/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Francis Ford Coppola Director Gene Hackman Harry Caul John Cazale Stan Frederic Forrest Mark Allen Garfield William P. "Bernie" Moran Cindy Williams Ann

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Movie Clips

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The Conversation

The Conversation: Official Clip - I'm Not Afraid of Death

2:51

The Conversation: Official Clip - What Will You Do to Her?

2:15

The Conversation: Official Clip - He'd Kill Us If He Got the Chance

2:04

The Conversation: Official Clip - Phone Tap

1:59

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The Conversation

The Conversation (1974)

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Synopsis Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide (Harrison Ford) to tail a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams). Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan (John Cazale) manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. Tormented by memories of a previous case that ended badly, Caul becomes obsessed with the resulting tape, trying to determine if the couple are in danger.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
Screenwriter: Francis Ford Coppola
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: American Zoetrope, The Directors Company
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 7, 1974, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2024
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $143.4K
Runtime: 1h 53m