Obviously, this is being posted because of the NSA and FBI scandals even though it was, originally, more of a response to the Watergate scandal. Even if you're sick of hearing about all of those this is still a fantastic film and well worth watching.<p>Gene Hackman plays a private consultant who specializes in the surveillance of difficult targets, such as people talking as they walk through a crowd. Technology is handled brilliantly in this film. It's antiquated analogue 70's tech obviously, but it's also both believable and impressive. Hackman's character is layered and complex. He specializes in surveillance but values his own privacy to the point of paranoia. The Conversation makes an incredibly strong statement about the value of privacy and the price of destroying it. Who watches the watchers? Somebody apparently, and the watchers don't like it one bit!<p>If you're not convinced, read one of Ebert's reviews.<p><a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-conversation-1974" rel="nofollow">http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-conversation-1974</a><p><a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-conversation-1974" rel="nofollow">http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-conversati...</a>
The Conversation is one of the classics of 70s cinema, really worth a watch. To match today's paranoid times, Tony Scott's spiritual successor film "Enemy of the State" is also worth a watch. It's updated more as a star vehicle / action flick, but it's also pretty good. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_State_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_State_(film)</a>
The more you know about surveillance, the more paranoid you become. And I don't mean paranoid in a derogatory way, but the more you know about these things, the more you have to sacrifice some of the <i>easier</i> things in life because you are spending more time making sure everything is <i>private</i>. The phrase "ignorance is a bliss" never matched anywhere else more perfectly.<p>Great movie BTW.
> [Gene Hackman's] office is enclosed in wire mesh in a corner of a much larger warehouse<p>Neat. Gene Hackman's office in Enemy of the State is identical.
I submitted the Netflix link last week but didn't comment in the discussion...I'll just chime in with this:<p>* Reportedly Gene Hackman's favorite role of all time<p>* Young pre-Star-Wars Harrison Ford plays a total asshole in this movie<p>* Great ending<p>* One of the 5 John Cazale movies (Fredo in Godfather)<p>* The movie Coppola had scripted a decade before, but had to wait until Godfather was a success before he could finally film it<p>* Competed with Godfather 2 for Best Picture (and lost)<p>* On Netflix Streaming (for U.S. customers) <a href="http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Conversation/60003586?fcld=true" rel="nofollow">http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Conversation/60003586?fcld=...</a><p>It's a little slow for today's crowd, but really one of the best cinematic portrayals of paranoia and the surveillance state.
The Conversation is just perfect. It's worth a watch for sure. While we're thinking about surveillance themed films, The Lives of Others comes to mind as a strong recommendation:<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/</a>
"He'd <i>kill</i> us if he got the chance."
"He'd <i>kill</i> us if he got the chance."
"He'd <i>kill</i> us if he got the chance."
"He'd kill <i>us</i> if he got the chance."
Check out Sneakers, great crypto-thriller.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakers_(1992_film)</a>
What I liked about The Conversation is that it showed you how the spy grid affects the ones working for it. At least, those who still have some sort of conscience left and haven't been completely swamped by cognitive dissonance.<p>The ending was very powerful.