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The Conversation ()

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A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
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Writer:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 14 nominations.
  • See more »
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Photos and Videos

160 photos | 3 videos

Cast verified as complete

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Harry Caul
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Stan
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Bernie Moran
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Mark
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Ann
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Paul
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Meredith (as Elizabeth Mac Rae)
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Amy
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Martin Stett
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Receptionist
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The Mime
Phoebe Alexander ...
Lurleen
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Man at Party (uncredited)
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Boy in Church (uncredited)
George Dusheck ...
TV Anchor (uncredited)
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The Director (uncredited)
Richard Hackman ...
Confessional Priest / Security Guard (uncredited)
George Meyer ...
Salesman (uncredited)
Al Nalbandian ...
Salesman at Surveillance Convention (uncredited)
Ronald Kirk Stake ...
Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Erick Vinther ...
Businessman (uncredited)
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Man in Yellow Hat (uncredited)

Directed by

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Francis Ford Coppola

Written by

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Francis Ford Coppola ... (written by)

Produced by

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Francis Ford Coppola ... producer
Fred Roos ... co-producer
Mona Skager ... associate producer

Music by

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David Shire

Cinematography by

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Bill Butler ... director of photography
Haskell Wexler ... director of photography (uncredited)

Editing by

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Richard Chew

Editorial Department

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Walter Murch ... supervising editor
Julie Zale ... assistant editor
Pat Jackson ... assistant editor (uncredited)

Casting By

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Jennifer Shull

Production Design by

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Dean Tavoularis

Set Decoration by

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Doug von Koss ... (as Doug Van Koss)

Costume Design by

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Aggie Guerard Rodgers ... (costumer)

Production Management

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Clark L. Paylow ... production manager (as Clark Paylow)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Charles Myers ... assistant director (as Chuck Myers)
Paul J. Crossey ... dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department

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Ted Moehnke ... property master

Sound Department

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Nathan Boxer ... production recording (as Nat Boxer)
Michael Evje ... production recording (as Mike Evje)
Pete Horner ... stereo re-mix team: American Zoetrope
Walter Murch ... re-recording / sound montage
Art Rochester ... production recording
Howard Beals ... sound effects editor (uncredited)
Pete Horner ... sound editor: American Zoetrope (uncredited)
Walter Murch ... sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts

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Buddy Joe Hooker ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Joe Dunnigan ... gaffer
Doug Finn ... gaffer
Ralph Gerling ... camera operator
James Glennon ... assistant cameraman (as Jim Glennon)
Thomas Laughridge ... camera operator
Keith Mason ... key grip
Gary Armstrong ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Robert Edesa ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Brian Hamill ... still photographer: special assignment (uncredited)
George Michael Pantages ... gaffer (uncredited)
Ronald Vidor ... first assistant camera (uncredited)

Location Management

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Alex Tavoularis ... location coordinator

Music Department

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Justin Gordon ... musician: saxophone for Gene Hackman (uncredited)
David Shire ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Nancy Hopton ... script supervisor (as Nancy Tonery)

Additional Crew

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Jim Bloom ... administrative assistant
Randy Carter ... administrative assistant
Wayne Fitzgerald ... title
Mona Houghton ... administrative assistant
Leo Jones ... technical advisor
Hal Lipset ... technical advisor
Imran Manzoor ... social media marketer
Pat Smith ... production secretary
Lawrence Bridges ... production assistant (uncredited)
Martin Kaiser ... technical advisor (uncredited)
Joe Roth ... production assistant (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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. Written by Huggo

Plot Keywords
Taglines Harry Caul will go anywhere to bug a private conversation. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Conversation secrète (France)
  • Der Dialog (Germany)
  • La conversa (Spain, Catalan title)
  • La conversación (Spain)
  • Pokalbis (Lithuania)
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Runtime
  • 113 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $1,600,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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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 The Godfather (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. See more »
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. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into The Green Fog (2017). See more »
Soundtracks Sophisticated Lady See more »
Quotes [repeated line from the recording]
Mark: He'd kill us if he got the chance.
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