I really liked this movie. I didn't know anything about it didn't know it was a Coppola movie i just saw it was on Amazon and it had gene Hackman so i was like yeah why not. I just watched the French connection a few weeks ago and have seen plenty of other movies with Gene but I've never seen him play a character like this. Polar opposite of "Popeye" Doyle. I liked the music and broody paranoid atmosphere.

If I had to pick one word to describe The Conversation I’d easily pick boring. Perhaps this film was better suited for an audience in the decade in which it was released, but for a modern audience, it’s a whole lot of dull drama with no gratifying conclusion.

Wasted two hours watching this. How anyone can think this is a brilliant film is beyond me. Incredibly slow, nothing much happens and hardly believable. Suspect if it had been made by an unknown rather than Francis Ford Coppola then it would’ve sunk without trace. Avoid!

Well-crafted film, and expected to be such from a fine director like F. F. Coppola! A suggested tweak for the ending: have Caul sit in a chair, play his sax for a few minutes, set the instrument down, and stare at it.

Supposedly one of the greatest movies. Not for me. Ok, it was made in 1974, but still. Confusing, not very explanatory, strange ending. Watch it because it is "IT", but prepare to get disappointed.

I watched this because I wanted to watch a Gene Hackman movie that I've never seen before, and this had great reviews. The movie does a phenomenal job at touching on things such as obsession, paranoia, fear, and our desire for personal privacy. Gene Hackman was great, as always, and made the movie what it is. With that said, I wouldn't recommend this if slow burners easily bore you, or you aren't a big fan of Gene Hackman.

I have always loved Gene Hackman's work, God bless his soul, and he was the only reason I managed to watch this movie until the end. It's terribly slow and almost static at times. Although the plot is pretty simple and linear, it drags and drags until you'll feel the urge to change the playback speed to 1.25. Sometimes more is less, which is exactly the case here. Watch it for Gene, he keeps it from falling totally flat.

An incredible film for fans of character driven thrillers.

I'm giving it a fresh rating just because I think for the times, it was a good movie. But I had a very hard time staying engaged. I fell asleep a couple of times and had to keep going back. I realize movies back in the early 70's were a lot slower paced and relied a lot on exposition. That being said, really hard to say it wasn't boring. And I am in my 50's so it's not like I didn't grow up in that time. But, I love Gene Hackman and the ending twist was great. I probably won't watch it again unless I am having a hard time falling asleep.

A private investigator, having discreetly recorded conversations of a couple at the park, begins to wonder if they might be in danger. This is perhaps the first time he empathizes with subjects he has recorded. However, more significant developments are yet to unfold. The acting is commendable, and the music is enjoyable. While the pace occasionally feels a tad slow, the movie remains entertaining throughout.

Excruciatingly slow and dated.

One of Coppola’s strongest films hidden in a decade of two Godfathers and an Apocalypse Now!, The Conversation is a contained story of surveillance and paranoia in a suffocating San Francisco. The movie is full of tight scenes — small apartments, a crowded Union Square, a mid-century modern hotel room — with the one glaring outlier being Harry’s (Gene Hackman) warehouse studio/workspace. With what seems like only ¼ or so of the space used for work (and an isolated bed), Harry conducts surveillance for clients and is the best of the best. He even attends a surveillance trade show where he is treated with deference and adoration in this niche line of work. Although Harry claims he doesn’t care what his clients use his work for, he begins to become involved in a matter concerning an allegedly cheating wife (Cindy Williams) and her lover (Frederic Forrest), who indicates in a recording that their lives may be in jeopardy. What ensues is a film of paranoia and shady dealings. Everyone is a suspect, but of what, exactly, Harry is uncertain. The surveilling has become (possibly) the surveilled. The “blood toilet” scene is a classic and starkest test as to whether what Harry believes he’s uncovering is real or all in his head. The film looks great. It feels like a stripped city. This isn’t the interesting, chaotic, punkish, San Fran of the collective consciousness, but really could be any city in the US or Europe. Coppola really saves the best for last as Harry tears apart his apartment, board by board, not so much as a raving lunatic, but as someone with an experience in surveillance — you think he’d stop at the Virgin Mary statuette (Harry is a practicing Catholic), but the man just plows ahead. Surrounded by the refuse and disarray of his apartment, Harry plays the saxophone to an audience of none (or is it many??). I cannot help but analogize this moment to the (apocryphal) story of Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned.

This movie is a great classic. Definitely recommended.

Most interesting thing: 50 years later we decorate our flats with microphones instead of tearing them apart.

It didn't speak to me.

The story is especially good because of a remarkable plot twist and the film offers bounteous amounts of quality directing, cinematography, and acting.

Who spies on those who spy? As a paranoia-laden thriller it does its job well, though it takes its time to take shape.

Hackman is great with old technology. Lots of screwing, switching, and dialing takes place. I hoped the story would pick up at some point. But it didn't.

I usually love Hackman's movies, but this was two hours of my life I'll never get back! Sooooo very slow. Great concept. Very poor development. I could have watched 25-30 minutes and understood just as much. Waste of time just to see Hackman's character misunderstand a conversation and lose his marbles.

Slow but powerful and thought-provoking, this film has a lot going on if you have the patience for it