MOVIE: COPPOLA'S "THE CONVERSATION"

In between The Godfather I & II, and Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola made this very unusual, under appreciated thriller.

Date: Sunday, July 6, 2025 7:20 pm

Venue: The Art Theater Long Beach, 2025 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90814

Note: the theater does NOT have a parking lot. There are some pay lots nearby and there is street parking, but it can be a bit tough. Give yourself time and read the signs.

Tickets: $15.00
https://arttheatre.easy-ware-ticketing.com/generaladmission/3GluIKcMFJ_vvywf9Rj0WQ

Dinner before the movie at 5:45 PM
Lola's Mexican Cuisine- 4th Street (across the street)
2030 E 4th St, Long Beach, CA 90814

The Conversation (1974) 50th Anniversary 4K Restoration
Cast: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield
Release Date: 04/12/1974
Rating: PG
Run Time: 113 mins

Trailer: https://youtu.be/iFgiWboUFnw?si=nhIYIIN1hRQkLhwf

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 94% positive rating

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered. In July, we`re celebrating PALME D`OR ICONS with a wide-spanning retrospective screening series featuring stunning 4K restorations of these classic culture-changing films.

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)

• yes, THAT Cindy Williams! Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!

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. One historical note - this film was made and released during the height of the Watergate scandal of the Nixon Administration. Actor John Cazale had a run of 5 terrific movies from "The Godfather" through "The Deer Hunter" before succumbing to cancer at age 42. The film also features a very young Harrison Ford.

Roger Ebert's contemporary review gave The Conversation four out of four stars and described Hackman's portrayal of Caul as "one of the most affecting and tragic characters in the movies". In 2001, Ebert added The Conversation to his "Great Movies" list, describing Hackman's performance as a "career peak" and writing that the film "comes from another time and place than today's thrillers, which are so often simple-minded"