a quickly pulled shower curtain is always a crowd pleaser

i absolutely cannot remember if i have seen 'the conversation' before. 1974, directed by francis ford coppola -- his deceased son gian-carlo actually appears uncredited as the boy in the church. for a film about private detectives, it's a little slow-moving, although there's a bit of pick-up by the end.

gene hackman is the ominously named harry caul, a real cliche of a detective -- he's a quirky bachelor with very few possessions, ever so secretive about himself, constantly wearing a hideous, cheap raincoat, offended by any sort of blasphemy, and with a penchant for playing the saxophone all alone. maybe this sort of character seemed more original in 1974? the big job involves taping a conversation between a young couple that insists in walking in endless circles around a public square, which takes three detectives at different points. there's a nice scene of caul blending all of the tapes together and sorting out the background noise. after a convention for private investigators (which looks like something maxwell smart might have appreciated -- oh, how i loved the beginning of that show!) there is a raucous after-party at harry's cage of an office, during which it comes out that he had once done a job that may have led to three deaths, and this case seems to be pointing in the same direction. the rest of the film deals with the dictates of harry's conscience, and whether or not he wants the information in the hands of the 'director', or his dirty little underling, played with plenty of lip-curling by harrison ford, and what to do about the fallout of his actions.

there is a dream sequence that could have been lost at no detriment to the story -- dream sequences always make me think of movies like 'oklahoma', and i was vaguely hoping that gene might break into a neat little song and dance. there are a few great scenes during which you are no longer sure whether caul is being paranoid or these things are really happening, and one terrifying moment that could compete with any tartan asia extreme release. the end is reminiscent of the charlotte perkins gilman short story "the wallpaper" in more ways than one. and i have to say, the movies big twist completely took me

i'm guessing it was more enjoyable when it first came out, but thirty four years on, the story seems a bit familiar.