The Conversation (Region B)
Francis Ford Coppola's quiet masterpiece received a Region A Blu-ray upgrade last week from Lionsgate, and today it's out in the UK from Studio Canal.
Coming after the monstrous success of The Godfather and before The Godfather: Part II, it's fair to say that The Conversation represented the kind of movie Coppola wanted to be known for making: intelligent, restrained, innovative, subtle, and substantive.
Gene Hackman gives one of his signature performances as Harry Caul, an intensely private man who specializes in capturing the private conversations of strangers. He's a perfectionist, disdainful of others who produce what he considers inferior work, and very protective of his professional (and personal) secrets. He tolerates Stan (John Cazale, typically superb), his amiable colleague, only to a limited degree, and is openly wary about Bernie (Allen Garfield), a pushy, smooth-talking competitor.
In the opening moments of the film, the plot is set in motion by a recording Harry makes of a conversation between Mark (Frederic Forrest) and Ann (Cindy Williams). Initially he can only make out fragments of speech, but through laborious fine-tuning at his workbench, he's able to piece together more and more of the conversation, leading him to fear that he may be responsible, once again, for someone dying because of what he does for a living: he works for the government.
The issues of privacy and government surveillance are even more pertinent today, as is the pervasive sense of isolation, alienation, and loneliness that afflict Harry. In general, filmed entertainment stays away from leading characters who resemble Harry: unhappy, middle-aged, not wealthy, poorly dressed, socially awkward. He's not sexy; no one aspires to his position in life. And yet he's incredibly good at what he does, and his skills are absolutely essential to the smooth functioning of the government as portrayed in the film.
Those are the aspects that are truly haunting about Hackman's performance and The Conversation as a whole. At one level, it's an anti-government tract, a bromide about the toxicity of power. Peel away that righteous indignation, however, and what's revealed is a bitter pill about an imperfect man who is unable to overcome his own shortcomings.
Both editions carry over the supplements found in previous DVD releases, namely, two audio commentaries (one with Coppola, the other with supervising editor Walter Murch), an archival, 4-minute on-set interview with Coppola, and a 9-minute featurette, the latter two available in 1080p.
Both editions also feature new supplements: 50 minutes of archival footage of Coppola dictating the original script; archival screen tests of Harrison Ford and Cindy Williams; a featurette on the shooting locations; a brief discussion with Coppola on his "early film exercise" No Cigar (1956); and an interview conducted by Coppola with composer David Shire.
Apparently, the only thing different between the two is the cover art and the inclusion of a collectible booklet in the Region B edition from Studio Canal that reportedly includes the initial reviews of the film in 1974.
In his review of the Region A Blu-ray for DVD Beaver, Gary Tooze notes: "The image quality looks to be a significant improvement over the previous SD releases - but there is still some inconsistency that is inherent in the production source." He had positive things to say about the audio and the extras.
Amazon.co.uk - The Conversation
DVD Beaver - The Conversation review by Gary Tooze
More Top Picks
Maniac Cop (Region B)
A police officer goes a little crazy. With Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Richard Roundtreee, and Robert Z'Dar. Written by Larry Cohen; directed by William Lustig.
Going Places (Region A)
Bertrand Blier's comedy stars Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere as amoral low-lifes drifting across France, doing ... things (mostly unsavory) ... to women, including Jeanne Moreau, Miou-Miou, and Isabelle Huppert.
Other Notable Releases
Hong Kong (Region A)
Sources: AsianBlurayGuide.com, YesAsia.com
The Duel
Andy Lau, Ekin Cheng, Nick Cheung, and Vicky Zhao star in Andrew Lau's historical swordplay fantasy.
U.K. (Region B)
Source: Amazon.co.uk
Bad Teacher (region free)
Cameron Diaz in a pretty decent comedy, directed by Jake Kasdan. Twitch Blu-ray review by Charles Webb | Twitch theatrical review by yours truly
Guilty of Romance
True crime via Sion Sono. "A devastating look into the dark heart of humanity" -- Twitch theatrical review by Todd Brown.
Helldriver
Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl) vs. zombies.
Mimic: Director's Cut
Guillermo Del Toro's bug movie. "Awesome." -- Twitch Region A Blu-ray review by J. Hurtado.
The Outsiders: Special Edition
Francis Ford Coppola's all-star teen flick.
The Tree of Life
Terence Malick's family / origin of the universe drama.
X-Men: First Class
The superhero team, in a prequel set in the early 60s.
U.S. (Region A)
Source: Amazon.com
The Big Country
Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, and Charlton Heston in William Wyler's 1958 Western.
Bunraku
Josh Hartnett and Gackt in a noir-influenced action picture. "Wildly ambitious and visually inventive." -- Twitch theatrical review by Todd Brown.
Cars 2
Pixar sequel.
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Baldly manipulative, irrating, and annoying would-be comedy. -- My theatrical review.
Hook
Spielberg's Pan.
The Nutcracker: The Untold Story
Elle Fanning, John Turturro, and Nathan Lane appear in a musical version of the classic story. "Batsh*t crazy, and not necessarily in a good way." -- My theatrical review.
Scrooged
Bill Murray, Christmas.
Trespass
Already? Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman in a home invasion thriller directed by Joel Schumacher. "A truly, sometimes hilariously bad film." -- Twitch review by Scott Weinberg.
Water for Elephants
Soggy romantic melodrama with Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, and Christoph Waltz.