The Conversation

What an astounding personal achievement for Francis Ford Coppola. On top of all of the accomplishments which are inherent to writing and directing a feature film I would call special attention to the professional struggles - which were unique to Coppola's time and place within 1970's Hollywood - and also - perhaps more importantly - to the rigors of conjuring up such an intensely personal work of art. For these reasons, it is easy for me to see why The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's favorite piece of work.

As we know from the reading, Coppola's company American Zoetrope was under immense pressure from Warners, in the wake of THX 1138's commercial failure. Concerned about his future ability to make the films that he was passionate about, Coppola reluctantly accepted the offer to direct The Godfather; but even before that film became the enormous success that would make the rest of his career possible, Coppola was already making plans for The Conversation. I can hardly imagine the emotional struggles he must have gone through - using the system - being used by the system - all in pursuit of his goal. I have to admire his faith in his vision, and even then - after finally securing the means of production - he succeeded in turning that vision inward, for self expression.

The Conversation's protagonist, Harry Caul, strikes me as Coppola's most personal character. In other words, there is a great deal of Coppola in Caul. This is evidenced by certain characteristics and anecdotes lifted directly from Coppola's own life, such as the dream sequence where Harry confesses a string of personal curiosities. However, I would argue that the true depth of Coppola's self expression extends to the relatively subtle emotional landscape of Harry Caul's moment to moment manifestation of Coppola's vision. Among the most poignant examples of this is Harry's embarrassment when he realizes that a rival "bug man" has secretly taped him at the post-convention party. I cannot help but wonder what true-to-life event might have inspired this particular twist in Harry Caul's journey. In the very least, we ought to recognize Coppola's willingness and ability to engage such an honest an sympathetic character portrait.