Hence, conversation analysis tells us a lot about the people engaging in communication as well as regarding their backgrounds and environment. Harry caul is a surveillance expert who can bug people at anytime and anywhere. The very first shot in the film is an astonishing threeminute long take. Long shots of caul walking in the urban landscape of san francisco depict his loneliness, while the use of sonic distortion. Why the conversation should be required viewing at the nsa. The conversation is a 1974 american neonoir mystery thriller film written, produced and directed by francis ford coppola and starring gene hackman with supporting roles by john cazale, allen garfield, cindy williams, frederic forrest, harrison ford, teri garr and robert duvall. The analysis for this study is informed by conversation analysis sacks, schegloff, and jefferson 1974 with reference to language choice auer 1988 and language alternation practices gafaranga. The conversation builds a psychological profile that allows us to understand the important aspects of cauls ocpd, but, more importantly, the film portrays cauls moral agency as authentic, and his interpretation and evaluation of these events real. The conversation 1974 is the slowlygripping, bleak study of electronic surveillance and threat of new technologies that is examined through the private, internalized life of a lonely and detached expert bugger. The film starred gene hackman as harry caul, an antisocial, paranoid.
The conversation comes from another time and place than todays thrillers, which are so often simpleminded. A key issue in conversation analysis, says brian partridge, is the view of ordinary conversation as the most basic form of talk. The conversation is one of francis ford coppolas lesser known films, but it is also considered one of his best. Conversation analysis cambridge textbooks in linguistics. This movie is a sadly observant character study, about a man who has removed himself from life, thinks he can observe it dispassionately at an electronic remove, and finds that all of his barriers are worthless. Why we made this this project was born out of the lessthanstellar response to our analysis of films that fail the bechdel test. The intriguing plot of the movie depicts a series of muchunconnected stories of different persons and societies all over the world. Convesational analysis of turntaking in the social network film, english letters and language department, faculty of humanities and culture, the state islamic university maulana malik ibrahim of malang. Starting by locating ca by reference to a number of cognate disciplines investigating language in use, it provides an overview of the origins and methodology of ca. Released in 1974, during the middle of the watergate scandal, its artful depiction of paranoia and fear in the face of improved surveillance techniques struck a. Caul rarely speaks, but his uneasy mental state is conveyed through the films cinematography and sound design. The conversation begins with a long shot of union square in san francisco, ever so slowly moving in on the busy lunchtime crowd. Harry caul, a talented, reclusive surveillance expert, follows the couple and surveils their conversation, with the help of his assistant stan and paul, a cop.
For this weeks assignment, i watched the conversation, directed by francis ford coppola and starring gene hackman. Francis ford coppolas the conversation opened to critical ambivalence in 1974, with vincent canby and john simon dismissing the film while stanley kauffmann and pauline kael reserved more praise for coppola than the film itself. Without a doubt, he misreads the intent of the couples conversation, but it is his experiencenot his derangementwhich directs his interpretive act, and it is his empathy for the perceived victims which veers him into misunderstanding. Living in a isolated world, his business is his work. Conversation analysis is a specific form of investigation or enquiry. The power of sound and editing the conversation and psycho wael khairy film analysis, film theory november 17, 2009 march 11. The bulk of the chapter is devoted to practical explanations of the typical conversation analytic process for collecting data and producing an analysis. The 25 best crime films of all time the conversation. Then, these communications are equally affected by the society and culture in which these occur. Browse film news, research and analysis from the conversation.
I believe the actor was actually flubbing his line, and murch used the bad take to essentially pull the entire film together. The conversation francis ford coppola scene analysis. Conversation analysis 285 tend to establish social cooperation. And the corporation as grand manipulator is at the very center of the conversation.
The question we are left with in the conversation is whether harry will survive or crumble under the resulting despair. Us cable channel amc is looking to develop a tv series based on francis ford coppolas 1974 movie the conversation. Conversational style there are individual and cultural differences in conversational styleturn taking some individuals expect that participation in a conversation will be very active, that speaking rate will be relatively fast, with almost no pausing between turns, and with some. This is the first ever booklength linguistic introduction to conversation analysis ca, the field that has done more than any other to illuminate the mechanics of interaction. In the process, the analysis of language and meaning was consigned to. The marvelous sound work on the film was deserving of an oscar for best sound for its effective soundmixing of interdependent elements. His grayish rain slicker rustles as he is led by the directors conniving assistant, martin. The conversation that the film is based on is set up so well all threw out the film, the more we hear the more we think, it is repetition at its perfection. The watergate crew seems, for the most part, to have had no notion that what they were doing was objectively wrong. A conversation analysis of selected dialogues from the movie wreck it ralph. A couple, mark and ann, walk in circles around the square having a somewhat vague conversation, confessing their love for one another, and making a plan for the coming sunday at a hotel.
Ca began with a focus on casual conversation, but its methods were subsequently adapted to embrace more task and institutioncentered interactions, such as those. The conversation is about paranoia, invasion of privacy, bugging and also about the bothersome problem of conscience. The repetition is a true part of the film, the more the viewer hears something they ask themselves why am i hearing this again, what does it mean. The conversation 1974 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Coppolas the conversation portrayed all our fears of.
Coppolas the conversation portrayed all our fears of privacy and. Film news, research and analysis the conversation page 1. The conversation francis ford coppola scene analysis the opening scene in francis ford coppolas the conversation sets up the themes and underlines the dramatic tension of the film. The movie won the cannes film festival palme dor and received a best picture oscar nomination. The ending of the conversation i finally got around to watching the conversation last night, coppolas oft forgotten 1974 classic really what a great string of films he released from 7274. Below is a scene from the film, which i will analyse and discuss. The conspiracy thriller is an effective character study that exposes the emerging conscience of an estranged eavesdropper whose work once resulted in the death of three people. American independent film questions for film analysis as you view films, consider how the cuts, camera angles, shots and movement work to create particular meanings. One day, he records a young couple, having a conversation in a park in san francisco. The conspiracy thriller is an effective character study that exposes the emerging. Conversation analysis ca is an approach to the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and nonverbal conduct, in situations of everyday life.
The opening scene in francis ford coppolas the conversation sets up the themes and underlines the dramatic tension of the film. Conversational analysis created using powtoon free sign up at youtube create animated videos and animated presentations for f. Sure, the conversation is a commentary on cinema, but also on the way curiosity leads us to plug gaps with the. Department navigation empathy analysis of film dialogue. This study guide consists of approximately 22 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the conversation. These instructions are owned by the developers and any commercial use of these instructions is subject to the approval of the current c122 course director at indiana university.
Commenters were quick to point out that the bechdel test is flawed and there are justifiable reasons for films to fail e. The scene begins high above union square in san francisco and by the time it ends, nearly three minutes later, the opening shot of francis ford coppolas 1974 film, the conversation, will hone in on one asyetunidentified man caul. The context of a conversation also has a bearing on the talk. This american independent film was quite a bit different than the classical hollywood narrative, but it did also have a few of the characteristics. The power of sound and editing the conversation and psycho. The opening scene of the conversation sets the stage for the films theme of paranoia. In the time since, the film has enjoyed a revived critical life, for many critics have contextualized this film as a watergateera thriller in which a surveillance.
We analyze a candidate interactional practice the assessment. Both the conversation and psycho have done so, which is probably why both of those films are studied worldwide by film. In this context, detailed empirical analysis of social action and interaction was set aside in favor of developing a conceptual approach to action that could prepare the way for macro social systems analysis. This article supplements slates conspiracy thrillers movie club. An independent film analysis of the conversation, starring gene. This is a classic suspense thriller, and a terrifying psychological horror film. A conversation refers two or more individuals talking with one another just for the sake of talking. Online videos of hitler getting angry at things, based on a 2004 film scene, have found enduring appeal and recently featured in a. Robert duvall, who appeared in the godfather and coppolas apocalypse now, appears in an uncredited cameo. Harry caul gene hackman gets down and dirty in the conversation. It is important to note that a convenient plot holds the shots in different places together. Murch also talked a lot about hackmans character applying his own mental filter to his analysis of the conversation.
His colleagues in the surveillance industry think harry caul is such a. The conversation study guide contains a biography of francis ford coppola, literature. And i thought, wow, thats a great motif for a filmand it started there, around. Made between the godfather 1972 and the godfather part ii 1974, and in part a homage to michelangelo antonionis artmovie classic blowup 1966, the conversation was a. Think about how they establish space, privilege certain characters, suggest relationships, emphasize themes. The films release in the wake of the most significant u. Listening to coppolas the conversation film identity. Film analysis on the conversation 1974 lecture 2, week. Made between the godfather 1972 and the godfather part ii 1974, and in part an homage to michelangelo antonionis artmovie classic blowup 1966, the conversation was a return to smallscale art films for francis ford coppola. An independent film analysis of the conversation, starring.
This movie is a sadly observant character study, about a man who has removed himself from life, thinks he can observe it dispassionately at an electronic. Released in 1974, during the middle of the watergate scandal, its artful depiction of paranoia and fear in the face of improved surveillance techniques struck a chord with audiences. Two immediately previous american films dealt with. Not at how good it was, but how few people have seen it or heard of it. Most films of the genre preach to the converted, entertainingly boosting simplistic surveillance bad rhetoric. For conversation analysts, conversation is the main way in which people come together, exchange information, negotiate and maintain social relations discourse analysis. Francis ford coppolas the conversation is a psychological thriller and a character study of the paranoid protagonist, wiretapper harry caul. In the afternoon, harry walks into the cold, gray concrete reception lobby of the anonymous, corporate offices of the director for his twothirty appointment he protectively clutches his blue vinyl pouch. The largest ever analysis of film dialogue by gender. I want to talk about the ending and some of my theories. Read the full synopsis of the conversation, 1974, directed by francis ford coppola, with gene hackman, john cazale, allen garfield, at turner classic movies. Within conversation analysis there is an insistence on the use of materials collected from naturally occurring occasions of everyday interaction by means of audio and videorecording equipment or film. It is a form of sociability and reflects an individuals ability and willingness to interact with others.