Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) is about a surveillance expert who comes to doubt about the ethics of his profession. The filmmakers act as surveillance experts in the film’s famous three-minute opening shot, as our attention comes to focus on the behavior of a man in a rumpled raincoat (Gene Hackman).
Discussion Questions
After watching this clip from The Conversation, consider the questions below. Then submit your response.
1. How are sound perspective and image perspective used to create tension in this shot?
2. Count all the sounds you hear. How does the shot call attention to technology?