'The Conversation'

What a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

Great shots, great acting, great premise, great writing. Another feather in the cap of the great John Cazale.

Most interesting is the idea of space and sound. In "An American in Paris," I noted the use of space when Gene Kelly dances on a 7-foot length of sidewalk, or a table. How the dancing is better because there are boundaries or limits in terms of space.

In sound recording, the goal of Gene Hackman's character and others in his industry were to record by either being hundreds of yards away or inches away. During the conversation of note, men are recording from on top of roofs and nearby apartments. Hackman's character is bugged twice: By his rival with the pen, and finally by the "director's" people somewhere in his apartment or on his person (I believe it to be on his eyeglasses ... the woman took them off the night the tapes were stolen and the eyeglasses are alluded to in the conversation scene).

Also interesting is language. How Hackman interprets the conversation, mixing and matching the different recordings to find the most clear. In the end, he completely misinterprets. The twist happens.