To mark the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s (The Godfather, One From the Heart) seminal neo-noir thriller, THE CONVERSATION, STUDIOCANAL is thrilled to announce that a brand-new 4K restoration of the Palme D’or winner will return to UK cinemas on July 5, 2024. The film will then be available to own via a special 2-disc 4K UHD Collector’s edition and on digital from July 15.
A newly produced trailer for the restoration can be seen here. Exclusive new artwork by Coppola’s preferred poster artist, the award-winning Laurent Durieux, has also been created to celebrate the release.
Of the new restoration, Francis Ford Coppola says: “As you will notice, I have never offered a new version of THE CONVERSATION, which is a film I have always been proud of, I've never felt the need to improve. It also features my wonderful collaboration with its editor (along with Richard Chew) and sound designer, Walter Murch which reinforces my belief that cinema is a collaborative effort. I am gratified to have made a film that has lived for 50 years."
Reported to be Coppola’s favourite of his films, THE CONVERSATION boasts an exceptional cast that includes Gene Hackman (The French Connection, Unforgiven), John Cazale (Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather), Allen Garfield (Nashville, One From the Heart), Frederic Forrest (Apocalypse Now, Falling Down), Cindy Williams (American Graffiti, ‘Laverne & Shirley‘) and Michael Higgins (Angel Heart, The Stepford Wives) as well as featuring a notable early performance from Harrison Ford (Raiders of The Lost Ark, Witness). As well as the Palme D’or, the film won numerous other awards, including BAFTAs for Editing and Sound, recognising Walter Murch’s (The English Patient, Apocalypse Now) ground-breaking work.
“Harry Caul is an invader of privacy. The best in the business. He can record any conversation between two people anywhere. So far, three people are dead because of him.”
THE CONVERSATION focuses on Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a detached and paranoid surveillance expert who finds himself becoming a victim of the same modern technology he uses to destroy others. It begins with a seemingly routine job trailing an unfaithful wife and her lover. But when Harry visits the husband’s office to deliver the incriminating tapes he’s made of the couple, his client’s assistant tries to intercept him. Harry refuses to hand over the recordings and suddenly discovers that he may have captured a conversation about something that’s a lot more important than adulterous goings on.
For the 2024 restoration of THE CONVERSATION, the Original Negative was accessed for the first time and scanned in 4k. An approved reference print was used for the colour grading and the 5.1 soundtrack was created in 2000 by Walter Murch. The Home Entertainment release will include the original 1974 Mono track. The restoration was fully approved by Francis Ford Coppola.
