Walter Murch on The Conversation and working with Francis Ford Coppola | BFI Q&A

Walter Murch, the Oscar-winning film editor and sound designer, talks about his work on The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola’s Coppola’s thriller about our surveillance society.

The Palme d’Or-winning film, 50 this year, is a film that continues to grow in relevance and stature. Gene Hackman has rarely been better than he is in this conspiracy thriller, playing surveillance expert Harry Caul. A solitary, intensely private individual, Harry strives for an ethical approach to his work, even as he struggles with pangs of guilt for his past mistakes. His obsession with latest job – he believes he may have discovered a murder plot – makes him increasingly paranoid.

Coppola wrings every last drop of tension from his lean screenplay while an impressive supporting cast and David Shire’s celebrated score contribute to a sense of unease. Released at the height of the Watergate Scandal in the US, the film now feels prophetic in its portrait of an all-pervasive surveillance culture.

BFI