Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Most Excellent
I've got a bit of time before our shift project meeting at 2pm--can't really get any real work done now, so I'll take a moment to recommend fiercely Coppola's The Conversation. I watched it between teaching and library this morning, and was completely blown away. What marvelous and delicious paranoia. What beautiful craftsmanship--the filming, the blocking, the sets, the acting. What precise writing. Even the soundtrack is perfect. This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing films I've ever seen. I loved every second--the ending, which could perhaps have been done a bit differently, is still fantastic. Hackman plays a socially awkward, introspective sort--and nails it. Duvall's brief appearance is perfect, Harrison Ford is exquisitely menacing. Coppola's work in the '70s may indeed rank as the most astonishing burst of cinematic creativity ever. Too bad he blew his wad completely.
Someone needs to update this concept for our post-Ashcroft age--the technological advances in surveillance since The Conversation make what Coppola saw coming down the pike even more alarming.
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3 comments:
Harry Caul - isn't a "caul" a covering for a corpse? The cheap plastic raincoat Hackman wears can be read as one. And when we catch a glimpse of Duvall's character near the end, he's dead, wrapped in clear plastic with vivid blood visible.
One of Coppola's masterpieces, filmed between Godfathers 1 & 2. What a roll he was on!!
Isn't a caul also the flap of skin some babies are born with that covers the face? And weren't those babies considered prescient or holy or destined to be visionaries "back in the day"?
I love the way Caul's desperate and hopeless interpretation of his material ends up paralyzing him. His failure has to be morally devestating, but what he finds out has actually happened is exactly the opposite of what he supposed; does this redeem him, or is it just as bad? Probably the latter.
I really think this is a superior film. I'll have to see it again.
Rumble Fish
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