The Conversation

DVD Rating: *****

Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson

Read Amber Wilkinson's film review of The Conversation
The Conversation
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Francis Ford Coppola's gripping thriller is back out in a special edition for its 50th anniversary.

You can read about most of the extras - legacy additions, carried over from the excellent 2011 DVD/Blu-ray release here.

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This latest release offers a 4K restoration, which brings a lot of detail to the film's intense close-up moments. It is a noticeable improvement in terms of sharpness and contrast on the 2011 release, offering an intensity that matches the character study at its heart. The sound is the 5.1 remix that was overseen in 2011 by the original sound designer Walter Murch. He is also present in a new extra here - a 43-minute Q&A with him from 2017 - that's crammed with juicy personal insight into the making of the film. It may be the only true new addition to this set, but it is excellent, in keeping with all the others that have been carried over.

The latest two-disc package is a handsome affair, including a 64-page booklet with new essays, an exclusive tape cassette soundtrack and a couple of posters of original artwork - although we didn't receive the full package for review so can't comment on the content of this. The legacy extras on the DVD are rounded out by a 50th anniversary trailer.

If you already have the 2011 edition, you may not want to go the full hog here but for those that don't already have this as part of their collection, it's a must.

Reviewed on: 14 Jul 2024
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The Conversation packshot
A surveillance expert's conscience starts to trouble him after a particularly difficult job.
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Amber Wilkinson: DVD

Region: 2

Ratio: Codec: HEVC / H.265 Resolution: 4K (2160p) Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound: English LPCM 2.0 dual mono English DTS-HD MA 5.1

Extras: 64-page booklet with new essays, exclusive tape cassette soundtrack, posters of original artwork, Q&A with Walter Murch, filmed at Curzon Soho, 2017, behind the Scenes Stills Gallery, feature commentary with writer-director Francis Ford Coppola, feature commentary with editor Walter Murch, Close-up on The Conversation, Coppola script dictations, Cindy Williams and Harrison Ford's screen tests, composer David Shire interviewed by Francis Ford Coppola, interview with Gene Hackman (1973), Harry Caul's San Francisco: Locations Then & Now, No Cigar (1956 short, Francis Ford Coppola), trailers


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