Bay City News
Hollywood is deeply in love with San Francisco and it's easy to see why: the rolling fog, the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, the vibrant Castro and Mission districts, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, and more.
From the silver screen's early years to today, screenwriters have plunked their comedies, thrillers and dramas in the picturesque city, or somewhere nearby.
Some of the most iconic Bay Area-set films were unleashed in the 1970s, a time of pure movie dynamite.
"What's Up, Doc?" (1972) with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal brought the screwball comedy back from the dead and featured one of the most hilarious chases on the streets of San Francisco. And it gave Madeline Kahn a chance to do her thing.
"Dirty Harry" (1971) had Clint Eastwood's edgy, rogue cop making our day and taking on a criminal reminiscent of the real-life Zodiac Killer.
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978) with Brooke Adams and Donald Sutherland proved to be a rarity: The chilling remake of Don Siegel's 1956 classic, message-themed horror film (some say a commentary about Red Scare McCarthyism) turned out to be on par with the original.
Other films spotlighting San Francisco and surroundings include "Foul Play," with the goofing-around Goldie Hawn, the forever pratfalling Chevy Chase and a chunk of the Hitchcock-inspired comedy "High Anxiety" with Mel Brooks.
The list goes on.
Another film from the 1970s considered a masterpiece is Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" starring Gene Hackman, Cindy Williams (yes, of "Laverne & Shirley"), Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford and, in an uncredited but crucial role, Robert Duvall.
Praised by film scholars and critics and treasured by cinephiles, the low-key, methodical "The Conversation" perhaps hasn't been seen or admired as much as other pictures from the bountiful time of adventurous filmmaking, which nursed 1975's "Jaws," the blockbuster that charted a new course for movie viewing.
Even if you've seen "The Conversation" a dozen times, or not at all, the 50th anniversary 4K restoration of Coppola's character study about paranoia, guilt and consequences of advances in surveillance is a must-see on a theater screen. It runs Aug. 23-29 at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission in San Francisco.
Sadly, I viewed it at home. The restoration is so stunning, yes, even on a home screen, and it makes 1974 look crisp and new, and sound ever so sharp.
Sound plays an essential role in the film: Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman, in one of many legendary performances) spends much of his time trying to figure out the cryptic words he and his team overhear while recording two furtive people, perhaps lovers (Williams and Forrest), while they walk around in circles near the Christmas holiday in Union Square. (Sound editor Walter Murch's work is masterful).
Harry, a lonely loner and prickly sort, does have a part-time hookup (Teri Garr) who knows little to nothing about him. He's a rock star in the surveillance expert world and set in his ways, a fact his cohort Stan (late character actor extraordinaire John Cazale) knows too well.
Harry's job seems a bit fishy, and when he is told to drop off the "tapes" not to the director who ordered the work, but a brash underling (Ford, in one of his earliest roles), his paranoia amplifies, as he seeks to assuage his own Catholic guilt over a past contract job that led to violence.
"The Conversation" epitomizes the very essence of what constitutes a "slow-burn" thriller. Prepare to settle in and soak up every rich detail, including the incredible jazz score from David Shire. Patience does pay off, as the film's intensity gradually, just like paranoia and anxiety, builds and builds. Its theme about surveillance resonated back then, during the Watergate era, and now, too, with devices tracking our every movement, every page view.
Even though "The Conversation" is lesser known than other Coppola features, it managed to score three Oscar nominations, yet lost in 1975 to Coppola's other film, "The Godfather Part II." What a tough contest that year was, with those two films squaring off with "Chinatown" (one of the best films ever made), "The Towering Inferno" and "Lenny."
For tickets and showtimes, visit https://drafthouse.com/sf/show/the-conversation?cinemaId=0801.
Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.
Most Popular
Comments / 0