A movie that is different. In many ways you could understand
it wrong, but maybe that is that whole beauty of it. Starting with a strange
first scene, that gives us the spy movie theme and surveillance business as on
of the main subjects of the movie director Francis Ford Coppola introduces us
to a whole different view to sound in movie industry. For the whole idea
fulfillment of in my opinion is responsible, the sound engineer – Walter Murch.
A young couple that is being followed by one of the best sound recording specialists in the business, trying to figure out their conspiracy, or why are they so anxious. What is happening between them, inside them and what is the thing that makes them hide and to be scared. The main character Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a sound specialist, with a big background of work, respected and admired by others, considered to be the best in the area. From the first look you could say he is a firm and cold minded man, but this case is different and at the same time familiar, because few years ago, a man was killed because of a his recorded conversation.
This time is the same, he has an assignment to record young couples conversation, that he is having a big struggle with. During the recordings and the studio work, he hears different “cuts”, which gives him the idea that the couple is going to be killed when he hands in the tape. As he delivers the assignment he still does not know that the whole concept is the other way around. But that comes to Harry only when he see the client – “Director” dead and the all the pieces fit together. The suspension is essential to this film.
The thing that the viewer should pay attention is sound, that is the key element of this movie, this and the usage and potential of it. Even the story is closely conneted with one of the main elements of the movie as Harry Caul is the sound specialist as I have mentioned before. You can definitely feel and hear lots of experiments with the sound in the movie at the time. In my opinion it should have been quite a big and risky step for the director, he could have been misunderstood. But on the contrary the experiments fit perfectly in the places gives a special “spice” and fulfills the whole idea of the movie.
A young couple that is being followed by one of the best sound recording specialists in the business, trying to figure out their conspiracy, or why are they so anxious. What is happening between them, inside them and what is the thing that makes them hide and to be scared. The main character Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a sound specialist, with a big background of work, respected and admired by others, considered to be the best in the area. From the first look you could say he is a firm and cold minded man, but this case is different and at the same time familiar, because few years ago, a man was killed because of a his recorded conversation.
This time is the same, he has an assignment to record young couples conversation, that he is having a big struggle with. During the recordings and the studio work, he hears different “cuts”, which gives him the idea that the couple is going to be killed when he hands in the tape. As he delivers the assignment he still does not know that the whole concept is the other way around. But that comes to Harry only when he see the client – “Director” dead and the all the pieces fit together. The suspension is essential to this film.
The thing that the viewer should pay attention is sound, that is the key element of this movie, this and the usage and potential of it. Even the story is closely conneted with one of the main elements of the movie as Harry Caul is the sound specialist as I have mentioned before. You can definitely feel and hear lots of experiments with the sound in the movie at the time. In my opinion it should have been quite a big and risky step for the director, he could have been misunderstood. But on the contrary the experiments fit perfectly in the places gives a special “spice” and fulfills the whole idea of the movie.
