The Conversation

The Conversation (1974) is a thriller written & directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Gene Hackman in the lead role. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Gene Hackman plays the character of Harry Caul- a well respected surveillance expert, who discovers during one of his surveillance jobs after a cryptic tape recording-that a couple's life is in danger.

"On the DVD commentary, Coppola says he was shocked to learn that the film utilized the very same surveillance and wire-tapping equipment that members of the Nixon Administration used to spy on political opponents prior to the Watergate scandal. Coppola has said this is the reason the film gained part of the recognition it has received, but that this is entirely coincidental. Not only was the script for The Conversation completed in the mid-1960s (before the Nixon Administration came to power) but the spying equipment used in the film was discovered through research and the use of technical advisers and not, as many believed, by revelatory newspaper stories about the Watergate break-in."
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071360/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation

Mood: Thriller
Good Aspects: Suspense, great cinematography, interesting story & soundtrack.

Parallax View

"Parallax View" (1974) is a thriller directed by Alan J. Pakula, stars Warren Beatty as an ambitious reporter investigating the assassination of a senator. He discovers-following mysterious deaths of reporters who were present at the assassination- a conspiracy involving the mysterious Parallax Corporation. It is an interesting film, with an element of experimental filmmaking- one scene shows a haunting montage of iconographic imagery used as a recruitment test for the Parallax Corporation.
Alan J. Pakula also directed "Klute" (1971) and "All the President's Men" (1976).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071970/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parallax_View

Mood: Political themes and conspiracy theories.
Good aspects: Interesting cinematography. 70's political paranoia thriller.