To mark the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s (The Godfather, One From the Heart) seminal 1974 neo-noir thriller, The Conversation, Studiocanal has announced that a brand-new 4K restoration of the Palme D’Or winner will return to UK cinemas on 5 July 2024. The film will then be available to own via a special 2-disc 4K UHD Collector’s Edition and on digital from 15 July.

Exclusive new artwork by Coppola’s preferred poster artist, the award-winning Laurent Durieux, has also been created to celebrate the release. A newly produced trailer for the restoration is below:

Of the new restoration, Francis Ford Coppola says: 

“As you will notice, I have never offered a new version of The Conversation, which is a film I have always been proud of, I've never felt the need to improve.  It also features my wonderful collaboration with its editor (along with Richard Chew) and sound designer, Walter Murch which reinforces my belief that cinema is a collaborative effort. I am gratified to have made a film that has lived for 50 years."

Reported to be Coppola’s favourite of his films, The Conversation boasts an exceptional cast that includes Gene Hackman (The French Connection, Unforgiven), John Cazale (Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather), Allen Garfield (Nashville, One From the Heart), Frederic Forrest (Apocalypse Now, Falling Down), Cindy Williams (American Graffiti, Laverne & Shirley) and Michael Higgins (Angel Heart, The Stepford Wives) as well as featuring a notable early performance from Harrison Ford (Raiders of The Lost Ark, Witness). As well as the Palme D’or, the film won numerous other awards, including BAFTAs for Editing and Sound, recognising Walter Murch’s (The English Patient, Apocalypse Now) ground-breaking work.

The Conversation focuses on Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), a detached and paranoid surveillance expert who finds himself becoming a victim of the same modern technology he uses to destroy others. It begins with a seemingly routine job trailing an unfaithful wife and her lover. But when Harry visits the husband’s office to deliver the incriminating tapes he’s made of the couple, his client’s assistant tries to intercept him. Harry refuses to hand over the recordings and suddenly discovers that he may have captured a conversation about something that’s a lot more important than adulterous goings on.

For the 2024 restoration of The Conversion, the original negative was accessed for the first time and scanned in 4k. An approved reference print was used for the colour grading and the 5.1 soundtrack was created in 2000 by Walter Murch. The Home Entertainment release will include the original 1974 Mono track. The restoration was fully approved by Francis Ford Coppola.

The Conversation will be released as a 2-disc UHD Collector's Edition by Studiocanal on 15 July 2024.

2-DISC 4K UHD COLLECTOR’S EDITION CONTENTS:

• 64-page booklet with new essays
• Exclusive tape cassette soundtrack
• 2x 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 screen test
• Harrison Ford screen test
• 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)
• Theatrical trailer
• 50th anniversary trailer (2024)