Editing Francis Ford Coppola (section)

==== ''The Conversation'' (1974) ====
''[[The Conversation]]'' (1974) further cemented Coppola's reputation. It was influenced by [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s ''[[Blowup]]'' (1966)<ref>{{cite book| last=Ondaatje| first=Michael| author-link=Michael Ondaatje| title=[[The Conversations]]| page=152}}</ref> and generated much interest when news leaked that it featured the same surveillance and wire-tapping equipment that members of the [[Nixon administration]] used to spy on political opponents in the [[Watergate scandal]]. Coppola claimed that this was purely coincidental, as the script for ''The Conversation'' was completed in the mid-1960s. However, audiences interpreted the film as a reaction to Watergate and its fallout. It stars [[Gene Hackman]] as Harry Caul, "the best bugger on the West Coast", hired to spy on a young couple played by [[Cindy Williams]] and [[Frederic Forrest]]. It features Cazale as his partner, Stan. The movie was a critical success and won Coppola his first [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[1974 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name=Palme/> Coppola's brother-in-law [[David Shire]] wrote the score and [[Walter Murch]] edited the picture, as Coppola started work on his next project.<ref>{{cite book| last=Ondaatje| first=Michael| title=[[The Conversations]]| page=157}}</ref>