Just after shooting the classic The Godfather, and as it turned out, just before going on to shoot its sequel The Godfather: Part II, director Francis Ford Coppola made this film in 1974 with Gene Hackman.

For Hackman, his star appeal was already in ascendancy thanks to his performance as Popeye Doyle in 1971's The French Connection. It's no surprise he was attracted to this project however; not only was it a great opportunity to work with Hollywood's newest hottest property, but his character features in almost every frame of the film.

Surveillance is a lonely profession and no-one knows this more than Harry Caul (Hackman). He's been in the snooping business for some years, and has built up an impressive reputation for what he does. Not only does he manage to get the job done, but he also builds the tech with which to do the job with. He's at the top of his game and all his peers know it too.

The trade-off however is the caution with which greets every relationship. He's more than happy to know everything about everyone else, but Harry doesn't like anyone getting close to him.

Harry doesn't have time to get to know people anyway, as he is truly focused on his work. Like his current case, which is taking up all of his time. He's in the employ of a curious organisation that is being run by a character only known as 'the director'. He's hired Harry to keep tabs on a young couple. The more he records their conversations, the larger the picture Harry gets of why 'the director' wants them under surveillance.

The deeper Harry goes with monitoring the couple, the more he realises that there's danger afoot. Having been through something similar before, Harry's not keen for the situation to play out the same way. But this puts Harry in a bit of a dilemma; he's getting paid to gather as much info on this couple, but should it be at the expense of someone losing their life?

That's the problem with these hi-tech Japanese loos, they go on the blink too easily.

After the depth of storytelling involved with something like The Godfather, there's something altogether more insular about The Conversation. In a sense the story takes second place to the main character, as the film is all about Harry. The story itself fizzles out completely in the centre of the film, as it concentrates on Harry's interaction – or lack of – with other characters in his lofty workspace.

With Harry as the centre of attention, it makes it difficult to connect with any of the other characters, most notably the couple he has under surveillance. So even when there's a hint of peril on the horizon, it doesn't create a whole lot of tension.

Still, it's a fascinating watch from a period point of view. A lot of the gadgetry is supposed to be ultra high tech for the seventies, but of course this is in a day and age way before the mobile phone. In this film, the land line is most definitely king.

The film also probably stands out more on the audio side. Not only does Coppola play around with sound effects to good effect, but he also laces scenes with a cracking jazz score.

Whether it's one of Coppola's best work is debatable, but it certainly hasn't aged terribly well, especially when you compare it to some of his other work.

It's also a travesty that although the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Hackman's sublime performance was overlooked by the Academy.

The Conversation may appear incredibly dated, but it also provides clues to support evidence of the greatness of both its director and leading man.