The plot revolves around a surveillance expert and the moral dilemma he faces when his recordings reveal a potential murder . Coppola cited the 1966 film '' Blowup '' as a key influence . However , since the film was released to theaters just a few months before Richard Nixon resigned as President , he felt that audiences interpreted the film to be a reaction to the Watergate scandal . '' The Conversation '' has won critical acclaim and multiple accolades , including the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film , the highest honor at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival . It was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1974 and lost Best Picture to '' The Godfather Part II '' , another Francis Ford Coppola film . In 1995 , it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being " culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant "
Academy Awards
47th Academy Awards
The Conversation