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tape machine in the Francis Ford Coppola movie 'The Conversation'

shrinkboy

shrinkboy

Addicted Member
was watching this movie last night and the scenes with Gene Hackman working with the enormous, industrial, mind boggling reel to reel deck were kinda spell binding, in the sense of 'what the HELL kinda machine is that?'

anyone know?
 
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I believe that was an Ampex AG-350 and the smaller synchronized units were German made UHER units (like the ones used during the Nixon administration to bug the oval office). The mini recorder that the other wiretapper bugged him with (in that scene in the loft after the convention) was a Nagra recorder, very expensive made in Switzerland. Harrison Ford look like a little kid back then - 1974 I believe it was. Excellent film, I never get tired of seeing it.
 
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I know this is the tape forum and all, but what were the other componants he had in his apartment? Looked like a monoblock of some sort.
 
i thought i spotted a rek-o-kut TT and perhaps a klipsch mono speaker-- couldn't quite see the electronics, but that tape machine held me spell bound....
 
shrinkboy said:
i thought i spotted a rek-o-kut TT and perhaps a klipsch mono speaker-- couldn't quite see the electronics, but that tape machine held me spell bound....
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His amp kind of reminded me of a Bogen...but that may have been cause I have Bogens.
Regardless it's a great movie isn't it?
 
Ballylongford said:
I agree: I have read some people feel Hackman's character in the Will Smith movie "Enemy of the State" is an update to his character in "The Conversation"; I can see the connection...
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There is a connection indeed. In that movie there is a scene (I think it's near the end) where Will Smith is looking at an old picture of Hackman and it appears to be a still shot from The Conversation with Hackman as Harry Caul.

The amp in his apartment does resemble a Bogen, hard to tell for sure, also looks like a Magnecord reel to reel and I was thinking Rek-O-Kut turntable too. It's a shame that he uses the amp to smash open things when he's looking for the bug.
 
audiojones said:
I believe that was an Ampex AG-350 and the smaller synchronized units were German made UHER units (like the ones used during the Nixon administration to bug the oval office). The mini recorder that the other wiretapper bugged him with (in that scene in the loft after the convention) was a Nagra recorder, very expensive made in Switzerland. Harrison Ford look like a little kid back then - 1974 I believe it was. Excellent film, I never get tired of seeing it.
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Did it resurface in Apocalypse Now as Robert Duvall's RTR on his Huey gunship?
 
Wasn't the R2R on Duvall's helecopter a Roberts/Akai, It has been awhile since I have seen the movie so my memory may be a bit foggy.
 
analog said:
Wasn't the R2R on Duvall's helecopter a Roberts/Akai, It has been awhile since I have seen the movie so my memory may be a bit foggy.
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Not sure. I was just joking.

There are actually two in the film though. The one Harrison Ford uses to play Kurtz's rantings and the aforementioned one on the chopper.
 
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