Maps of Movies

The Conversation (1974)

Where The Conversation says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A film set entirely in San Francisco, where its workshop address is disputed and half its scenes have no recorded location

Scenes and places

The couple in Union Square (1974)

Harry's team, hired by a client called the Director, records a couple walking in circles through a crowded plaza. Despite the background noise, Harry later filters and merges the tapes into a clear recording of ambiguous meaning.

Set in Union Square — The crowded city plaza where Harry's team records a couple's walk. Google Maps · Apple Maps

San Francisco's central downtown plaza.

Filmed at Union Square, San Francisco — Filmed right here; the opening surveillance scene. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Harry's locked-down apartment (1974)

Harry comes home to his bare, alarmed flat and finds his landlady has left a birthday gift inside. To a man who guards every personal detail, it is a break-in. He calls her to demand how she got in.

Set in Harry Caul's apartment — Harry's sparse, impersonal apartment, protected by an elaborate alarm system.

A residential district hit by a contested urban-renewal programme in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Filmed at Condemned building, Western Addition — Apartment scenes were shot in a condemned property in this district; neighbourhood point, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The warehouse workshop (1974)

Harry works in his warehouse office, synchronizing three separate tapes to isolate the couple's voices from the surrounding sounds. The more he hears, the less he can treat it as just a job.

Set in Harry's workshop — The warehouse where Harry works on his tapes.

A neighbourhood south of downtown, where the film used disused warehouse space.

Filmed at American Roofing Co. building, Potrero Hill — Reported workshop location; the point is the neighbourhood, and the sources disagree on the street address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The Director's tower (1974)

Harry arrives to hand over the tapes and collect his payment, but the Director's assistant, Martin Stett, meets him instead. At the meeting Harry learns who the woman on the recording is.

Set in The Director's company offices — The corporate offices where Harry is sent to deliver the tapes. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A downtown complex of office towers completed in 1971, part of the city's waterfront redevelopment.

Filmed at Embarcadero Center, San Francisco — Reported as the corporate office location; single source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The confession (1974)

Harry kneels in a confessional and admits his fear that his work will be used to hurt two young people. He is haunted by a past job in which people were hurt, and he insists he was not responsible.

Set in Harry's church — The church where Harry goes to confess.

A church; no filming location is documented.

The surveillance trade show (1974)

At a surveillance conference the day after, Harry's colleague Paul introduces him to a business rival, Bernie Moran, for whom Stan now works.

Set in Surveillance conference — The industry convention where Harry meets his rivals.

A trade show; no filming location is documented.

The room next door (1974)

Harry, suspecting murder, books a hotel room next to the one the couple had mentioned for a planned meeting on the recording. From the balcony he sees a bloody altercation.

Set in Jack Tar Hotel — The large hotel where the couple planned to meet; torn down since.

A 400-room hotel that filled a city block at Geary Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue.

Characters

• Harry Caul — A San Francisco surveillance expert who guards his own privacy obsessively.
• Martin Stett — The Director's assistant, who deals with Harry in the Director's place.

Questions answered on the map

• Where does Harry Caul clean up his surveillance tapes in The Conversation?