Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974) is uniquely devoted to the art and science of audio surveillance as exemplified through the character of Harry Caul, a legendary bugger played by Gene Hackman. In this narratively inconsequential sequence, a street race between two muscle cars is resolved when a car full of investigators in a Dodge Challenger, who are unable to beat some teenagers driving a Mustang resort to data surveillance via their car phone and connection to a law enforcement database. Instead of engine torque or driving skill, knowing the rival driver's name, address and physical description proves the deciding factor in their competition.

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