Movie Description
Many films from the 1970s allow even the most gripping narratives to flow with the consequences of real life. CHINATOWN is a classic film whose intrigues and adventures culminate in life-changing moments for its protagonist, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson).
Director Roman Polanski's classic neo-noir detective story is set during a heat wave in 1930s Los Angeles, where residents suffer from a water shortage due to an ongoing drought. With stellar contributions from composer Jerry Goldsmith and screenwriter Robert Towne, whose script recalls the hard-boiled cynicism of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, CHINATOWN is a complex and superbly crafted period drama that has become Polanski's most critically acclaimed film. Private investigator Gittes runs a sleazy detective agency. When a client (Diane Ladd) hires him to spy on her "husband," who is rumored to be having an affair with a younger woman, Jake uncovers a plot against the man--but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Still to emerge are a sex scandal implicating the real wife (Faye Dunaway), with whom Jake is destined to become more closely acquainted, and a real estate swindle of tremendous proportions devised by her tycoon father (John Huston), backed up by a vast network of corrupt city officials and landowners who make life hell for the private eye.
This story crystallizes the impact of a chance meeting with the romantic ideals of the early 1970s, when the American urban landscape and economic power structures were in flux.
| Credits | | Producer: | Robert Evans | | Cast: | James Hong, Jerry Fujikawa, Joe Mantell, Noble Willingham, Rance Howard, Richard Bakalyan, Roy Jenson |
| Details | | Edition: | Checkpoint; Special Collector's Edition |
Editorial Reviews
"...[Polanski] handles the mechanics of the plot with a ruthless brilliance that is immediately involving..."
Sight and Sound - p.243 - Tom Milne (09/01/1974)
"...Incomparable..."
Entertainment Weekly - p.83 - Troy Patterson (05/29/1998)
"...Like most noir stories, CHINATOWN ends in a flurry of revelation....For Nicholson, the role had enormous importance..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (02/06/2000)
"...A film noir masterpiece that never stops screwing with your head..."
Total Film - Dorian Lynskey (07/01/2000)
"Faye Dunaway quivers, John Huston looms, but Nicholson's Gittes seems untouchable inside..."
Premiere - Premiere Staff (04/01/2004)
"[T]he director's dark wit questions the conventions of noir, and exhales stylish seediness."
Uncut - Chris Roberts (09/01/2004)
5 stars out of 5 -- "Jack Nicholson lends J.J. Gittes nervy sharpness, and John Huston fills villainous Noah Cross with menace..."
Empire - Ian Nathan (12/01/2007)
Awards
1974Academy AwardsBest Original ScreenplayRobert Towne
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gBLFu7TeGgg~~_7.JPG "Chinatown (DVD, 2007, Checkpoint; Special Collector's Edition)")
gBLFu7TeGgg~~_32.JPG "Chinatown (DVD, 2007, Checkpoint; Special Collector's Edition)")
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