Synopsis
Roman Polanski's CHINATOWN, a rich, beautiful, and compelling piece of film noir, is regarded as one of the seminal movies of the 1970s. The British Film Institute has honored this groundbreaking film with its own book in their renowned series B.F.I. Modern Classics. Authored by Michael Eaton, a screenwriter and playwright, CHINATOWN is an in-depth study of the film, providing thought-provoking reading not only for fans of the movie, but for anyone who is interested in the history of American cinema. The author analyzes Polanski's movie by firmly framing and cementing CHINATOWN's central character, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson in one of his finest roles), among the all-time great fictional detectives in literature and cinema. Eaton then proceeds to sketch out the broad cultural context from which CHINATOWN emerged, rendering the experience of watching the film even more meaningful. The book follows the making of the film from its beginnings as a pet project of famous producer Robert Evans, to the controversial decisions made on set by the movie's dynamic director. The book also describes and dissects the plot in great detail, providing much insight into its structure and symbolism. In addition, Eaton includes an illuminating discussion on where the film fits into the creatively potent decade of the 1970s, one of the most important in the development of American cinema. Supplemented by some gorgeous black-and-white stills from the film that complement the rich content, Eaton's book offers a satisfying experience for all film lovers.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-12-27 | | Series: | B.F.I. Film Classics |
| Size | | Length: | 79 pages | | Height: | 7.8 in | | Width: | 5.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.2 in | | Weight: | 5.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Directed in 1974 by Roman Polanski from a script by Robert Towne, Chinatown is a brilliant reworking of film noir set in a drought-stricken Los Angeles of the 1930s. Jack Nicholson, in one of his most celebrated roles, stars as a Private Eye who, despite his best intentions, can only bring disaster upon the enigmatic woman he has come to love. The reassuringly familiar conventions of the thriller are dissected to expose a chaos of political corruption and violent sexuality lurking beneath a glittering, sun-drenched surface. Michael Eaton analyses Chinatown in the context of the figure of the detective in literature and film from Sophocles to Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock. In a searching detailed and entirely absorbing account of the narrative development and visual style of Chinatown, Eaton uncovers both the film's relationship to the pessimism of American cinema in the 1970s and its veritably mythical structure and power.
This most brilliant of avant-noir films is analyzed by screenwriter Michael Eaton, who concentrate on the figure of the detective and uncovers the film's relationship to the pessimism of American cinema in the 1970s.
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