User reviews

Over the years, people have called Chinatown one of the best movies ever. I don't quite agree with that statement, but there is no denying that the movie is a masterpiece. I may not find it one of the best films all-time, but I do find it as one of the best films of 1974. This noir film hearkens back to the days where similar films were produced left and right. But starting from the 1960's, this genre slowly began to fade away. The film may come across as really taking its time to tell the story, but the thriller has lots of tension that builds up to its climatic ending. This film brought public awareness to some issues people may not have really known about. Water is a commodity for human survival and whoever controls the water, controls the money. This movie is a complex series of events surrounding the control of water and that people can die over this issue. Ah, the wonders of being a human being! The movie is a complicated follow, so don't lose yourself in any train of thought, or you might lose what will happen plot-wise. Boasting one of cinema's all-time greatest screenplays by Robert Towne and a powerful lead performance by Jack Nicholson, you are in for a fantastic time.

As I mentioned briefly, the film's plot can be complex as the film will turn down a completely different path in a heartbeat. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a private investigator who specializes in matrimonial affairs. One day, he gets a visit from a woman claiming to be Evelyn Mulwray. She tells Jake that her husband is cheating on her and she would like Jake to investigate her claims. He does his job by taking photographs of him and he catches him with another woman. That ensues a scandal and Gittes is confronted by the real Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway). When the husband shows up dead, Gittes is led deeper and deeper in a web of deceit, lies, and murder.

This movie is given its voice by a variety of elements such as Robert Towne's fantastic screenplay or Roman Polanksi's visionary directing style. But let's not forget about the wonderful performances including the tour de force performance by screen legend, Jack Nicholson. Nicholson's performance is nothing short of excellent as he portrays Jake Gittes. I loved how the movie gave in-depth characterization to this character. Gittes may not be the nicest man in the world, but he's a man of honor and honesty. The movie is all about lies and that forms a rather bleak mental state for Gittes. All we wants to do is find the truth and move on, but that seems impossible to do with all the lies and murder. Nicholson was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, and some might say he should have won. Who can forget that scene at the river bed where he is slashed in the nose by this random creep. Faye Dunaway also delivers an amazing performance. On the outside her character makes you believe she is good, but she has some fishy motives about her. Gittes falls in love with her, but he can't take her sneaky lies. Then we have the performance of John Huston, the legendary director who plays Evelyn's father. His character, Noah Cross is the antagonist of the film one would say as he wants to use his wealth to control the water. That dinner scene between Noah and Jake is quite something. Noah and his mean, beady eyes are put to good use.

This film was directed by Roman Polanski, before he was extradited to Europe and could only make films there. This movie has him returning back to the director's chair, only a few years after the brutal murder of his wife and unborn child. I loved his sense of direction and he really captured the noir feeling you would find in the films of the 1940's. His conflict with the screenwriter Robert Towne became somewhat famous. Towne had the film end with a happy ending, but Polanksi went against that. The ending is not a happy one as we get some unfortunate deaths from the wrong people, but it was an effective ending nonetheless. No matter what, Robert Towne written one of the best screenplays of all time and that will endure for many, many years into our future.

Even though Chinatown is a fictional movie, it's based of the Los Angeles water grab of 1908. This is a city that formed in a desert and it should be impossible for water to exist, which makes the control of the water ever more so fundamental. Towne did a great job adding his own 1930's spin to the story. This movie is undeniably a great film. The pace crawls at times, but the content of the story kept me captivated. This is not an action thriller, but it's one of those slow-burn thrillers focused on telling a top-rate story. The film fires on all cylinders because of it's wonderful acting and solid direction. But we also have a great but sad, trumpet-infused score from Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography from John A. Alonzo that captures the L.A of old in a very effective way. Let's not forget about the award-winning screenplay from Robert Towne. Nominated for 11 Oscars, this film is worth a watch. This is a fantastic thriller that relies upon excellent storytelling.

My Grade: A-

I knew CHINATOWN was hailed as the paragon of a film noir, and that's why I finally got down to watching it. However, despite having known about the movie for quite a while, I wasn't really prepared for just how dark it could be. The movie starts slowly, with a private detective taking on what looks like a routine case. But soon he finds himself enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, murder, lies and deceit. The plot is like a perfect machine that relentlessly moves towards a final resolution that is truly epic and truly soul-wrenching.

In a recent New York Times piece, they called CHINATOWN "a meditation on evil", which is spot-on. Set in 1937, this movie is just all-round perfect, first and foremost how everything is connected within the grand structure of the movie, that is rich in themes (water, evil, trust, guilt, greed) and even richer in suspense, as the audience—just like our protagonist—tries to find out what is happening. The story is "complex" for sure, but it's not "complicated". Everything makes sense in the end and the complexity pays off big time.

Besides the impeccable screenplay, everything else about this movie is perfect as well. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway carry the movie with sophistication and dignity. Dunaway's stunning performance in particular fills every scene with an aura of mystery as you are trying to find out what her motives are. The set pieces are beautiful, the score is compelling; and camera-work and editing could not be any better. There is a reason this one is called a classic! So, if you're ready to delve deep into a richly layered exploration of the dark side of humanity—enjoy the ride. But don't expect to come back unscathed.

Chinatown sits securely at the pinnacle of the Neo Noir genre. Fueled by Polanski-Nicholson synergy, anchored by one of greatest-ever original screenplays (written by Los Angeles native Robert Towne), brought to movie-life via PanaVision by brilliant cinematographer John Alonzo, and produced by the industry icon Robert Evans, this is one of film's greatest works of art, and being imo one of the top 20 greatest films ever made - it is a must-see movie.

Chinatown represents the art of film-making in its finest form, exceeding expectations in every reel.

This was Polanski's last film he made in the USA, and the best and last opportunity to see Nicholson's brilliant acting prowess before his characterization method became (to a large degree) a caricature of himself (albeit doing so perhaps better than any other icon-level movie-star).

Often, this much talent on one set becomes a disappointment. Not this time.

Like many successful collaborations, there were major style differences between Evans, Polanski and Towne - Such "manageable stress" can sink a film, but instead served as a positive catalyst in raising the bar of production and execution.

For those who haven't seen the film, it is "required" viewing. For those who haven't seen it in a while, cue it up, and enjoy - like most great films, it just seems to get better with age.

Polanski's style of film making utilizes a classic Noir movie-making "complete-the-scene" method before moving on - similar to live theatre (Act I, Scene 1, etc) The benefit is fulfilling each scene's importance to the story and film as a whole - this style works well in Noir films, and his set-up, detailing, and execution is brilliant.

The immaculately detailed set designs, wardrobe, makeup, and authentic restored vintage cars were painstakingly orchestrated by Polanski to transport us back to atmosphere and feel of the golden age of Hollywood circa 1937.

Chinatown is one of the greatest films ever made making it a must-see.

This is a top ten for me. I have watched this film several times, and each time I see why Jack Nicholson is one of our great American actors. It starts with a story of complexity but accessibility. Nicholson's Jake Gittes, running around with a slit in the side of his nose, put there by Polanski, investigates, gets careless, and realizes what he has stumbled upon. Fay Dunaway as Mrs. Mulray and John Huston and that voice: "Just find the girl." There are comic scenes and Nicholson has feet of clay, but he finally puts his personal integrity on the line. He moves into darkness and sees the underside. And then there is Chinatown with its secrets, politics, incest, all of that. It is such an intelligent movies. One of the reviewers said it was compact. That says it all. Every scene is necessary. It's too bad Polanski can't work in the U.S. anymore--he still releases a treasures every so often. To get back to the movie, all that leads to the climactic last several minutes has been prepared for with loving care by the director. It's so nice to know that there are films like this that people will watch into the latter stages of the 21st century. One of finest.

There is a word, impossible to spell, that describes the alignment of solar bodies like the planets when they all fall into place together. A similar word would describe this film. Everything about it is right. Polanski never directed a better movie. The performers, down to the lowest atmosphere person, are superb. The editing, the score, the sound, the decor, the dialog, all are just about flawless. The photography is peerless. The white garden apartments, the terra cotta roof tiles, the palms and desert sand are all painted with a faint gold, faintly ripe with false promise, like the oranges that bounce from Gittes' desperately speeding car in the northwest Valley.

Polanski deserves much of the credit. When Gittes surprises Evelyn Mulwray in her car, after he follows her to her daughter's house, her face slumps forward and beeps the horn briefly. Then, so faintly, we hear a few dogs bark in the background. Not only is the scene itself exquisitely done but it prefigures the ending, as does Gittes' remark earlier to Evelyn that she has a flaw in her iris. The movie is too good to deserve much dissecting. It stands repeated watching. If there is anything wrong with it, it is the serious and tragic ending that Polanski always insists on tacking on. Robert Towne was right and Polanski wrong in this case. Everything came together on this film. It's not only the best detective movie ever made; it's one of the best movies ever made -- period. A marvelous job by everyone concerned.

I have to add (6/27/05) that the word I mentioned in the first sentence is spelled "syzygy." Man, did I get enlightening email on that. I might as well add two other impressive features of this movie. (1) Polanksi takes his time. Example: Gittes sneaks into Hollis Mulwray's office and begins to go through the drawers of his old-fashioned wooden desk. As he slides each drawer out, Polanksi gives us a shot of their humdrum contents (checkbooks, magnifying glass, and so forth) and we can almost smell the heat and the odor of shellac and sawdust emanating from the wooden containers. The contents reveal nothing of importance in this case. But (2) sometimes irrelevant information crops up that resonates later in the film with its own echo. The detail might be just a word ("applecore") or an ordinary object (a pair of spectacles found in a pond, immediately after Gittes imitates the Japanese gardener's remark that the water is bad for the "glass.") Some of the references may be so consistent as to constitute a theme (water). None of this hits you over the head with its significance. It's all very neatly stitched together.

Chinatown is supposedly one of the best films of all time and of the 70s. Maybe it is, but it's not for me. You really need to have a taste for 70s filmmaking and noir to appreciate this in its' fullest. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and always had a tough time praising movies of the 70s.

The movie has plenty of good qualities such as the style, acting, intricate story lines, surprises, dialogue, and mystery. It's a good film, but I couldn't see all the universal praise it gets unless it's from people who grew up in the 60s or 70s.

I fell asleep on consecutive nights while trying to get through it and finally finished it on the third try. While it is interesting and very intriguing, it didn't necessarily "grip" me the way that a mystery/crime drama/thriller would be expected to. The most gripped I was during the whole movie came on my third try to finish it when Nicholson basically domestically abuses Mrs. Mulwray and she reveals something very disturbing. Shocks like this are always riveting, but I was more disturbed than impressed with the reveal. Maybe this was gratifyingly controversial and provocative for 1974? It didn't really work for me.

While the film has classic qualities, without a doubt, by the end, for all the light it had shown at times for me, it sort of dimmed down a few points and I'll settle for a solid 7/10. It's a classic crime drama story and film that I highly recommend for that genre's list of originals, but outside of the hype, which by now appears to be bandwagon, I don't see how it's considered one of the best movies of all time. Good, but not great. 7/10

Chinatown (1974)

Not so much a film noir in style or character, but a period crime drama, set in the familiar 1930s of many noir films, and featuring a noir fixture, the loner detective.

I say this right away because Chinatown is sometimes called the last great film noir. After this point, noir films (or pseudo-noir, whatever your definition) become either thoroughly modern or openly derivative. The term "film noir" has itself loosened up to include almost any moody 1940s-style film with crime in it, which starts lose it's descriptive usefulness.

But Jack Nicholson is, really, a great detective in the Raymond Chandler mode--sassy, fearless on the surface but actually wary and a little scared in the end, playing by his own set of rules, and working mostly alone. As well made as this movie is in many ways, it's Nicholson's physical presence that makes his scenes really work. He's such a natural actor for the camera, hesitating just long enough to demand attention but not so long it becomes affected, he becomes definitive. And that's enough to make Chinatown classic.

The plot, too, is great dramatic stuff. Based in L.A., with lots of night scenes and period interiors, it circles around pretty women and rich men and corrupt politicos and dubious cops. And around water. In a way, this makes the movie prescient, almost--water being no new topic for Los Angeles but increasingly pertinent in the 1970s. Water is also a MacGuffin in the plot, a device we don't care deeply about compared to the interpersonal intrigues, the incest, the murders. All this other stuff keeps the movie, and Nicholson, going, and it's snappy and well done. It isn't exactly brilliant, though, and anyone really looking at the screenplay and following the plot might raise an eyebrow now and then, or question some of the hyperbole around the movie.

It's fun seeing director Roman Polanski appear as a jerky, power-hungry kind of thug, because maybe it fits him (though his friends say otherwise). He has confessed to raping of a young teenager long ago, but I have never heard of him actually apologizing for it. (I know that's supposed to stay outside of the analysis of the movie, and he did do 42 days in jail.) Digging further in, you can maybe see John Huston's role as a little strained (though I love Huston in general, and his presence is meant to let us connect to a previous generation of Hollywood) and Faye Dunawaye, for all her fame, is slightly cold at times, a little decorative. The movie has lots of strong effects this way, and you know that Polanski is a movie lover, and the result taken whole is a kind of bowing down to this kind of crime film from earlier on. And in that sense, every doubt I have for the movie above could be countered with a simple, "It was intended that way." And the clichés and familiar plot twists are part of an homage to the medium.

Which then begs the question--why isn't it filmed with more energy, with less prettiness? It doesn't in fact, adapt to a rigorous, stark, shadowy film noir aesthetic, but instead layers a very well done but slightly 1970s perfect, technically excellent color. Not that it should have been black and white, and not that Farewell My Lovely (filmed the next year in a really vivid, visual, film noir style in color, in L.A.) is the only way to go. But there were options to avoid making it actually too pretty, and too tame.

All of this is relative nitpicking. I go back to Nicholson. If you can focus on his role, his lines, his performance, capital P, you will be mesmerized and impressed, again and again. It is a strong movie, and an interesting one, which is a lot.

Truly deserving of its title as one of the greatest films of all time, Chinatown delivers in spades. Everything about the film shines, and it looks better now than it probably did in 1974; of course, there's a lot of junk in the theaters these days. Acting, cinematography, script, atmosphere, it's all 10s baby. The story of a struggling P.I. getting a case that has more twists and turns than a mountain road is still one of the most crafted storylines ever concocted. Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, John Hillerman, and everyone else deliver superb performances. Robert Towne's script, John A. Alonzo's camerawork, and Polanski's direction all make this a classic. You can't be a movie buff if you haven't seen this one.

Set in late '30s Los Angeles this 1974 film opens with a woman, identifying herself as Evelyn Mulwray, asking private detective Jake Gettes to find out whether her husband, chief engineer of the LA Water and Power Company, is having an affair. He follows him and ultimately photographs him with another woman. Somehow these pictures end up in the papers and he is approached by another woman who it turns out is the real wife of Mulwray... and she intends to sue. He continues to investigate Mulwray and suspects some odd goings on at Water and Power... then Mulwray turns up dead; drowned during a severe drought. His continued investigation brings him closer to the real Evelyn as well as into real danger as he learns the truth about Water and Power's activities which could make some people very rich at the expense of other, poorer, people.

This film may have been made about a quarter of a century after the classic era for film noir but it perfectly captures the feel of those films. It has morally ambiguous characters inhabiting a murky world that contrasts with the bright Los Angeles sunshine. The story has many twists and turns without feeling unnecessarily complex or confusing. The cast does a great job; especially Jack Nicholson who is in every scene so that the viewer doesn't know anything Gettes doesn't know. Faye Dunaway is solid as Evelyn Mulwray and John Huston is suitably menacing as her father; a man standing to make a lot of money with many dark secrets. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to anybody wanting a good mystery or fans of film noir.

Polanksi's 'Chinatown' stands as one of the classics of 1970s American cinema, the last classic period in American cinema. It's a great reminder of how utterly engaging cinema can be without the special effects, flimsy plots and outrageous stunts of many major studio productions now, not evening mentioning the obvious marketing tie-ins.

The cinematography and screenplay could be considered almost economical in its minimalism as it is really the story, script and characters that drive this movie forward.

Chinatown tells the story a detective, confidently played by Jack Nicholson, who gets embroiled in an investigation involving the mysterious murder (suicide?) of the head of the Water Board. During the investigation, he gets involved with Evelyn Mulwray, the wife of the murdered man who appears to want to get to the bottom of the mystery but during the course of the movie demonstrates that she is not telling the whole story and has something to hide.

Everything in this movie works from already mentioned tight editing down to the costumes and sets.

Nuff said!

10/10

While I don't care too much for Roman Polanski's style of direction(maybe I'll grow to like it eventually, maybe not), I can't deny that this is a truly great film. Jack Nicholson really shines through in his role, and his acting in this film perfectly fits the character... his shark smile, his voice, his tone... all of it, perfect. I always thought, when watching films with Nicholson, that he'd make a great lead in a noir film, so when I found this film and discovered that it was indeed noir, I naturally saw it as soon as possible. I found the film to have a slightly slower pace than what I would have preferred or expected, but apart from that minor detail, it was flawless. The plot is great, and thoroughly interesting and involving. The pacing, while not fast all the time, is more than acceptable. There are sequences that are really intense and exciting. The acting is great... like I said earlier, Nicholson shines through and really takes this character and makes him his own. The characters are well-written and credible. The special effects are well-done and still hold up pretty well. The dialog is very well-written and memorable. There are quite a few quotable lines, as well. The cinematography is good, and even when the plot doesn't move a lot, Polanski keeps our interest through interesting angles and sequences. I liked that there was often something subtle going on in the background, while we're focusing on what's directly in front of us. While Polanski certainly doesn't possess the attention to detail that Kubrick does, he manages to put a good bit of detail into many of the shots, and there is fairly little left to coincidence or chance, much like Kubrick. The film has a few twists that are quite good, and they come as surprises... I don't think I really saw them coming, and I doubt anyone would be able to. Of course, some might not find the twists to be that impressive, but the story stands on it's own nicely as well. This is a great movie, which should be seen by just about anyone who can take it(it's more than just casually adult in nature, even though there's not that much violence or sex in it). I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys film noir, watching Jack Nicholson in perfect shape in a role that was tailor-made for him, a good mystery, Roman Polanski's direction and just a good movie with a more adult tone that many others. 10/10

A film about LA and water set in the l930's during a drought with a dark incestuous subplot and some stunning performances by Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson, and superb cinematography that seemed to capture the essence of LA. Directed by Roman Polanski, who makes a terrific cameo appearance as a switchblade wielding heavy, and using the considerable acting talents of John Huston as a ruthless and perverted landowner. Read Cadillac Desert to know about LA's water grab but see Chinatown for its brilliant allegory of water and corruption, both public and private. The direction, the screenplay, the acting, the photography, and the soundtrack combine to make a convincing and atmospheric picture. The crushing ending is just so much more icing on the cake.

Flawless films are hard to come by, so when I see one, the Cinephile Heart of mine gets filled with immeasureable pleasure. Now I realize how much this film inspired the terrific Video game I played 'LA Noire'. Every aspect of this neo noir Detective Thriller is a standout. A Private Investigator gets a mundane case of Extramarital affair which gradually steamrolls into a snake pit of Evil atrocities, with shocking revelations every 10 minutes, and a mindbogglingly grim ending that catapults this film in the midst of the Greatest Thrillers Ever made. Jerry Goldsmith's Iconic Music, Robert Towne's Exemplary Script, Polanski's genius ode to 40's noirs, Nicholson & Faye Dunway's terrific performances, this film is gold standard in every deparment. Every Film Lover has to have this in their To-Watch list.