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Chinatown Details

1974

70
from 27,469 members

Starring	Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd
Director	Roman Polanski
Genres	Thriller

Chinatown

Director Roman Polanski's neo-noir detective story is set during a heat wave in 1930s Los Angeles, whose residents are suffering from a water shortage as a result of an ongoing drought. Private investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) runs a detective agency specializing in matrimonial strife and infidelity. When a client posing as the wife of the L.A. water commissioner hires him to spy on her husband, who is rumoured to be having an affair with a younger woman, Jake uncovers a plot against the commissioner--but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Yet to emerge are a sex scandal implicating the actual Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), with whom Jake is destined to become more closely acquainted, and a real estate swindle of tremendous proportions devised by her father, powerful tycoon Noah Cross (John Huston), who has a vast network of corrupt city officials and landowners backing him up.
With stellar contributions from Robert Towne, whose script recalls the hard-boiled cynicism of the writings of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett; director of photography John Alonzo; production designer Richard Sylbert; and composer Jerry Goldsmith, CHINATOWN evolved into a complex and superbly crafted period drama that represents Polanski's most critically acclaimed film.

Starring	Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd, Bruce Glover, John Hillerman, James Hong, Roy Jenson, Perry Lopez, Noble Willingham, Burt Young, Joe Mantell, Roy Roberts, Rance Howard, Richard Bakalyan, Jerry Fujikawa, Beulah Quo, Darrell Zwerling, Denny Arnold, Richard Bakalya, Beulah Quo /
Director	Roman Polanski
Studio	PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT (UK)
Run time	DVD: 2 hrs 5 mins
Certificate
Collections	100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers, American Film Institute's top 100
Genres	Thriller
Language	DVD: English
Dubbed	Hebrew, Arabic
Hearing-impaired	English
Subtitles	DVD: English, Polish, Turkish
Released	Production year: 1974 To Rent: DVD: 02 Oct 2000

Critic's review of Chinatown
View all critics' reviews (4)
- Teasing, complex mystery that uses the conventions of detective stories to explore civic and personal corruption, in the style of Raymond Chandler, but adding a more modern perspective. It is eminently watchable, with effective individual scenes and perfo
- 30470
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:41
Most helpful member's review of Chinatown
View all members' reviews (131)
- - 38
  - 1
  Classic Jack
  
  Jack Nicholson is in danger of being remembered as a snarling, gurning, eyebrow-wriggling loon, chewing up scenery and gloriously overacting his way through ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 160
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Stevenage, England
  - 21 Sep 2003 at 15:28
Most recent members' reviews of Chinatown
View all members' reviews (131)
- - 1
  - 0
  Good story.
  
  The storyline keeps us thinking (and then still suprises) till the very end and that, with the crew like Jack Nicholson, makes the movie worth seeing. The ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1065835
- - Olpa
  - 1 review
  - Manchester
  - 22 Nov 2011 at 18:02
- - 0
  - 0
  Slick Nicholson
  
  Slick and atmospheric. Reminds me why I used to love Jack Nicholson - his character combines humour and intensity. Plot develops in a way that isn't too ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1040022
- - a customer
  - 12 Sep 2011 at 22:18
- - 0
  - 0
  Chinatown my Chinatown
  
  Jack Nicholson as a young man. Brilliant film. Excellently produced. Extremely well acted.
  
  In fact, considering the age of this film, it is a living ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1039134
- - Emjay69
  - 320 reviews
  - Kidlington, Oxford
  - 10 Sep 2011 at 16:57
View all members' reviews (131)
News and features
View all
Polanski agreed to pay sex victim £333,300
- 04 Oct 2009
Jailed moviemaker Roman Polanski agreed to pay the girl he had unlawful sex with £333,300 16 years ago, according to newly-released court documents. Papers obtained by the Los Angeles Times newspaper suggest the director agreed to pay Samantha Geimer as part of a civil settlement after she filed suit against him in 1988, accusing the director of sexual assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction. In October 1993, Polanski agreed to pay Geimer Read more
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Rating breakdown

27,469 Member ratings

100	4,404
90	3,474
80	6,426
70	4,909
60	4,007
50	1,901
40	1,052
30	589
20	485
10	222

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- Chinatown
  
  Director Roman Polanski's neo-noir detective story is set during a heat wave in 1930s Los Angeles, whose residents are suffering from a water shortage as a result of an ongoing drought. Private investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) runs a detective agency specializing in matrimonial strife and ...