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Chinatown
1974
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd |
|---|---|
| Director | Roman Polanski |
| Genres | Thriller |
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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 infidelity. When a client posing as the wife of the L.A. water commissioner 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 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, Beulah Quo /, Darrell Zwerling, Denny Arnold, Richard Bakalya |
|---|---|
| Director | Roman Polanski |
| Studio | PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 02 Oct 2000 Production year: 1974 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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Jack Nicholson here gives his best-ever performance, playing a private eye called Jake Gittes, who pokes his nose rather too deeply into the lives of Faye Dunaway and her father, John Huston, a corrupt Los Angeles tycoon. Writer Robert Towne planned a trilogy about LA, and this first part, set in the 1930s, deals with the city's water supply and how that source of life leads to death and profit. The script — the best original work since Citizen Kane — is brilliantly organised, though the ending was changed when Roman Polanski arrived as director: Towne's story never got to Chinatown; Polanski insisted the climax was set there. The result was acrimony behind the scenes and genius on the screen in a masterpiece that repays any number of viewings.
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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
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Most helpful member's review
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31 out of 32 people found this review helpful
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 some otherwise forgettable films. Which would be a shame, as he is an incredibly talented actor, and in more types of roles than some might imagine. One of these roles is that of Jake Gittes in Chinatown, a dour and bleak detective story and probably Polanski's finest film. What seems to be a routine adultery investigation spirals into a wide-reaching conspiracy somehow connected to water supplies, which Gittes uncovers to his cost as his investigation continues. Evocative, brilliantly observed, and made with meticulous attention to detail, the film is a real slow-burner, with Nicholson as it's centre, doggedly searching for the truth as the intrigue deepens. The ending is also justifiably famous - whether you agree with Polanski or not, his downbeat and pessimistic ending certainly has resonance.
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Most recent members' review
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4 out of 5 people found this review helpful
slow burner
OK the perfect example of peoples inability to find anything made pre 1980 anything but 'boring' .. unless 200 people are being decapitated by arnie they just dont get it. This may have been a 74 release but it has its noir roots further back and therefore 'looks' a little older than you'd expect. The quality however cannot be denied by anyone NOT wearing 'I love violence' rose tinted 3D specs. If you love Hitchcock, Welles and the like - this will be right up your street, and although it runs at a fairly slow pace, it pays to pay attention or you may lose the plot and therefore interest
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News and features
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Polanski undergoes medical treatment
- 19 Oct 2009
Director Roman Polanski has been removed from a Swiss prison for medical treatment. The moviemaker, who fled to France in 1978 as he awaited sentencing for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, has been behind bars since he was arrested in Switzerland while attending a film festival in Zurich last month (Sep09). But now the 76 year old has been granted leave from jail to seek treatment for an unknown medical condition, according to his French lawyer. Herve Temime says, "All I know is that he Read more
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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 ...
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