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Chinatown
on DVD (1974)
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| 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 |
| Director: |
Roman Polanski |
| Studio: |
PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time: |
125 mins |
| Certificate: |
 |
| Collections: |
100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers |
| User collections: |
My DVD's, An eclectic list of goodies in alphabetical order, 10 Great Detective Films, Movies That Make You Realise There's More To Life Than The ****ing Bourne Supremacy, Films You Should Watch..., 20 of the most important films you will ever see., David Baldacci's Favourite Movies, Stuff I like that you might like too.., 20 Films to See before...You're too Old, Movies to watch alone! |
| Genres: |
Thriller |
| Languages: |
English |
| Dubbed: |
French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish |
| Hearing-impaired: |
English |
| Subtitles: |
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released: |
02/10/2000
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| Also Available on: |
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Brief synopsis of 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.
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Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
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.
Halliwell's Film Guide
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
Time Out
The hard-boiled private eye coolly strolls a few steps ahead of the audience. The slapstick detective gets everything...
Read more on www.timeout.com
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