Chinatown Reviews

No scratch that. Chinatown is actually my personal favourite of Roman Polanski's movies. It is a wonderful movie, as well as an affectionate and inspired homage to film noir, with a lot to love about it.

Roman Polanski's direction is superb. He always directs with such precision in this movie and it shows loud and clear.


The production values are terrific. Chinatown does look ravishing, the costumes, detail, scenery and cinematography are all exemplary.


I am a big Jerry Goldsmith fan, since seeing The Wind and the Lion and hearing his amazing score for that. His music score up here is up there with his best, it doesn't feel hackneyed or generic in any way, it really shows a master at work.


The script is brilliantly organised. In fact along with Casablanca, Shawshank Redemption and All About Eve I think Chinatown has one of the best screenplays ever written.


The story is never less than compelling. It is a wonderful story thet has just the right amount of intensity without being too convoluted and paced really well.


The acting I also can't fault. Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances and he is terrifically supported by a ravishingly beautiful Faye Dunnaway and a truly terrific John Huston.


Overall, a wonderful movie and one of the best of the 70s. 10/10 Bethany Cox

No scratch that. Chinatown is actually my personal favourite of Roman Polanski's movies. It is a wonderful movie, as well as an affectionate and inspired homage to film noir, with a lot to love about it.

Roman Polanski's direction is superb. He always directs with such precision in this movie and it shows loud and clear.


The production values are terrific. Chinatown does look ravishing, the costumes, detail, scenery and cinematography are all exemplary.


I am a big Jerry Goldsmith fan, since seeing The Wind and the Lion and hearing his amazing score for that. His music score up here is up there with his best, it doesn't feel hackneyed or generic in any way, it really shows a master at work.


The script is brilliantly organised. In fact along with Casablanca, Shawshank Redemption and All About Eve I think Chinatown has one of the best screenplays ever written.


The story is never less than compelling. It is a wonderful story thet has just the right amount of intensity without being too convoluted and paced really well.


The acting I also can't fault. Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances and he is terrifically supported by a ravishingly beautiful Faye Dunnaway and a truly terrific John Huston.


Overall, a wonderful movie and one of the best of the 70s. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Of course, I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, it is probably Roman Polanski's most famous movie and, I think it completely deserves its stellar reputation. Indeed, it is basically a great mix of a traditional neo-noir feature with Polanski's dark and twisted directing style. I have to admit that the plot tends to be a little bit murky so it is definitely a movie that you can easily watch a couple of times just to fully understand all the details and what the hell is actually going on. Anyway, the murkiness of the plot was actually something really inherent to genre and I really enjoyed the fact that none of the characters were really good as they all seemed to be pretty messed up, something recurrent in Polanski's work. This movie is also one of the many classics starring Jack Nicholson and he was just great in this. Eventually, it would be the last picture Polanski made in the US as he had to fled the country following the neverending drama involved in his personal life. It's such a pity because, back then, he was one of the most successful and highly regarded movie directors in the world. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it is really a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

One of the best detective films I have ever seen! Amazing acting, breathtaking cinematography, and noir-inspired acting.

...At the start of this I called Chinatown "the best of the neo-noirs," but I have a hard time thinking of it as such. Neo-noir generally works as a broad homage to classic noir; the best certainly work as their own films, but consider Sin City, Blade Runner and the entire filmography of the Coen brothers. All of them draw clear influences--and most downright reference, movies like The Third Man and Double Indemnity. Chinatown, however, works completely as its own film, and I believe it belongs on the list of the classics.

Rodada en EE.UU. supone, quizás por ello, la primera incursión de Polanski en el género del Cine Negro.

Película atípica, hasta desconcertante, en la carrera del director polaco, pasaría perfectamente por catalogarse de auténtico Thriller americano, jalonado por algún que otro golpe del característico humor negro de su realizador.

Trabajada con intensidad -pero no carente de una inusual sobriedad de exposición en el cine de Polanski- la película es una muy digna muestra de policial moderno que también tiene en sus famosos protagonistas (incluída una breve pero excelente aparición del propio John Huston) una de sus principales bazas de interés.

(1/5/1987)

-Crítica Nº 16-

''Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.''

A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.

Jack Nicholson: J.J. Gittes

What is Chinatown? Simply put; An unrivaled and perfect thinking man's film noir that completely surpasses all expectations.
Chinatown(1974) is a tremendous collaborative effort that produced one of the most memorable Hollywood films of the 70s. Director Roman Polanski (his last film in America, and the first he made in America after the murder of Sharon Tate), stars Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway, and writer Robert Towne, all come together to create a detective story classic. At times it slows its pace down so the viewer can think along with Nicholson's character, to take in the environment as well as the situation he's in. The script has the perfect sense of luring us into a story, fueled by curiosity, grit, and cynicism, and engages the viewer by its realistic dialog between the characters.



J.J. Gittes (Nicholson, in one of his best 70's performances) is in Los Angeles circa 1933 in the line of private investigator, usually dealing with people who may or may not believe that their significant other is having an affair. Evelyn Mulwray feels this may be the case with her husband Hollis, and Gittes decides to take the case. However, this draws him into a deeper case involving the city's loss of water once Hollis - a major player in the water supply controversy in the city - is found murdered. This eventually leads him to Noah Cross (John Huston), a big businessman and who also happens to be Evelyn's father. Intrigue starts to develop, as Jake's own life begins to be at risk.

Interestingly enough Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski were notorious for their on-set arguments; during filming, Polanski pulled out some strands of Dunaway's hair.
Also cinematographer Stanley Cortez was fired soon after production began because his classical style did not match the naturalistic style Polanski wanted for the film and proved too time consuming. Polanski had to find a replacement in only a few days and chose John A. Alonzo. As David Fincher and Robert Towne describe on their DVD commentary, two scenes shot by Cortez are in the film. The orange grove fight with the farmers (but not the following porch scene with Evelyn) and the drive back to Los Angeles at sunset are Cortez's work.
The original script was over 300 pages which still provides an insight to the details and intricacies on offer in the finalized scripting.
Another amusing on-set occurrence involving Roman Polanski and Jack Nicholson in a heated argument resulting in Polanski smashing Nicholson's portable TV with a mop. Nicholson used the TV to watch L.A. Lakers basketball games and kept stalling shooting.

As a intricate, detailed detective story the film is an above-average work, with Towne's script containing the maturity, and wicked sense of humour, of a James M. Cain or Raymond Chandler novel. When the thrills come they come as being striking and bold. When humanity and compassion become thrown into the concoction, the film reaches a whole other dimension of intelligence. The last third of the film could deter some audiences with the stories leanings, but it holds strong thanks to the performances. Nicholson doesn't over-step his bounds in any scene, finding the right notes in suggestive conversations. Dunaway is better than expected (though I'm not sure if it's an great performance).
Huston's Noah Cross is one of the more disturbing villains of that period in movies. Add to it some good cameos (Burt Young as a driver, Polanski playing the little guy in the infamous knife scene), and a smooth soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, Chinatown comes out as strong piece of movie-making, and arguably one of the greatest in the crime/mystery genre.
The movie's line "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown!" was voted as the 71st of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
Also in 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the 21st Greatest Movie of All Time.

''What happened to your nose, Gittes? Somebody slammed a bedroom window on it?''

''Nope. Your wife got excited. She crossed her legs a little too quick. You understand what I mean, pal?''

Jack Nicholson's only role as a detective in a "modern" noir film that doesn't try to be anything else other than a modern take of a noir film. It is because of this, that the 1970's sensibilities that are just a natural result of being a film of this era, along with it's "twisted" twist ending, that Chinatown comes off as being a work more layered & "edgy" than a standard mystery film. Which ends up giving this movie a much more distinctual feel that surpasses the genre in which it respectfully tries to remain faithful to.
And when you think about it, aren't those the type of qualities that usually make a classic film a classic?

"You're dumber than you think I think you are."

This Roman Polanski effort is a true classic movie; Chinatown is an excellent, stylish, fascinating and gripping thriller that is based on the novel by Robert Towne.

Cleverly, the film has been made in a very 1940's style - the acting, the score, even the credits. Suffice to say, the plot is a lot more complex than anything one would have seen in a movie released during the 40s.

There isn't much I can reveal about the plot without the spoiling the whole thing, but I will try to write a brief outline. Jake Gittes (Nicholson) is a former policeman from Chinatown who is now a highly successful private investigator. A woman comes to him with a suspected case of marriage infidelity. While this seems like a very open-and-shut case of simple surveillance, Jake gets himself mixed up in one massive mystery that he struggles to uncover.

In tradition with many films of this style, the certain style is what makes it so brilliant. And the screenplay is what makes the movie work. That, and the actors.

Without work from Nicholson or Dunaway the film would have sunk without a trace. Jack Nicholson is absolutely exceptional here. His performance is just spot on, and displays such depth. Likewise with Faye Dunaway whose performance is just sublime.

And Polanski's direction...well, despite his personal life being a mess and being a wanted fugitive, he is one damn fine director! He crafted this stylish cinema noir exceptionally well.

Certainly I think the film is a tad overrated and the ruckus may be a bit hyperbolic, but nevertheless I found Chinatown to be a true classic. Driven by a fascinating screenplay and great performances, this is one not to miss!