X
- 1974
- R
- 2 h 10 m
- 1974
- R
- 2 h 10 m
Summary Jack Nicholson is private-eye Jake Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extramarital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come cras...
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Robert Towne, Roman Polanski
- 1974
- R
- 2 h 10 m
- 1974
- R
- 2 h 10 m
Chinatown
8.6
Where to Watch
Summary Jack Nicholson is private-eye Jake Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extramarital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come cras...
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Robert Towne, Roman Polanski
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
92
100% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
92
100% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It's my favorite movie...Chinatown is a complex reminder of how movies were made when filmmakers held the cards - before product placement, marketers, and agents assumed control of the business. Before movies had to be sold to studios on the basis of zippy one-liners. I dare say that the movie wouldn't stand a chance of getting the green light today unless Julia Roberts was interested in playing Jane Gittes. [5 Nov 1999, p.D5]
The dialogue is crackling ("Are you alone?" – "Isn't everyone?") and the set pieces, like the one in the antisemitic old people's home, are just superb. Polanski brilliantly shows that money and power are not what's motivating everyone after all. There's a lower stratum of sexual dysfunction and fear at work, which is difficult, if not impossible to understand:: the ultimate meaning of the chaotic "Chinatown" of the title. Unmissable.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 377 User Ratings
8.6
91% Positive
344 Ratings
344 Ratings
5% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
3% Negative
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 377 User Ratings
8.6
91% Positive
344 Ratings
344 Ratings
5% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
3% Negative
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
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
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The exhaustive, labyrinthine narrative is built up like a fortress around this film’s bitter heart.
[Nicholson's] performance is key in keeping Chinatown from becoming just a genre crime picture--that, and a Robert Towne screenplay that evokes an older Los Angeles, a small city in a large desert.
In 1974 a director, a screenwriter, and a producer (Robert Evans, who for once deserves a few of the plaudits he's apportioned himself) could decide to beat a genre senseless and then dump it in the wilds of Greek tragedy. [Review of August 8, 2003 re-release]
As much as I admire the work of both (Roman) Polanski and (Jack) Nicholson, I found Chinatown tedious from beginning to just before the end. [15 July 1974]
Need I say it? A near perfect film, from a nearly evil human being. One of the best ever.
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Polanski & Nicholson's Finest Work. A Top 20 Greatest Film
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 a must-see film.
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Chinatown, the 1974 classic, grows in power and refuses to fade from mind. I recall seeing it in its first release, walking out of the theatre feeling clubbed into fascination and endless admiration. How does a movie like this get made at all, let alone with such care and intellectual complexity? In an era of thrilling film after thrilling film, would Chinatown soon be overtaken by the next New Wave filmmaker? Coppola, Scorsese, DePalma, Bogdanovich and on and on? Who/what could challenge the Towne/Polanski/Evans trifecta? All these years later, coming on to 50, the answer is none of the above. Which isn't to say that each of the New Hollywood boys isn't assured a front row seat in the period's filmography - but Chinatown lasts and gnaws more deeply as time passes. This is a film that drew the best of the very best, together, collaborating in an profession that rarely allowed passion to subvert the bottom line. And it sold tickets, too, the postscript to an era already struggling against the corporate greed and banality that would extinguish the fire of imagination.
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Polar des années 30 à Los Angeles qui se complique assez vite -enfin, façon de parler vu que le film entier est une énorme limace- Chinatown brille comme le soleil étouffant de son climat et de son intrigue tout aussi étouffante grâce à Faye Dunaway et Jack Nicholson, tous deux excellents.
Film noir donc dont l'ambiance autour des magouilles des puissants débouche sur une révélation scabreuse comme si le scénariste avait reçu un coup sur la tête (une insolation sans doute). On y croit pas et même en tant que caricature (d'un goût douteux !), l'effet comique est des plus ratés.
A la fois languissant et finalement grotesque, Chinatown s'avère en conséquence de quoi un fort mauvais polar que même ses acteurs ne parviennent pas à sauver. Victime de sa prétention, de son maniérisme et de son infinie lenteur, le film de Polanski est un gâchis des plus regrettables.
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 11 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 4 Wins & 7 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 3 Wins & 11 Nominations
