Chinatown (1974)
Average Rating: 9.3/10
Reviews Counted: 59
Fresh: 58 | Rotten: 1
As bruised and cynical as the decade that produced it, this noir classic benefits from Robert Towne's brilliant screenplay, director Roman Polanski's steady hand, and wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
Average Rating: 8.5/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 1
As bruised and cynical as the decade that produced it, this noir classic benefits from Robert Towne's brilliant screenplay, director Roman Polanski's steady hand, and wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
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Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 69,816
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Movie Info
"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't," warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross's water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Roman Polanski's critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies. In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her
Jan 1, 1974 Wide
Nov 23, 1999
Paramount Pictures
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Cast
-
Jack Nicholson
J.J. Gittes -
Faye Dunaway
Evelyn Mulwray -
John Huston
Noah Cross -
Perry Lopez
Escobar -
John Hillerman
Yelburton -
Diane Ladd
Ida Sessions -
Darrell Zwerling
Hollis Mulwray -
Jim Burk
Farmer in the Valley -
Fritzi Burr
Mulwray's Secretary -
Lee de Broux
Policeman -
Cecil Elliott
Emma Dill -
Jerry Fujikawa
Gardener -
Bruce Glover
Duffy -
Nandu Hinds
Sophie -
John Holland
Farmer in the Valley -
Rance Howard
Irate Farmer -
Paul Jenkins
Policeman -
Roy Jenson
Claude Mulvihill -
Charles Knapp
Mortician -
Joe Mantell
Walsh -
James O'Reare
Lawyer -
Belinda Palmer
Katherine -
Beulah Quo
Maid -
Roy Roberts
Mayor Bagby -
Allan Warnick
Clerk -
Noble Willingham
Councilman -
Burt Young
Curly -
Denny Arnold
Farmer in the Valley -
James Hong
Evelyn's Butler -
Roman Polanski
Man With Knife -
Jesse Vint
Farmer in the Valley -
Elizabeth Harding
Curly's Wife -
Bob Golden
Policeman -
Frederico Roberto
Cross's Butler -
Doc Erickson
Customer -
George Justin
Barber -
Richard Bakalyan
Loach -
Elliott Montgomery
Councilmen -
Claudio Martinez
Boy on Horseback -
John Rogers
Mr. Palmer
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All Critics (59) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (1) | DVD (36)
As much as I admire the work of both Polanski and Nicholson, I found Chinatown tedious from beginning to just before the end.
Roman Polanski's American made film, first since Rosemary's Baby shows him again in total command of talent and physical filmmaking elements.
Polanski's film suggests that the rules of the game are written in some strange, untranslatable language, and that everyone's an alien and, ultimately, a victim.
The hard-boiled private eye coolly strolls a few steps ahead of the audience.
Top CriticIn 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.
A new private-eye melodrama that celebrates not only a time and a place (Los Angeles) but also a kind of criminality that to us jaded souls today appears to be nothing worse than an eccentric form of legitimate private enterprise.
This film is flawless.
Polanski's telling of his tale of corruption in LA is masterly - thrilling, humorous and disturbing at the same time - and brilliantly played by John Huston and Faye Dunaway as well as Nicholson.
See this film as many times as you can. Please.
Unmissable.
Trust Polanski to make disillusionment seductive - rather more luxuriantly so than Billy Wilder ever managed.
You _can't_ forget it. It's CHINATOWN.
Unforgettable.
A neo-noir classic.
one of the great masterworks of '70s American cinema and an apex of the decade's obsession with genre revisionism
Forgetting Chinatown will be exceedingly difficult with this stunning new Blu-ray transfer from Paramount, brimming over with a tidal pool of extras, even if they aren't necessarily new to this edition.
Intrigue and suspense are the order of the day, and nothing is as it appears. Inscrutable, to be sure, and a wonderfully entertaining motion picture.
Great hardboiled detective film. Not for kids.
A landmark blend of acting, directing, structure and design. Chinatown is the greatest detective movie ever made.
Like "Casablanca," "Chinatown" represents a perfect storm of enormous cinema talent coming together under an intoxicating noir setting.
The greatest film of 1970s cinema's golden era (that wasn't made by Martin Scorsese).
This is a never-bettered noir masterpiece.
Audience Reviews for Chinatown
Super Reviewer
Full review at themoviefreakblog.com on 11/24
Super Reviewer
-
- Ida Sessions: Are you alone?
- J.J. Gittes: Isn't everybody?
-
- Walsh: Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.
-
- J.J. Gittes: As little as possible.
-
- J.J. Gittes: To tell you the truth, I lied a little.
-
- Noah Cross: You see, Mister Gittes, most men never have to face the fact that, at the right time, they're capable of... [voice drops to a hoarse whisper] anything.
-
- J.J. Gittes: You're even dumber than you think I think you are.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Another perfect 100% rating bites the dust............ | 4 days ago | 6 |
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Foreign Titles
- Chinatown (DE)
- Chinatown (1974) (CA)
I couldn't latch on to Nicholson's or Dunaway's characters, and as much as I can appreciate this on a technical level, it didn't grab me in any way, nor live up to the promised marvel.