Chinatown
Academy Award × 1·AFI #21·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
What critics thought
Chinatown is nearly universally regarded as a landmark of American cinema — a neo-noir that earns its reputation through the combination of Robert Towne's screenplay, Roman Polanski's direction, and performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The lone dissenting note at the time of release came from Vincent Canby, who found it competent but ultimately cautious rather than genuinely ambitious.
“seems to settle easily beside the original noirs”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“brilliantly shows that money and power are not what's motivating everyone after all”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“many of the scenes in the first half looking almost monochrome or, at best, like hand-tinted postcards”
Cineluxe
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoman Polanski
StarringJack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, Burt Young
ComposerJerry Goldsmith
Chinatown
Academy Award × 1·AFI #21·National Film Registry
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
What critics thought
Chinatown is nearly universally regarded as a landmark of American cinema — a neo-noir that earns its reputation through the combination of Robert Towne's screenplay, Roman Polanski's direction, and performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The lone dissenting note at the time of release came from Vincent Canby, who found it competent but ultimately cautious rather than genuinely ambitious.
“seems to settle easily beside the original noirs”
Roger Ebert·RogerEbert.com
“brilliantly shows that money and power are not what's motivating everyone after all”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“many of the scenes in the first half looking almost monochrome or, at best, like hand-tinted postcards”
Cineluxe
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoman Polanski
StarringJack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, Burt Young
ComposerJerry Goldsmith
Rent/Purchase