Chinatown (1974)

Directed by

Roman Polanski

Genre

drama film, film noir, mystery film, neo-noir, crime thriller film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 13m

Rated

R

Rating

7.9 of 10 from 4,303 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A private detective in 1930s Los Angeles is hired to investigate a water department official's secret lover. The case pulls him into a web of corruption involving the city's water supply and a powerful family. It asks how far people will go to protect their secrets and their land.

tenseslow-burnmelancholicdarknoir-ishcynicalatmospheric

What happens

Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne. It stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, with supporting performances from John Huston, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, and Diane Ladd. The film's narrative, set in 1930s Los Angeles, is loosely inspired by the California water wars—early 20th-century conflicts over water rights that enabled Los Angeles to access resources from the Owens Valley. Produced by Robert Evans and distributed by Paramount Pictures, Chinatown was Polanski's final film made in the United States. Released on June 20, 1974, the film received widespread critical acclaim for its direction, screenplay, cinematography, and performances—particularly those of Nicholson, Dunaway and Huston. Chinatown led the 47th Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Polanski), Best Actor (Nicholson), and Best Actress (Dunaway), with Towne winning for Best Original Screenplay. At the 32nd Golden Globe Awards, the film won a leading 4 awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Nicholson). It also received a leading 11 nominations at the 28th British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film, and won a leading 3 awards – Best Direction (Polanski) and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nicholson). In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked Chinatown #2 on its list of the top ten mystery films. In 1991, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. A sequel, The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, with Nicholson reprising his role and directing. Towne returned as screenwriter, but the film received mixed reviews and failed to replicate the success of its predecessor. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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