Chinatown (1974)

Director: Roman Polanski  Starring: Faye Dunaway  Jack Nicholson  
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Format: DVD
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Chinatown
$13.58
Product Summary
Publisher: Paramount
Format: DVD
UPC: 00097360729849
Buy.com Sku: 211480938
Item#: V2XLF9
Buy.com Sales Rank: 25216
Category Keywords: Blackmail  Character Study  Classic  Classic Fight Scenes  Corruption  Deception  Detectives  Disturbing  Essential Cinema  Film Noir  Mystery  Nostalgic  Recommended  Scams And Cons  Theatrical Release  Thriller  Tragedy 
Rating: 
 
 
Features: DVD
 


Editor's Note

Many films from the 1970s allow even the most gripping narratives to flow with the consequences of real life. CHINATOWN is a classic film whose intrigues and adventures culminate in life-changing moments for its protagonist, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson).

Director Roman Polanski's classic neo-noir detective story is set during a heat wave in 1930s Los Angeles, where residents suffer from a water shortage due to an ongoing drought. With stellar contributions from composer Jerry Goldsmith and screenwriter Robert Towne, whose script recalls the hard-boiled cynicism of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, CHINATOWN is a complex and superbly crafted period drama that has become Polanski's most critically acclaimed film. Private investigator Gittes runs a sleazy detective agency. When a client (Diane Ladd) hires him to spy on her "husband," who is rumored to be having an affair with a younger woman, Jake uncovers a plot against the man--but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Still to emerge are a sex scandal implicating the real wife (Faye Dunaway), with whom Jake is destined to become more closely acquainted, and a real estate swindle of tremendous proportions devised by her tycoon father (John Huston), backed up by a vast network of corrupt city officials and landowners who make life hell for the private eye.

This story crystallizes the impact of a chance meeting with the romantic ideals of the early 1970s, when the American urban landscape and economic power structures were in flux.

 

Features
Region 1
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish


 
Technical Info

Release Information
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 10/6/2009
Running Time: 130 minutes
Original Release Date: 1974
UPC: 00097360729849
Number of Discs: 2

Audio & Video
Video: Color

 
Cast & Crew
John Huston
Joe Mantell
James Hong
Faye Dunaway
Rance Howard
John Hillerman
Noble Willingham
Richard Bakalyan
Jerry Fujikawa
Roy Jenson
Beulah Quo
Perry Lopez
Darrell Zwerling
Jack Nicholson
Roy Roberts
Bruce Glover
Burt Young
Diane Ladd
Robert Towne - Screenwriter
Richard Sylbert - Production Designer
John A. Alonzo - Director of Photography
Anthea Sylbert - Costume Designer
Robert Evans - Producer
Roman Polanski - Cameo
Jerry Goldsmith - Composer
Sam O'Steen - Editor
Roman Polanski - Director

 
Awards

Academy Awards (1974)
Robert Towne, Winner, Best Original Screenplay

 
Memorable Quotes
"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."----Walsh (Joe Mantell) to Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson)

"It looks like half the city is trying to cover it all up, which is fine with me. But Mrs. Mulwray, I...near lost my nose! And I like it. I like breathing through it. And I still think you're hiding something."----Jake Gittes to Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway)

"I'm just a snoop."----Jake Gittes


 
Professional Reviews
Sight and Sound
"...[Polanski] handles the mechanics of the plot with a ruthless brilliance that is immediately involving..." 09/01/1974 p.243

Entertainment Weekly
"...Incomparable..." 05/29/1998 p.83

Chicago Sun-Times
"...Like most noir stories, CHINATOWN ends in a flurry of revelation....For Nicholson, the role had enormous importance..." 02/06/2000 p.5

Total Film
"...A film noir masterpiece that never stops screwing with your head..." 07/01/2000 p.102

Premiere
"Faye Dunaway quivers, John Huston looms, but Nicholson's Gittes seems untouchable inside..." 04/01/2004 p.65-6

Uncut
"[T]he director's dark wit questions the conventions of noir, and exhales stylish seediness." 09/01/2004 p.135

Empire
5 stars out of 5 -- "Jack Nicholson lends J.J. Gittes nervy sharpness, and John Huston fills villainous Noah Cross with menace..." 12/01/2007 p.224

  
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