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Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman ... see more see more... , Diane Ladd , Darrell Zwerling , Jim Burk , Fritzi Burr , Lee de Broux , Cecil Elliott , Jerry Fujikawa , Bruce Glover , Nandu Hinds , John Holland , Rance Howard , Paul Jenkins , Roy Jenson , Charles Knapp , Joe Mantell , James O'Reare , Belinda Palmer , Beulah Quo , Roy Roberts , Allan Warnick , Noble Willingham , Burt Young , Denny Arnold , James Hong , Roman Polanski , Jesse Vint , Elizabeth Harding , Bob Golden , Frederico Roberto , Doc Erickson , George Justin , Richard Bakalyan , Elliott Montgomery , Claudio Martinez , John Rogers

"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 ... read more read more...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 husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross. "Forget it, Jake," his old partner tells him. "It's Chinatown." Reworking the somber underpinnings of detective noir along more pessimistic lines, Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne convey a '70s-inflected critique of capitalist and bureaucratic malevolence in a carefully detailed period piece harkening back to the genre's roots in the 1930s and '40s. Gittes always has a smart comeback like Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but the corruption Gittes finds is too deep for one man to stop. Other noir revisions, such as Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975), also centered on the detective's inefficacy in an uncertain '70s world, but Chinatown's period sheen renders this dilemma at once contemporary and timeless, pointing to larger implications about the effects of corporate rapaciousness on individuals. Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown's ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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R, 2 hr. 10 min.

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Release Date: January 1, 1974

Keywords: detective, noir

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DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999

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Stats: 5,235 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,235)

  • cosmo313
    May 15, 2012
    cosmo313
    When I first saw this film, roughly 5-6 years ago or so, I was a film buff, but I wasn't yet at the level I am today. I could appreciate this film, but looking back, I remember not really paying attention, plus, I watched it on TV, so there were commerical breaks and some censors... read morehip issues. Even though I didn't give it my full attention, I still gave it a "Full 5" partially because I felt obligated to, and partically because yeah, it deserves it.

    Well, recently I decided to rewatch it, this time giving it my full attention, having it on DVD, and seeing it having far more knowledge and appreciation of POlanski, the genre, the historical and cinematic contexts (of the story and its creation), and being more mature to fully appreciate things in general.

    I now recall my old review (which was like, a sentence, and not a good one at that), and I disown it. This true is an important and brilliant work of art. It's a great callbakc to classic 30s/40s film noir detective stories, and works as a legitimate entry into that subgenre, though in the "neo-noir" form.

    They had some real guts to make this film when they did, as they did, especially since film noir detective stories were pretty blase by the 1970s, even though a few did crop up. Using actual historical events as the backdrop for the story, this is a tale of a sharp tongued private eye (who specializes in matrimonial cases) that gets caught up in a web of lies, deceit, and treachery, and gets far more than he bargained for, considering that he was initially hired to spy on a guy who is suspectedx of cheating on his wife.

    What we get instead is a multi-layered story that is part mystery, part psychological drama, and part condemnation of those in control of public works who don't use their power and control responsibly. This is a lot to take on, but it's all very intriguing, mesmerizing, and brought to life by Robert Towne's sharp, intelligent, and amazingly cynical screenplay.

    I just love the blend of classic detective story but infused with the attitudes of the era the film was made, but still played straight. This is some dark stuff, and it's not really about what it is initially about, and the title is one of those cases where it is integral to the whole yes, even though it doesn't figure in as much as you might think, kinda like Fargo. Still though, I can see why this film is so lauded. Controversy time though, I do think think this might be somewhat overrated to a degree, and also how weird it is that this film is so loved considering the material and how dark and cynical this all is.

    The performances are of course outstanding, with Nicholson really helping to cement his legacy here, and some fine work from Dunaway, which includes a brief shot of her exposed nipple (not that anyone asked for it). Casting John Huston was a superb touch as well, and if you need to ask why, well, not to be a tool about it, but you probably should brush up on your film history.

    It's not just the performers and script that make this film though. Jerry Goldsmith's score is great, and is alternately beautiful and depressing. Polanski gives some of his best direction here, the cinematography is pitch perfect, and there's all sorts of material here for analysis and discussing, and Lord knows I love me some subtext.

    All in all, yes, despite my slight feelings of this being overrated and somewhat baffled as to why it is so revered, it is one of the best ever. SInce it manages to do that, it gets even more credit in my book for being a real gem.
  • blkbomb
    December 29, 2011
    blkbomb
    Jake Gittes: But, Mrs. Mulwray, I goddamn near lost my nose. And I like it. I like breathing through it. And I still think you're hiding something. 

    Chinatown is a must watch film if you consider yourself a film buff. It is one of those classics that deserves all the praise it h... read moreas gotten. Everything that makes a film great is at work here. There's a great director, Roman Polanski, who knows when to be patient with a story, but also knows when to pick up the pace a little bit. There's a great performance from both the leading actor, Jack Nicholson, and the leading actress, Faye Dunaway. The plot is engaging and at times suspenseful. This is one of the best detective stories you can watch.

    Jack Nicholson plays Jake, a private detective. One day a woman comes into his office and tells him she wants him to investigate her husband because she thinks he is having an affair. Her husband just happens to be the builder of Los Angeles' water supply system, and Los Angeles is in the middle of a bad drought. Well it turns out that the person who hired him wasn't actually the wife, and was hired to do it. After Hollis is killed, Jake begins to think there is something more going on than what meets the eye.

    Before watching this I had a belief that I wouldn't like it as much as I do Rosemary's Baby; Roman Polanski's horror masterpiece, despite this being considered Polanski's best. After watching Chinatown, I must say, I still like Rosemary's Baby more. That isn't a nock on this film at all. It just goes to show how great Polanski is. Think what you want of him, but when it comes to making movies, he is a genius. I loved his cameo in the film too.

    Chinatown is an amazing story of corruption and a great noir. Nicholson gives a tremendous performance, as he always did. Faye Dunaway is absolutely gorgeous and has a great screen presence. Nicholson and Dunaway have amazing chemistry when on the screen together. They make the movie worth watching just to see them together. Everything else(Polanski, wonderful cinematography, and a great score) are gravy.

    Walsh: Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. 
  • fb100002384654145
    October 29, 2011
    fb100002384654145
    Fantastic film, the mystery is intriguing and the suspense is killer. Jack Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career.
  • fb1664868775
    October 21, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Film Noir gets a proper update in color. Perfect.
  • TheGame90
    September 18, 2011
    TheGame90
    This was entertaining..And a nice journey. But I think it's a little overrated. Don't understand how this movie can please so many people even though I liked it. Nicholson is great as allways...And once again...It was fun to see Polanski in action. There's just someting entertain... read moreing about seeing him. And I don't think anbody can blame the ending for being predictable.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 12, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    One of the greatest films ever made, plain and simple. From the tight, solid script to the cast to the direction to every single detail you could think of.
  • fb732260458
    May 22, 2011
    fb732260458
    This classic film noir has no happy ending, no satisfying conclusion... yet it is that same characteristic that makes this somber 1930's period piece so intriguing and timeless - commenting on capitalist and bureaucratic corruption in our nation while exposing the bruised and oft... read moreen flawed relationships formed by it. Roman Polanski delivers a fantastic detective-crime film and Jack Nicholson gives a stellar performance.
  • paulsandberg
    April 5, 2011
    paulsandberg
    It has been a good 20 years since I have seen Chinatown, and since I had recently viewed another Polanski film, decided that this would be a good time for another view.

    Since I already know the story inside and out, this viewing allowed me to concentrate on the texture and pac... read moreing of the film as well as some of the quirky bit characters along the way. Here we have a 70's film taking place in 30's LA that perfectly mimics the noir film style of that era, from the shadows and lighting that have an almost black and white feel, to its treatment of women and Asians. The climactic scene in which the big secret is finally revealed is almost laughable in an off-putting kind of way, and yet somehow Polanski walks the fine line making it a statement of the times (for those unaware, it involves a man slapping a woman).

    I'm not going to reveal anything of the story, just mention that it is a mystery wrapped in another mystery, where the motivating factors are quite original and the topic revolutionary for its time (early 70's). Polanski simply follows Nicholson as he follows the clues in a case that lead him into a Byzantine maze of deception that only vaguely relates to the case he was hired for.

    Nicholson is superb as the gumshoe detective Jake - a former LA cop who is running a moderately successful PI firm (specializing in recording infidelities). While working a case he runs across the wife of an important government official, wonderfully portrayed as a chilly, detached, somehow damaged doll by Faye Dunaway. John Huston aptly plays her father; a rich man of the kind of moral ambiguity that suits a man who can buy whatever he desires.

    Along the way we encounter a stereotypical Chinaman gardener, all bows and broken English; the female denizens of an old folk's home; a quirky group of cowboy ranchers (in an odd, odd scene that I frankly thought served no purpose); Nicholson's hard boiled ex partner who is now a police lieutenant, and various cliché heavies, including Polanski himself as a knife wielding thug (amusing since Polanski's first film was called Knife In The Water).

    The ending is very melodramatic, yet true to the noir 30's feel, so even though you may role your eyes at what you are viewing, complete with the tag line "forget it Jake, it's just Chinatown", you can appreciate the artistry - the way that last bit was filmed and how every thread of the plot comes together in a very disturbing way. As the crowd of Asians flock towards Dunaway's car like moths drawn to a flame, you get a hint of the underlying message of the script - we are all, in one way or another, uprooted, displaced aliens making our way in this hostile environment called life.
  • ajv2688
    January 1, 2011
    ajv2688
    Polanski's classic thriller is absolutely brilliant, I love it. It's his best film, so if you like his work you need to see it. It's like a modern film noir!
  • TomBowler
    December 31, 2010
    TomBowler
    The greatest private-eye film ever. Full review later.

View All Chinatown Reviews

Critic Reviews

A.D. Murphy
March 27, 2009
A.D. Murphy, Variety

Roman Polanski's American made film, first since Rosemary's Baby shows him again in total command of talent and physical filmmaking elements. Full Review

Don Druker
March 27, 2009
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

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. Full Review

Jessica Winter
August 5, 2003
Jessica Winter, Village Voice

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 w... Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

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 ...

James Berardinelli
February 24, 2002
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

It takes a Herculean effort to transform this type into a character and to replace the formula with a story, and Chinatown's success in both of these regards is one of the reasons it is universally vi... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

[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. Full Review

James Kendrick
April 4, 2012
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

one of the great masterworks of '70s American cinema and an apex of the decade's obsession with genre revisionism Full Review

John J. Puccio
March 24, 2012
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

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. Full Review

Kelly Kessler
January 2, 2011
Kelly Kessler, Common Sense Media

Great hardboiled detective film. Not for kids. Full Review

Chris Laverty
October 19, 2009
Chris Laverty, Clothes on Film

A landmark blend of acting, directing, structure and design. Chinatown is the greatest detective movie ever made. Full Review

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    • Noah Cross: The future Mr Gittes, the future.
    • J.J. Gittes: Hey Clyde, where'd you get the midget?
    • J.J. Gittes: I know, bad for the glass.
    • Evelyn Mulwray: She's my sister and my daughter!
    • Noah Cross: Mr. Gittes your dealing with a disturbed woman how just lost her husband I don't want her to be taken advantage of.
    • J.J. Gittes: Where were you when your husband died. you were seeing someone to... for very long.
    • Evelyn Mulwray: I don't see anyone for very long mr. Gittes it's difficult me.
    • Walsh: Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
    • Noah Cross: You've got a nasty reputation, Mr. Gittes. I like that.
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Chinatown Trivia

  • In what movie did Kurt Russell go deep into Chinatown to rescue his friend's fiance from the clutches of the evil Lo Pan?  Answer »
  • Which director links the movies "Rosemary's Baby", "Repulsion", "The Ninth Gate", "Oliver Twist" and "Chinatown"?  Answer »
  • In what movie did Jack Nicholson get his nose cut open?  Answer »
  • In GREMLINS, what were GIZMO'S last words as Mr. Peltzer was getting ready to take him back to chinatown?  Answer »
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