The private detective film is
about J.J. Gittes, an investigator who takes on an adultery case. While snooping
around, Gittes uncovers a grander scheme of murder that has something to do
with water.
Chinatown is writer-director Roman Polanski’s
greatest film – his career highlights include: Repulsion, Rosemary’s
Baby, The Tenant, Frantic,
and The
Pianist. Polanski works with a wonderful group on the film including
composer Jerry Goldsmith
(whose score is perfect for the tone), cinematographer John Alonzo, and production designer
Richard Sylbert (who worked
on many of the best films of New Hollywood, including: Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The
Graduate, and Rosemary’s Baby).
The film stars Jack Nicholson,
who gives one of his best performances (maybe only second to One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and co-stars Faye Dunaway and John Huston.
Chinatown was made after the boom
of great film noir detective films of the 1940s and 1950s, but still carries
many of the genre’s attributes – albeit with a modern aesthetic (which is one
of the things that make the film great). It is on IMDb’s top 250, the 2012
Critics’ Poll Top 250, and AFI’s Top 100 films of all-time list, and yet it
only won one Oscar (despite being nominated for eleven, including Best
Picture). It is a must-see for fans of detective mysteries and those looking to
be acquainted with the best films ever made.
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