IMDb > Chinatown (1974)
Chinatown
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Chinatown (1974) More at IMDbPro »

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Chinatown (1974) -- A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.
Chinatown (1974) -- Clip: Your husband was murdered
Chinatown (1974) -- A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.
Chinatown (1974) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 77% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Robert Towne (written by)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Chinatown on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 June 1974 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 18 wins & 22 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(135 articles)
Appeal Judges Refuse To Dismiss Polanski Case
 (From WENN. 21 December 2009, 2:01 PM, PST)

Polanski's Ghost Writer to premiere in Berlin
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 16 December 2009, 9:00 AM, PST)

User Comments:
As coolly intense and exceptionally-staged as any detective story/film-noir of the 40's & 50's more (330 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jack Nicholson ... J.J. Gittes

Faye Dunaway ... Evelyn Mulwray

John Huston ... Noah Cross
Perry Lopez ... Escobar
John Hillerman ... Yelburton
Darrell Zwerling ... Hollis Mulwray

Diane Ladd ... Ida Sessions
Roy Jenson ... Mulvihill

Roman Polanski ... Man with Knife
Richard Bakalyan ... Loach (as Dick Bakalyan)
Joe Mantell ... Walsh

Bruce Glover ... Duffy
Nandu Hinds ... Sophie
James O'Rear ... Lawyer

James Hong ... Evelyn's Butler
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Additional Details

Runtime:
131 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Among the items in Ida Sessions' pocketbook, which Jake Gittes rummages through, are a $2 bill and a Screen Actors Guild membership card. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Gittes lights a cigarette while waiting to see Yelburton for the second time. Entering his office, he still takes a puff. But when they shake hands, the cigarette is gone. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Jake Gittes: All right, Curly. Enough's enough. You can't eat the Venetian blinds. I just had them installed on Wednesday.
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Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
The Way You Look Tonight more

FAQ

Is "Chinatown" based on a book?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
What is the meaning of "Chinatown" and the last line of the movie?
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82 out of 120 people found the following comment useful.
As coolly intense and exceptionally-staged as any detective story/film-noir of the 40's & 50's, 17 December 2003
10/10
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

Chinatown is a tremendous collaborative effort that produced one of the most memorable Hollywood pictures of the 1970's. Director Roman Polanski (his last film in America, and the first he made in America after the murder of Sharon Tate), stars Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway, and writer Robert Towne, all come together to create a detective story classic. At times it slows its pace down so the viewer can think along with Nicholson's character, to take in the environment as well as the situation he's in (i.e. when he goes to the empty reservoir, when he visits Noah Crosses house the first time). And the script has the perfect sense of drawing us into a story, fueled by curiosity, grit, and cynicism, and engages the viewer by its realistic dialog between the characters.

J.J. Gittes (Nicholson, in one of his best 70's performances) is in Los Angeles circa 1933 in the line of private investigator, usually dealing with people who may or may not believe that their significant other is having an affair. Evelyn Mulwray feels this may be the case with her husband Hollis, and Gittes decides to take the case. However, this draws him into a deeper case involving the city's loss of water once Hollis- a major player in the water supply controversy in the city- is found murdered. This eventually leads him to Noah Cross (John Huston), a big businessman and who also happens to be Evelyn's father. Intrigue starts to develop, as Jake's own life begins to be at risk.

As a intricate, detailed detective story the film is an above-average work, with Towne's script containing the maturity, and wicked sense of humor, of a James M. Cain or Raymond Chandler novel. When the thrills come they come as being striking. And when humanity and compassion get thrown into the mix, the film reaches a whole other plane of intelligence. The last third of the film could turn off some of the audience (depending on one's own level of belief), but it holds strong thanks to the performances. Nicholson doesn't over-step his bounds in any scene, finding the right notes in suggestive conversations. Dunaway is better than expected (though I'm not sure if it's an great performance). And Huston's Noah Cross is one of the more disturbing villains of that period in movies. Add to it some good cameos (Burt Young as a driver, Polanski playing the little guy in the infamous 'knife' scene), and a smooth soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith, Chinatown comes out as strong piece of movie-making, and arguably one of the greatest in the crime/mystery genre.

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Ask me anything about this movie. darknights01
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John Huston is the creepiest villain ever... Linville56
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