Chinatown

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Film
Review: The others who review or will review this film will cover most everything, so there isn't much left to say but to repeat (or pre-repeat "huh?") that it's a great film.
Jack is right up there with Bogart, Powell, Mitchum or any other actor or actress who ever played a gumshoe.
The cast is great, the production is great, the music is great. This might have been the best film to be seen from director Roman Polanski and it might have been one of the best scripts from writer Robert Towne. (It has been said that this is part one of his trilogy. Well we've seen one which was great, two which was boring, will we ever see three?)
But sort of on the down side is some of the editing which at times can be really nasty. There are also some wooden deliveries but right after you encounter something like that you get to see a great scene from classic film, so you really can't lose!
So I guess all in all the word for it still has to be GREAT!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie - so-so DVD
Review: The picture and sound are decent, but this disc lacks the extras that might make it great. Chinatown's legendary screenplay by Robert Towne was brought to life by director Roman Polanski and producer Robert Evans, all of them feuding famously. The script went through several different drafts, with radically different endings. It would be nice to have the screenplays included and Towne or Polanski (or even Jack Nicholson) talk about all the behind-the-scenes harangues. The mild interviews we do get are worthless. But that's just me wishing out loud. If MGM's DVD production people where here they'd tell me: "Forget it John, it's 'Chinatown.'"

Rating:
Summary: My personal favorite movie
Review: Chinatown is a must see because it renewed interest in the film noir genre, and because it provides reference for a number of other movies that followed it. In 1974 this classy, elegantly filmed movie with the evocative soundtrack really stood out. It also stands as Jack Nicholson's finest work. The movie manages to stay just this side of caricature. Scenes recalled out of context ("Hey kitty..." and "My sister..my daughter") can conjure up a laugh, but when viewed in sequence with the rest of the movie they are simply horrifying.
Jack Nicholson was born to play the satyr with a scorched soul, JJ Gittes. His leering smile and the way he flicks his cigarette tell you all you need to know about how JJ Gittes wants to be perceived. Just how damaged he is gets revealed during the course of the story. Faye Dunaway almost overplays the Evelyn Mulwray character but once again, it is appropriate for the character once you have seen the whole movie and know what happened to her.

Interestingly, JJ Gittes goes through the whole movie on various wrong tracks. The penny doesn't drop until Evelyn Mulwray off-handedly states that "Hollis didn't wear bi-focals". John Huston's congenial evil is chillingly revealed by this simple statement.
Finally, pay special attention to the sister/daughter scene. When what happened is revealed to Jake, does Evelyn admit to complicity? Opinions in this household vary. The movie is not significantly changed by either interpretation, but the character shadings could shift in your mind.
The movie needs to be seen a couple of times for the complicated plot to sink it. Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: "CHINATOWN" IS ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES IN THE FILM-NOIR GENRE
Review: "Chinatown" is a film packed of mystery, plot twists, suspense, incredible revelations, great performances, great direction, great storytelling, great...well, in few words, everything is great. Jack Nicholson (as J.J. Gites) delivers one of his best performances, perhaps second only to his performance in "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest". Faye Dunaway is also pretty good as Evelyn Mulwray, and John Huston delivers an incredible performance as the corrupt water baron Noah Cross.

The screenplay in "Chinatown" is amazing, you just can't stop watching this great movie, simply because you don't want to miss a single detail. Hollywood doesn't make films as good as "Chinatown" no more.

However, the DVD extras are mediocre, there is a standard interview, a boring trailer that doesn't reflect the true essence of the movie. But the wide-screen presentation of the film is really the reason to get the DVD, "Chinatown" is a must-have for any movie fan collection.

Absolutely Reccomendable.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best films ever
Review: I had the pleasure of watching this film one shot at a time during the Virginia Film Festival. It was a 3-part lecture series with Roger Ebert in the audience to lead discussions and answer some of our questions. It was a great way to watch this particular film -- in the dark with a room full of strangers yelling "stop" every time something interesting pops up. Nearly every frame of this movie would work as a photograph worthy of hanging in your living room. Aside from this movie's unforgettable visual elements (and some of those frames we stopped on are now ingrained in my brain), Chinatown has one of the most compelling and original plotlines of any serious drama I've ever seen. Too bad the dramatic climax has been parodied so much in the last couple decades...

Anyhoo, if you liked this, you should probably check out Polanski's new one, "The Pianist." If theres one thing this man knows it's trauma. Polanski reminds us that life ain't always a walk in the park...

Rating:
Summary: Well made, but somewhat dry
Review: Jack Nicholson stars in this film as Jake. Roman Polanski directed this film to a Best Picture nomination. Jake is a private investigator who is hired to find out if the head of the LA Water District is cheating on his wife. This simple job leads to a full blown investigation into murder, cover up, family secrets, missing person, and more in a twisted scandal.

The story is complex so you need to pay attention at all times. There are a lot of twists, and we only slowly discover things as we follow Jake throughout the film investigating. Two scandals are investigated side by side: a personal family one, and a water business one. This film has a lot of film noir characteristics, so if your a fan of noir, mystery, investigations, scandal, that type of stuff you will love this film. The film is a mix of suspense, romance, and detective work. For some it may be a bit too demanding, and somewhat slow. Also I feel the whole scandal could have a been a bit more interesting, but in all it is well thought out, and put together. Besides that, the acting, directing and script are all very good. 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Chinatown is a Classic.
Review: Chinatown is one of the great movies of the 20th century. If you need to know why, read some of the more expansive reviews on this page. Otherwise, just buy it and treasure it. Film doesn't get any better than this.

Rating:
Summary: ChinaTown!
Review: Great psychological thriller/drama based on a multi-layered scandal. Nicholson is at the top of his game as J.J. Gittes {"In this town I'm the leper with the most fingers."}; vs. John Huston as the irredeemable Noah Cross.

Trivia: Roman Polanski, the director, has a small speaking role. Who is he?

Rating:
Summary: An Unquestionable Masterpiece
Review: Polanski's CHINATOWN easily makes my Top 5. A complex, mysterious, and brooding movie, it is impeccably flimed in-period and is really the penultimate of film noir. Each character is an odd mixture of ambiguous qualities: reprehensible, charismatic, trite, mysterious, empathic, craven. John Huston plays what is easily one of the most compelling and evil roles ever put on film. Faye Dunaway is magnetic as both the remote ice queen of wealth and the vulnerable beauty whom Nicholson's PI is understandably drawn to. An absolutely marvelous film, it will leave you feeling emotionally wrought by its end.

Rating:
Summary: Polanski at his best
Review: 'Chinatown' is, without a doubt, the best of Polanski's films This is an exceptionally well-crafted film with so many layers, and subplots happening that you must watch this film from beginning to end with no interruptions.
Jack Nicholson stars as Jake Gittes, a private detective whose main specialty is spying on straying spouses. His services are retained by a wealthy woman by the name of Evelyn Mulwray who suspects that her husband is being unfaithful to her. What should be a simple case of finding out whether Mr Mulwray is being unfaithful or not begins to resemble an English maze in which Jake finds himself getting deeper and deeper in the middle of. He begins to uncover a labyrinth of corruption and lies, to a point where Jake has trouble distinguishing his friends from his foes.
It also becomes apparent that Evelyn has her own agenda, and that she may be using Jake. But for what purpose is not initially known, but as the plot progresses Jake comes to realise how little he really knows about Chinatown.
This film's intriguing title is actually a metaphor for corruption and deceit, Robert Towne named it so when a vice cop told him that he worked the Chinatown beat and did as little as possible, and about the corruption.
Interestingly, this was the second film that Polanski made after the heinous tragedy he suffered four years prior. This is obvious by his dark, brooding, albeit realistic look at the corruption within the Los Angeles culture of the time. And he never attempts to gloss over anything.
Polanski should have won the Oscar for Best Director for this film surely, but since when have the truly deserving ever won that accolade?