Chinatown

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Release Date:Rating:

June 20th, 1974

Genres:

Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Subgenres:

Classic, Crime, Film Noir

Plot Synopsis:

"Forget it, Jake . . . It's Chinatown." Mystery/Film Noir. Los Angeles detective Jake Gittes is hired by a woman claiming to be a Mrs. Mulwray to spy on her husband. Shortly after Gittes is...

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Credits:

Directed: Roman Polanski Written: Robert Towne
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Allan Warnick, Federico Roberto, Claudio Martinez, Charles Knapp

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Official Site: NA

Studio: NA

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rockin01

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Check out my other reviews: I don't give out many 5-star ratings. When I do, it either means the film is an unqualified classic, or that I have suspended objectivity for a personal favorite. Chinatown falls firmly in the former category.
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Posted jan 11, 2008 2:38 pm pt

mary760

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Watch FULL movies and TV shows @ www.boxsweeper.com

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Posted oct 31, 2007 12:01 pm pt

elpaquilloloco

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One of the best representatives of the Neo Noir genre.
Chinatown, Roman Polanski's true masterpiece, his best film, is a real tour-de-force with a imaginative script and a terrific performance by Jack Nicholson, which puts it on a league on...
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Posted mar 12, 2007 6:34 am pt

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86/100

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32 votes

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10 critics

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Critics Score Card

[+] ReelViews

100

A nearly flawless example of movie composition, with close examination revealing how carefully it was put together. For those who take a less studious and more visceral approach to movie viewing, it's also worth noting that Chinatown is a superior thriller - one that will keep viewers involved and "in the moment" until the final, mournful scene has come to a conclusion.
by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
[+] Chicago Sun-Times

100

[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, a small city in a large desert.
by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »
[+] TV Guide

100

A wonderfully brooding, suspenseful revisitation of the land of film noir, Chinatown is not only one of the greatest detective films, but one of the most perfectly constructed of all films.
by Staff (Not Credited) | Read Full Review »
[+] Entertainment Weekly

100

But it's Polanski who pries the genre open until it goes metaphysical.
by Ty Burr | Read Full Review »
[+] Variety

100

An outstanding picture.
by Staff (Not Credited) | Read Full Review »
[+] Salon.com

100

But the greatness of Chinatown, unappreciated by my adolescent self, lies not in its cynical view of the California dream (that's too easy) but in its fatalistic, even tragic conception of America and indeed of human nature.
by Andrew O'Hehir | Read Full Review »
[+] Chicago Reader

80

A bit abstract, though gorgeously shot (by John Alonzo) and cleverly plotted (by Robert Towne), 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.
by Don Druker | Read Full Review »
[+] Village Voice

80

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 wilds of Greek tragedy. [Review of August 8, 2003 re-release]
by Jessica Winter | Read Full Review »
[+] The New York Times

70

Mr. Polanski and Mr. Towne attempted nothing so witty and entertaining, being content instead to make a competently stylish, more or less thirites-ish movie that continually made me wish I were back seeing "The Maltese Falcon" or "The Big Sleep." Others may not be as finicky. [21 June 1974]
by Vincent Canby | Read Full Review »
[+] Chicago Tribune

63

As much as I admire the work of both (Roman) Polanski and (Jack) Nicholson, I found Chinatown tedious from beginning to just before the end. [15 July 1974]
by Gene Siskel | Read Full Review »

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MetaScore: 86/100

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Chinatown

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