Overwiew :'Forget it, Jake -- it's Chinatown.' The opaque shrug that ends this 1970s classic embodies the film's world-weary depiction of people who are never what they seem and dark motives that dwell deep below the surface. Like the water that drives the plot, secrets in Chinatown have a way of bubbling up in the most unexpected places, as detective Jake Gittes (Nicholson) discovers when he takes on Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway) as a client. Not so much a recreation of the classic-era Chandler and Hammett private-eye stories as an outright celebration of the depravity they only hinted at. A stunning achievement for both Polanski and Towne. Followed by Nicholson's direction of THE TWO JAKES in 1990.
www.empireonline.co.uk - : seen as one of the great detective movies in cinema history. more...
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www.suntimes.com - : years have passed and film history blurs a little, and it seems to settle easily beside the original noirs. That is a compliment more...
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