Chinatown (1974) - Plot Summary - IMDb.
Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.The film was inspired by the California Water Wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century, by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley.
After “Chinatown” came charges of sex with an under-age girl, and exile in Europe. “Chinatown” shows he might have developed into a major Hollywood player, instead of scurrying to finance bizarre projects such as “Pirates” (1986). For Nicholson, the role had enormous importance.
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder. In 1937 Los Angeles, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes specializes in cheating-spouse cases. His current target is Hollis Mulwray, high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, whose wife.
Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” is not only a great entertainment, but something more, something I would have thought almost impossible: It’s a 1940s private-eye movie that doesn't depend on nostalgia or camp for its effect, but works because of the enduring strength of the genre itself.In some respects, this movie actually could have been made in the 1940s.
The American Dream in Chinatown is really an American Nightmare: instead of white picket fences, it's corpses in dry riverbeds. Instead of a two-car garage and 2.2 children, it's incest babies and murder. Instead of Norman Rockwell, it's Hieronymos Bosch. We don't see anyone achieving their romantic aspirations in this movie—no aspiring Hollywood actors or L.A. new age entrepreneurs.
Although many critics agree that the quintessential period for noirs occurred during the 1940’s and 1950’s, Roman Polanski’s 1974 film Chinatown re-invokes the tradition, functioning “both as a homage to and a critique of classic noirs” (Graydon 41). Like Raymond Chandler before him, Polanski utilizes the rapidly expanding Los Angeles.
Chinatown (1974) is a superb, private eye mystery and modern-day film noir thriller. Its original, award-winning screenplay by Robert Towne is a throwback that pays homage to the best Hollywood film noirs from the pens of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler in the 30s and 40s. The film declined to provide a tagline, instead choosing imagery over words on its poster, which featured in 40's.
Roman Polanski’s 1974 film, Chinatown, is a modern classic bringing together the genres of film noir, mystery, crime drama, and romance. The stylish movie, set in 1937, then allows for multiple interpretations as to its main themes.
Fashioned as a great film nior the 1974 classic; Chinatown is a crime drama in which central themes coincide with the idea that the world is an inherently corrupt place where men of vice conquer over the helplessness of the innocent and ignorant.Plot, characters, and setting mark this piece as a neo film nior.However it is the use of.
Chinatown Introduction Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski. The film features many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.
Jake decides to help Evelyn and Katherine escape, suggesting they hide in Chinatown, his former beat and the site of many bad memories for Jake. After leading the police away from Evelyn’s true location, Jake arranges for a former client to smuggle Evelyn and Katherine out of Chinatown and into Mexico.
A summary of Themes in Roman Polanksi's Chinatown. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Chinatown and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Chinatown was released in June 1974, a few months after the huge hit Blazing Saddles and a few months before the year's other smashes, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and Young Frankenstein.
