Chinatown

I've heard maybe too much praise for the movie, and perhaps I'm already a bit influenced by the current state of the world, so the major revelation didn't feel that shocking to me. But it's still a great film, which Polanski guides with an incredibly sure hand to the end, and it offers no happy ending, which in this case is a good thing. (10/06/2015)

The peak of 1970s grim noir crime investigation with the grand Jack Nicholson, who – apart from delivering a standard high-quality performance – can also add another notch in his belt representing more actresses in his favorite bed. Apart from the amazing Jack and the gloomy atmosphere, it’s a standard film noir. (08/16/2016)

I recently saw this gem for about the fifth time, but finally for the first time in widescreen uncut format (shame on our distributors that this, one of the best films of the 70s, has never been released on DVD with Czech support). It's rare that a film draws me into the action as if I were there, but Chinatown has an extremely dense, almost oppressive atmosphere of the sun-baked streets of summer Los Angeles in the 1930s, where the slowly escalating plot begins as a fairly ordinary noirish detective story, only to grow into a drama of antique proportions at the end. I've seen Jack Nicholson in many, many films, but here he plays the role of his life in my eyes, and the same can be said about Faye Dunaway. Jerry Goldsmith's music touches on perfection in places, with the saxophone never sounding sweeter than during the melodically expressive “Love Theme”. There was strong competition at the Oscars that year (Godfather II, The Towering Inferno, etc.), but I still can't shake the feeling that the academics were asleep when they awarded Polanski's masterpiece only one statuette out of eleven nominations - for screenplay. One of my Top 10 films. (08/03/2007)

I like Polanski’s movies. I have a weakness for noir. And for Nicholson as a young actor, when he hadn’t yet got into the habit of acting himself from various directions. Chinatown isn’t the best noir movie ever. But it certainly is one of the best. I can see just one “serious" negative. That it wasn’t filmed in black and white, as Polanski originally intended. (11/27/2004)

Cherchez la femme. Polanski’s grasp of the excellent and well-thought out screenplay is a joy to watch. Sun-parched L.A. is stifling with a heavy and paranoid atmosphere, especially when no water comes out of the faucet. I’m not a big fan of Nicholson, but here he really is excellent and gives the hero the necessary authenticity. The crushing finale is just the icing on the cake. In the 70s this must have almost been a revolution in cinema. Bad for the glass. (03/20/2013)