Did You Know?

The scene where Roman Polanski slits Jack Nicholson's nose was extremely complex to film, and the two men involved got so tired of explaining how it was done (by using a specially-constructed knife with a short hinge that would be safe as long as it was handled VERY carefully) that they began to claim Nicholson's nose was actually cut.

The original script was over 180 pages.

Because this film was the first of a planned trilogy, Jack Nicholson turned down all detective roles he was offered so that the only detective he played would be Jake Gittes.

The last movie Roman Polanski filmed in the US.

Among the items in Ida Sessions' pocketbook, which Jake Gittes rummages through, are a $2 bill and a Screen Actors Guild membership card.

The movie's line "Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown." was voted as the #74 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

Ranked #2 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Mystery" in June 2008

The first part of a planned trilogy written by Robert Towne about J.J. Gittes and L.A. The second part, The Two Jakes, was directed by Jack Nicholson in 1990.

Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski were notorious for their on-set arguments; during filming, Polanski pulled out some strands of Dunaway's hair.

After several takes that never looked quite right, Faye Dunaway told Jack Nicholson to actually slap her. He did, and the scene made it into the movie.

Jack Nicholson had the name "Jake Gittes" written on the shirts he used in the movie. Though this is not shown, it was done so Nicholson could enter in character more easily.

Roman Polanski forced Robert Towne to sit and re-write the script with him. Towne was so opposed to this idea that he would argue with Polanski non-stop.

After Ali MacGraw was discarded, producer Robert Evans wanted Jane Fonda for the part of Evelyn Mulwray while Roman Polanski insisted upon Julie Christie. When Christie passed on the script, they settled for Faye Dunaway.

Peter Bogdanovich turned down the chance to direct. He later regretted his decision.

Rance Howard, who plays the role of an angry farmer at the council meeting, is the father of famed actor and director Ron Howard.

This was the first film of a planned trilogy about corruption in the development of Los Angeles. It was set in the 1930s and was about the water department. The second film, The Two Jakes, was set in the 1940s and was about the gas company. The third film of the trilogy was about the building of the massive freeway system and was to be called "Cloverleaf", named after the famous interchange in downtown L.A., but it was never filmed. However, certain elements (like the building of a massive freeway by a corporation called called "Cloverleaf") were eventually incorporated into Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which took a fantasy/comedic view of this material but also functioned as a detective story.

The enigmatic title stands for failure, bad luck and being out of your depth in something you don't understand.

Roman Polanski had been planning to make a film with Jack Nicholson but hadn't found the right property yet. He actively pursued the Chinatown script when he learned about it. As luck would have it, Polanski was also producer Robert Evans's first choice for director as he wanted a European vision of the United States which he felt would be darker and a little more cynical.

Robert Towne wrote the screenplay with Jack Nicholson in mind.

Despite lobbying Robert Evans and Jack Nicholson for the chance to direct the film, when he finally landed the gig Roman Polanski started having second thoughts. The thought of returning to Los Angeles - where his wife Sharon Tate had been brutally murdered four years earlier - was too overwhelming for him.

At the time of filming, Jack Nicholson had just embarked on his longstanding relationship with Anjelica Huston. This made his scenes with her father, John Huston, rather uncomfortable, especially as the only time Anjelica was on set was the day they were filming the scene where Noah Cross interrogates Nicholson's character with "Mr Gittes...do you sleep with my daughter?"

There were many rumors circulating about Faye Dunaway's diva-like behavior during the making of the film. One such was that she refused to flush her own toilet and expected her assistants to do it for her.

Although he liked the idea of doing a cameo in the film as the hood who slits Jack Nicholson's nose, Roman Polanski was less thrilled about having to have his long hair cut off for his brief appearance in the film.

The Van der Lip Dam disaster is a reference to the collapse of the St Francis Dam in 1928, 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, which had been designed by self-educated engineer William Mulholland. The consequent flooding killed at least 450 people, a loss of life that remains second only to that from the San Francisco earthquake and fire in California's history.

The riverbed that's referred to in the movie is now where the Burbank and Pasadena freeway sit, leading into the more original neighborhoods of the town of Burbank.

C.O. Erickson:  the film's executive producer plays the banker in the barbershop who starts an argument with Jake.

Roman Polanski:  the hood who slits Jake's nose.

Robert Towne originally intended to have a happy ending. However, during pre-production Roman Polanski and Towne argued over it, with Polanski insisting on a tragic ending. Polanski won the argument and, when the picture was re-released in 1999, Towne admitted that he had been wrong.

Shortly after Hollis Mulwray's body is recovered, the original script included an omitted scene in which Lt. Escobar reveals to Gittes that he has limited sympathy for the victim, because a cousin of his was killed in the Van Der Lip dam disaster. From Faber and Faber script published UK 1998.