The creative forces behind "Chinatown" talk at length about their participation in the film. This is the kind of documentary best watched AFTER viewing the film because they give away far too much information about the plot of the film itself.
The talks are interspersed with scenes from the film to illustrate their point. JACK NICHOLSON talks about the nose slitting incident that has him wearing a bandage for much of the film--and how director ROMAN POLANSKI supervised everything about his appearance after the bandages were applied and after they were removed.
The most interesting aspect comes from writer ROBERT TOWNE who explains how the story idea came to be and the many disagreements he had with Polanski, who worked hard with him to revise the original script.
We also learn about Polanski's difficulties with FAYE DUNAWAY when she became temperamental about a bit of business, but learn that he really admires her work in the film enormously and thinks it's one of the best things she ever did. He also has high praise for Nicholson, with whom he also had some difficult moments, and high regard for JOHN HUSTON who "looked" the role so perfectly.
Apparently, all of the careful thought that went into the film worked, because as everyone knows, CHINATOWN was an enormous hit for all concerned.
The talks are interspersed with scenes from the film to illustrate their point. JACK NICHOLSON talks about the nose slitting incident that has him wearing a bandage for much of the film--and how director ROMAN POLANSKI supervised everything about his appearance after the bandages were applied and after they were removed.
The most interesting aspect comes from writer ROBERT TOWNE who explains how the story idea came to be and the many disagreements he had with Polanski, who worked hard with him to revise the original script.
We also learn about Polanski's difficulties with FAYE DUNAWAY when she became temperamental about a bit of business, but learn that he really admires her work in the film enormously and thinks it's one of the best things she ever did. He also has high praise for Nicholson, with whom he also had some difficult moments, and high regard for JOHN HUSTON who "looked" the role so perfectly.
Apparently, all of the careful thought that went into the film worked, because as everyone knows, CHINATOWN was an enormous hit for all concerned.
