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IMDbPro

Chinatown

  • 19741974
  • RR
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
323K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
760
158
Chinatown (1974)
Theatrical Trailer from Paramount
Play trailer3:17
7 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaMysteryThriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
323K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
760
158
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writers
      • Robert Towne
      • Roman Polanski(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Jack Nicholson
      • Faye Dunaway
      • John Huston
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writers
      • Robert Towne
      • Roman Polanski(uncredited)
    • Stars
      • Jack Nicholson
      • Faye Dunaway
      • John Huston
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 603User reviews
    • 163Critic reviews
    • 92Metascore
    Top rated movie #155
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 21 wins & 24 nominations total

    Videos7

    Chinatown
    Trailer 3:17
    Chinatown
    Chinatown | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:34
    Chinatown | Anniversary Mashup
    Chinatown
    Clip 0:57
    Chinatown
    Chinatown
    Clip 0:53
    Chinatown
    Chinatown
    Clip 0:49
    Chinatown
    Chinatown
    Clip 0:49
    Chinatown
    Chinatown
    Clip 0:45
    Chinatown

    Photos168

    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson in Chinatown (1974)
    Robert Evans in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson and Robert Evans in Chinatown (1974)
    Robert Evans in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson and Robert Evans in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson, Lee de Broux, and Perry Lopez in Chinatown (1974)
    Roy Jenson in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, and Roy Jenson in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Jack Nicholson and John Huston in Chinatown (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Nicholson
    Jack Nicholson
    • J.J. Gittes
    Faye Dunaway
    Faye Dunaway
    • Evelyn Mulwray
    John Huston
    John Huston
    • Noah Cross
    Perry Lopez
    Perry Lopez
    • Escobar
    John Hillerman
    John Hillerman
    • Yelburton
    Darrell Zwerling
    Darrell Zwerling
    • Hollis Mulwray
    Diane Ladd
    Diane Ladd
    • Ida Sessions
    Roy Jenson
    Roy Jenson
    • Mulvihill
    Roman Polanski
    Roman Polanski
    • Man with Knife
    Richard Bakalyan
    Richard Bakalyan
    • Loach
    • (as Dick Bakalyan)
    Joe Mantell
    Joe Mantell
    • Walsh
    Bruce Glover
    Bruce Glover
    • Duffy
    Nandu Hinds
    Nandu Hinds
    • Sophie
    James O'Rear
    • Lawyer
    • (as James O'Reare)
    James Hong
    James Hong
    • Evelyn's Butler
    Beulah Quo
    • Maid
    Jerry Fujikawa
    Jerry Fujikawa
    • Gardener
    Belinda Palmer
    Belinda Palmer
    • Katherine
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writers
      • Robert Towne
      • Roman Polanski(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      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?"
    • Goofs
      When Mrs. Mulwray drives away from the Coroner's office, a siren is heard in the background. The siren is a modern electronic one. In the 1930s, they only had mechanical sirens, which have a different sound.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Walsh: Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.

    • Crazy credits
      The film opens with the 1940's Paramount logo.
    • Alternate versions
      TV versions omit the "screwing like a chinaman" joke told by Jake.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Two Jakes (1990)
    • Soundtracks
      I Can't Get Started
      Ira Gershwin and Vernon Duke

      As Recorded by Bunny Berigan and His Orchestra

      (Courtesy of RCA Records)

    User reviews603

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Marvelous
    There is a word, impossible to spell, that describes the alignment of solar bodies like the planets when they all fall into place together. A similar word would describe this film. Everything about it is right. Polanski never directed a better movie. The performers, down to the lowest atmosphere person, are superb. The editing, the score, the sound, the decor, the dialog, all are just about flawless. The photography is peerless. The white garden apartments, the terra cotta roof tiles, the palms and desert sand are all painted with a faint gold, faintly ripe with false promise, like the oranges that bounce from Gittes' desperately speeding car in the northwest Valley.

    Polanski deserves much of the credit. When Gittes surprises Evelyn Mulwray in her car, after he follows her to her daughter's house, her face slumps forward and beeps the horn briefly. Then, so faintly, we hear a few dogs bark in the background. Not only is the scene itself exquisitely done but it prefigures the ending, as does Gittes' remark earlier to Evelyn that she has a flaw in her iris. The movie is too good to deserve much dissecting. It stands repeated watching. If there is anything wrong with it, it is the serious and tragic ending that Polanski always insists on tacking on. Robert Towne was right and Polanski wrong in this case. Everything came together on this film. It's not only the best detective movie ever made; it's one of the best movies ever made -- period. A marvelous job by everyone concerned.

    I have to add (6/27/05) that the word I mentioned in the first sentence is spelled "syzygy." Man, did I get enlightening email on that. I might as well add two other impressive features of this movie. (1) Polanksi takes his time. Example: Gittes sneaks into Hollis Mulwray's office and begins to go through the drawers of his old-fashioned wooden desk. As he slides each drawer out, Polanksi gives us a shot of their humdrum contents (checkbooks, magnifying glass, and so forth) and we can almost smell the heat and the odor of shellac and sawdust emanating from the wooden containers. The contents reveal nothing of importance in this case. But (2) sometimes irrelevant information crops up that resonates later in the film with its own echo. The detail might be just a word ("applecore") or an ordinary object (a pair of spectacles found in a pond, immediately after Gittes imitates the Japanese gardener's remark that the water is bad for the "glass.") Some of the references may be so consistent as to constitute a theme (water). None of this hits you over the head with its significance. It's all very neatly stitched together.
    helpful•253
    84
    • rmax304823
    • Jan 30, 2002

    FAQ13

    • Evelyn Mulray's middle initial was C, which she said stands for Cross since she Noah Cross's daughter. Am I to understand then that her full maiden name was Evelyn Cross Cross?
    • Is "Chinatown" based on a book?
    • What is the meaning of "Chinatown" and the last lines of the movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 20, 1974 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Cantonese
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Kitajska četrt
    • Filming locations
      • Spring Street, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • Penthouse Video
      • Long Road Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $6,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $29,200,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $29,225,935
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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