Chinatown
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Features
• Anamorphic
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• Dolby
• DVD-Video
• Widescreen
• NTSC
In Theaters : 20 June, 1974
DVD Release : 23 November, 1999 |
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Chinatown Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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Twists & Turns
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"Chinatown" is an amazing piece of film that grows richer as it grows older. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, only winning one for Robert Towne's Best Original Screenplay. John Alonzo, who was nominated for Best Cinematography, sets a sheen & sparkle to the vintage look of the film. The soundtrack is also brilliant. It was nominated for Best Picture but lost to "The Godfather Part II."
While "Chinatown" did not do well @ the Oscars, it was the Golden Globe winner for Best Drama and also brought Roman Polanski a Best Director Golden Globe award. Roman Polanski has done many classics including his other Oscar nominations as Best Director for [[ASIN:B00003CXCF Rosemary's Baby]] & "Tess" to his 2002 Oscar win for [[ASIN:B00005JLT5 The Pianist]]. "Chinatown's detractors say that the pacing is slow, but I find that it builds intensity as each piece of the puzzle is revealed and somehow doesn't fit or indicates that there is more to the puzzle.
As Jake "J.J." Gittes, Jack Nicholson has never been better. His demeanor that leads you to think he never takes anything seriously is contained, with just enough wiseacre to make him endearing. Nicholson brought home the Golden Globe as Best Actor but lost the Oscar to surprise winner Art Carney for [[ASIN:B0009X75O2 Harry and Tonto]] in a field that also had Al Pacino for "Godfather Part II," Dustin Hoffman for "Lenny" & "Albert Finney in "Murder on the Orient Express." As Gittes, we watch Nicholson twist and squirm. The scene where Roman Polanski slits Gittes' nose is brutal and remains emphasized as Nicholson plays following scenes with a big bandage on the middle of his face.
Faye Dunaway received her second Oscar nomination for this film. Her performance is incredibly controlled, but throbbing with the underlying secrets of her past and conditioned by the opulence of her wealth. She lost the Oscar to Ellen Burstyn for [[ASIN:B000286RO8 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]].
The film's large cast is peppered with faces we had seen or later saw frequently. Darrell Zwerling whose career spanned the decade was also seen in "High Anxiety," "Grease" & "Capricorn One." As Dunaway's husband Hollis, he remains bespectacled & without dialogue for much of the picture until his character's tragic demise. John Huston's legendary career is reflected in the shadow of his presence on screen as the family patriarch Noah Cross. Perry Lopez plays detective Lou Escobar in his most memorable film. John Hillerman, who would play prominently on TV from 1980-1988 in "Magnum P.I.," plays Yelburton, the assistant water commissioner. Diane Ladd plays Ida Sessions, the fake Mrs. Mulray. Ladd picked up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" that same year & was later nominated for "Wild at Heart" in 1990 and "Rambling Rose" in 1991. Burt Young who would be Oscar nominated for his character Paulie in "Rocky" in 1976 plays Curly who Gittes helps with marital matters. James Hong who played prominently in 1994's film [[ASIN:078321958X The Shadow]] appears stoically as Mrs. Mulray's butler. "Chinatown" picks us up and carries us through to the ending, surprising with twists & turns. It is classic cinema. Bravo!
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Chinatown dvd movie.