Movies

Roman Polanski's brooding film noir exposes the darkest side of the land of sunshine, the Los Angeles of the 1930s, where power is the only currency--and the only real thing worth buying. Jack Nicholson is J.J. Gittes, a private eye in the Chandler mold, who during a routine straying-spouse investigation finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. The glamorous Evelyn Mulwray (a dazzling Faye Dunaway) and her titanic father, Noah Cross (John Huston), are at the black-hole center of this tale of treachery, incest, and political bribery. The crackling, hard-bitten script by Robert Towne won a well-deserved Oscar, and the muted color cinematography makes the goings-on seem both bleak and impossibly vibrant. Polanski himself has a brief, memorable cameo as the thug who tangles with Nicholson's nose. One of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time.

Look at the cast (Nicholson, Huston, Dunaway). Look at the director (Polanski). I will be so bold as to call Chinatown a classic. It fits the bill.

This is another movie that I had wanted to see for a long time that I never got around to renting. Thanks again to online DVD rental services, I was able to see a movie I have otherwise not gotten around to seeing.

I am having a hard time articulating what I liked so much about this one, but believe me when I say that I really liked it.

I love the mysteries throughout which you are constantly trying to sleuth along side the main character(s). My favorites, however, are the ones that take you in circles. I want plot twists. I want to be led in directions that end up being dead ends. I want to be left surprised at the ending, admitting that I never saw it coming.

Though I was not surprised at the ending of Chinatown, there certainly were plenty of twists in the plot. A longer movie, at more than 2 hours, that never dragged; Chinatown did not disappoint.

The movie was also extremely aesthetically pleasing. No, I am not referring to Faye Dunaway...entirely. The style chosen for the film was using muted colors and accenting a few greens, blues, yellows and pinks. The stark contrast between the dull scenes and strategically placed vivid colors was great.

A great movie at a great price. I will certainly be adding Chinatown to my collection.

Buy Chinatown $11.24

| Forum |