In the mid-1930's, a private investigator stumbles upon a murder case that leads to corruption within the Department of Water and Power.
The saga of Chinatown begans with screenwriter (and native Angeleno) Robert Towne, who was interested in making a neo-noir that also explored darker areas in Los Angeles history, specifically the controversial methods by which the city brought water down from central California. Towne's meticulous research was combined with an worldview and moral position inherited from esteemed mystery writer Raymond Chandler.
The starring role of J.J. Gittes was written with Towne's good friend Jack Nicholson in mind. The two brought the script to Robert Evans, the legendary young head of production at Paramount Studios (The Godfather, Harold and Maude), who had stepped down from his position to personally produce films in a more direct way. Evans thought best to bring in a non-American to direct and contacted friend Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby), still recovering from the murder of his pregnant wife Sharon Tate by the Manson Family.
The rest of the cast included Faye Dunaway (Bonnie & Clyde), Diane Ladd (Wild At Heart), Burt Young (Rocky), veteran director John Huston in an iconic performance, and even a memorable cameo from Polanksi himself. Cinematographer John C. Alonzo gave the film a distinct look without resorting to typical evocations of the period, and even breaking out an unorthodox handheld approach at times.
The film was released to much critical praise and made 5x its budget at the box office, and factoring heavily in the year-end accolades. It won Best Picture, actor, director, and screenplay. at the Golden Globes. Despite getting eleven Academy Award nominations, it only won for Towne's script, having competed with The Godfather Part II.
Chinatown is now revered as one of the greatest films of the 1970's, arguably the best film the major players were involved with. The screenplay as often referred to as "perfect" and held up as an example of the best Hollywood has achieved in that department.
Running time is 2 hrs, 10 minutes.
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