Review of Chinatown

Introduction

I didn`t really know much about this film when I sat down to watch it. I knew that it starred Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. I knew that it was made in 1974. And I knew that it was directed by Roman Polanski.

But that`s probably about as far as my knowledge streched, so it was interesting to sit down and watch it without knowing very much about it.

Video

A good anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is on offer here. This looks very good for its age. There is the odd bit of film dirt here and there, but Los Angeles in 1937 (made in 1974) looks pretty good in 2000.

Some excellent direction from Polanski provides some good visuals too.

Audio

You wouldn`t expect much from a 26 year old film would you ? You`d be wrong - a full DD5.1 remix is on show here. Admittedly it`s mostly centred on the centre, being largely a dialogue driven film. However, there are plenty of atmospheric sounds (birds singing, the crickets of late night LA) to go round. A good score by Jerry Goldsmith really adds to what`s going on on-screen.

Features

This is a Paramount disc, so again you`re not probably expecting much. And you`d be right. You get the original trailer, which seems rather shoddily edited as it doesn`t give a representative view of the film and gives away some of the best scenes. The quality (although in 1.85:1 anamorphic) is pretty ropey and makes you appreciate what a good job has been done on the main feature.

But there is one small other gem here, a retrospective look back at the film, featuring interviews with Polanksi, Bob Towne (the writer of the Oscar winning screenplay) and Robert Evans who was head of Paramount when the film was made. There are some interesting little nuggets in here, interspersed with film clips (all in 4:3). But it`s only 13 minutes long!!!! Criminal. There must have been more footage available from the interviews !

Conclusion

So how did this film that I knew little about fare ? Let`s consider the common phrase "they don`t make them like that any more".

Now in some cases, after watching a dreadful film flop at the box office, studio heads probably called in their staff and said "Don`t make them like that any more". This is not the case with Chinatown, but it still evokes the feeling that they don`t make them like this any more.

In the interviews, this subject is touched on, with the comment that you probably wouldn`t be allowed to make a film like this these days. It`s a shame because it`s a very intelligent and challenging piece of film-making, well written and well directed.

Excellent performances from Nicholson, Dunaway and Huston bring the story to life, and you begin to watch even more intently as another little twist or turn unfolds. There were one or two moments which annoyed me a bit, but overall this is a very good film.

To give a modern point of reference, if you liked LA Confidential (surely partly a homage to Chinatown) you`ll like this film. If you like well written plots riddled with twists and turns, films in the film noir style, murder mysteries, or just great films that they don`t seem to make any more, then Chinatown is for you.

Let`s hope someone does start making them like this again one day.