Chinatown

Shockingly incredible - I frankly have a hard time with older movies. For a movie buff, that's not a great quality since their are so many old films well worth your time. That being said, Chinatown has been on my list for a long time after watching a documentary about the water crisis facing California recently, where they referenced Chinatown. I was highly intrigued because I had heard of this movie but was curious how they could turn "water crisis" into an interesting movie premise. So keep in mind my bias when finally sitting down to watch this film... Holy crap is it amazing. Every character is engaging and interesting, even the deceivers you only see on screen for 5 minutes. The plot is incredible, as rich in twists as a murder mystery (hehe). The story is strange and unique, based entirely on a real story you can't even believe actually happened. It features beautiful old versions of L.A. true to the time, despite this movie being almost 50 years old! This movie could come out today and it would be an absolute hit. Even the romance drama has plot twists. My jaw was open for at least 30% of the entire film through just sheer surprise and the ending left me sitting in the dark on the couch wondering WTF I just watched for nearly 10 minutes. This is easily in my top 3 films of all time, if not my new favorite movie ever. This is worth ever second you spend on it and then some. Immediately after, I read the true story and couldn't believe it. This is a master class in cinematography, story telling, acting and wrote the book for Noir style detective films for decades to come. This is truly a must watch.

A tremendous movie with a perfect script and outstanding performances delivered by Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Chinatown's atmosphere is mysterious and distrubing, shining a light on the dark side of the City of Angels. The protagonist, private investigator Jack Gittes (Jack Nichwolson), soon finds himself caught in a web of deceit and fraud. No one can be trusted and nothing is as it seems. Thanks to Roman Polanski's great directiong, 'Chinatown' is probably the best neo-noire movie and a great tribute to the original genre.

Fantastic cinematography and production value come together with a perfect soundtrack to create a beautiful atmosphere. The casting and screenplay are superb. Timeless cinema at its best.

Masterpiece. Emotional rollercoaster, a tragedy and scary glimpse into the cold world. Great atmosphere set in the unequal class society of early 20th century America, this film competed with the Godfather Part II for Best Picture back in 1974.

Polar des années 30 à Los Angeles qui se complique assez vite -enfin, façon de parler vu que le film entier est une énorme limace- Chinatown brille comme le soleil étouffant de son climat et de son intrigue tout aussi étouffante grâce à Faye Dunaway et Jack Nicholson, tous deux excellents. Film noir donc dont l'ambiance autour des magouilles des puissants débouche sur une révélation scabreuse comme si le scénariste avait reçu un coup sur la tête (une insolation sans doute). On y croit pas et même en tant que caricature (d'un goût douteux !), l'effet comique est des plus ratés. A la fois languissant et finalement grotesque, Chinatown s'avère en conséquence de quoi un fort mauvais polar que même ses acteurs ne parviennent pas à sauver. Victime de sa prétention, de son maniérisme et de son infinie lenteur, le film de Polanski est un gâchis des plus regrettables.