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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 5, 2019 2:08:22 GMT
Any fans? I think it's held up extremely well after 45 years, and Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances.
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Post by moviemouth on Jun 5, 2019 2:15:50 GMT
"You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of ANYTHING."
A great film about human corruption. The reveal is bone chilling and the ending is unforgettable.
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Post by movielover on Jun 5, 2019 2:19:55 GMT
Lots of fans, myself included.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 5, 2019 2:21:07 GMT
Lots of fans, myself included. Well I meant fans on here, lol.
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Post by movielover on Jun 5, 2019 2:21:42 GMT
Lots of fans, myself included. Well I meant fans on here, lol. I did too. 
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Jun 5, 2019 2:54:24 GMT
A great, complex film from New Age Hollywood. Superb performance by Jack Nicholson.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Jun 5, 2019 4:14:51 GMT
A+ ...my #25 all time. There's always been so much quintessential about it, including Jack's performance. They nailed the period look & feel of it, I used to always be surprised how 'new' it was.
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Post by OldAussie on Jun 5, 2019 4:52:12 GMT
Gets better with each viewing.
In my top 10 of all time.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Jun 5, 2019 5:56:08 GMT
I cant say I love it but its a good film.
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Post by poelzig on Jun 5, 2019 6:38:33 GMT
Come on Carl. This is a movie site. Of course there are fans of the last great film noir or would it be the first great neo noir? I'm noir sure.
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Post by rudeboy on Jun 5, 2019 6:58:22 GMT
A great script packed with dazzling twists, turns and memorable lines, superb period atmosphere, glorious Jerry Goldsmith score, fabulous work by Nicholson and Dunaway (I'm not always a fan of the latter, but she's mesmerising here)... so why do I not love this excellent film quite as much as most people do? Two words - John Huston. Honestly, his drawling voice is nails on a chalkboard to me.
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Post by Fox in the Snow on Jun 5, 2019 10:40:38 GMT
One of my favorites from "New Hollywood", possibly my favorite Polanski. Great stuff.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 5, 2019 11:08:59 GMT
A great script packed with dazzling twists, turns and memorable lines, superb period atmosphere, glorious Jerry Goldsmith score, fabulous work by Nicholson and Dunaway (I'm not always a fan of the latter, but she's mesmerising here)... so why do I not love this excellent film quite as much as most people do? Two words - John Huston. Honestly, his drawling voice is nails on a chalkboard to me. I take it you're not a fan of There Will Be Blood.
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Post by rudeboy on Jun 5, 2019 11:20:44 GMT
A great script packed with dazzling twists, turns and memorable lines, superb period atmosphere, glorious Jerry Goldsmith score, fabulous work by Nicholson and Dunaway (I'm not always a fan of the latter, but she's mesmerising here)... so why do I not love this excellent film quite as much as most people do? Two words - John Huston. Honestly, his drawling voice is nails on a chalkboard to me. I take it you're not a fan of There Will Be Blood. There's a lot I admire about it but I'm not as big on it as many people. Day-Lewis is certainly commanding (yes, the voice is rather Huston-esque but DDL is a great actor and I don't mind him here) although I prefer several of his other performances. I'd take Chinatown over There Will Be Blood any day, but both are memorable films. Anyway, Huston - a good, occasionally great director and son of a great, GREAT actor - is simply not my cup of tea when in front of the camera.
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Post by wmcclain on Jun 5, 2019 11:48:12 GMT
Chinatown (1974), directed by Roman Polanski. Private Eye Jake Gittes is hired to spy on a wandering husband. They've both been set up: it's a manufactured scandal against the city Water Commissioner. (Or was it just an attempt to find the hidden daughter?) Jake wants to find out why and who's pulling the strings. He should have left it alone. He goes farther into corruption and human misery than we could have imagined. In the end there is no justice, no one is saved. He might have known that in advance. The lessons of his earlier life in Chinatown are always with him. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown" doesn't mean "we don't care". It means "we can't help." Keeping with the hardboiled formula of Hammet and Chandler, we see everything from Jake's perspective and have to assemble the clues and discover the truth as he does. Jack Nicholson is in every scene. It's both an homage to and an updating of the LA detective films of the 1940s. Now we have color and widescreen aspect ratio, and Nicholson has an unalterably contemporary persona, serving as a bridge between now and then. Our presumptions help us follow the plot: we know that vast graft and corruption must accompany any public works or city expansion. Jake is a prosperous PI. Marlowe had only one shabby office and no employees, but he didn't take "marital" cases. He was more of a knight errant. Jake has a bit of that. He's no angel, but there are things he won't do, a contrast with both the dead husband (who seemed entirely decent) and the evil billionaire father, satanic in his greed and lusts. (John Huston, director of several of the hardboiled and noir classics). Faye Dunaway hides and reveals so much at the same time. As Mickey Rourke describes her in Barfly: "She looks like a stressed goddess." Playing against the formula, she is not a femme fatale, just a conflicted woman trying to protect someone else. The props and costumes are incredibly rich and convincing, miles ahead of the standard period film. Movies of the original time didn't have the budgets to do this level. Beautiful, seductive Jerry Goldsmith score, written in 10 days. Using horns instead of saxes or violins was just perfect. Available on Blu-ray. Uncensored, adulatory commentary from big fan David Fincher and writer Robert Towne. 
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Post by Spike Del Rey on Jun 5, 2019 13:13:07 GMT
Re-watched it just about a year ago I'm guessing, and was amazed at how well it holds up. Excellent cast, maybe Nicholson's finest performance.
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Post by kingkoopa on Jun 5, 2019 17:00:31 GMT
Agreed with many above. It's one of the best examples of something holding up over time I could think of.
Also in my top 3 for Jack. He's always good, but this was some top shelf Nicholson. (The Shining, Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown...in case anyone wondered)
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Post by vegalyra on Jun 5, 2019 17:10:45 GMT
Re-watched it just about a year ago I'm guessing, and was amazed at how well it holds up. Excellent cast, maybe Nicholson's finest performance. I agree, it's one of my favorite Nicholson performances/roles. I wouldn't say it's in my top ten, but it's definitely up there. I'd give it an easy 8/10.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jun 5, 2019 19:57:03 GMT
'She looks at him and says, "Hey, what's the matter with ya? You're screwin' just like a Chinaman!"'
I read that in the "my sister and my daughter" scene Dunaway insisted Nicholson slap her hard for real.
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Post by Archelaus on Jun 5, 2019 20:02:43 GMT
It's one of my favorite neo-noir films with stand-out performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
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