Citizendia

Chinatown
Directed byRoman Polanski
Produced byRobert Evans
Written byRobert Towne
StarringJack Nicholson
Faye Dunaway
John Huston
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Editing bySam O'Steen
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date(s)June 20, 1974 (U.S.A.)
Running time131 min. Robert Evans (born Robert J Shapera June 29, 1930 in New York New York) is an American Film producer best known Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American Screenwriter and director. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) known as Faye Dunaway, is an American actress. John Marcellus Huston ( August 5 1906 &ndash August 28 1987) was an American Film director and Actor. Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith ( February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American Film score Composer Samuel Alexander O'Steen ( November 6, 1923 &ndash October 11, 2000) was an American Film editor and director Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6,000,000 US (est. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States )
Followed byThe Two Jakes
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Chinatown is a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski featuring many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. The Two Jakes is a 1990 American Detective film, the sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown. The year 1974 in film involved some significant events Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. It stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) known as Faye Dunaway, is an American actress. John Marcellus Huston ( August 5 1906 &ndash August 28 1987) was an American Film director and Actor. Also appearing in the film are John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, Perry Lopez, James Hong, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, Burt Young, and Noble Willingham. John Benedict Hillerman (born December 20, 1932) is an American Emmy Award and Golden Globe winning actor best known for his starring Diane Ladd (born November 29, 1935) is an American television film and stage actress. Perry Lopez ( July 22 1929 - February 14 2008) was an American Film and Television Actor. For the co-founder of the online ratings site see Hot or Not. Joseph Mantell (born December 21, 1920) is an American Actor. Bruce Herbert Glover (born May 2, 1932) is an American Actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Homosexual Assassin Burt Young (born April 30, 1940) is an American Academy Award -nominated Actor, painter, and Author. Noble Henry Willingham Jr ( August 31, 1931 &mdash January 17, 2004) was an American Television and Film

The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning in only the category of Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American Screenwriter and director. In 1991, Chinatown was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The National Film Registry is the registry of Films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

A sequel, called The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, starring Jack Nicholson (who also directed it), with a screenplay written by Robert Towne. The Two Jakes is a 1990 American Detective film, the sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown. Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American Screenwriter and director.

Contents

Plot

A Los Angeles, private investigator named Jake "J. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West A private investigator or private detective (often shortened to PI or private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake J. " Gittes (Nicholson) is hired to spy on Hollis Mulwray, the chief engineer for the city's water department. The woman hiring Gittes claims to be Evelyn Mulwray, Hollis's wife. Mr. Mulwray spends most of his time investigating dry riverbeds. Mr. Mulwray also has a heated argument with an elderly man. Gittes finally catches Mulwray during an outing with a young blonde and photographs the pair, which becomes a scandal in the press. After the story is published, Gittes learns that the woman who hired him was not the real Evelyn Mulwray.

Clues suggest a scandal in the city government: Despite a serious drought and an expensive proposal to build a new dam, the Water and Power department is dumping fresh water into the ocean at night.

On a tip, Gittes seeks out Mr. Mulwray at a reservoir but finds the police there instead, investigating Hollis Mulwray's death from drowning. When the police speak to Mrs. Mulwray about the death, they assume she hired Gittes, which Gittes corroborates. She thanks him and hires him to investigate what happened to her husband.

Later that night, while breaking into the reservoir's secured area, Gittes is confronted by water department security, Claude Mulvihill and a thug (a cameo by Polanski), who slashes Jake's nose for being a "very nosy fella. " Gittes receives a call from Ida Sessions, the woman who was hired to pretend to be Mrs. Mulwray, who suggests that Gittes look at the obituary column. An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died At the water department, Gittes notices photographs of the elderly man Mulwray quarreled with a few days before his death, Noah Cross (Huston). Cross, who is Evelyn Mulwray's father, used to own the water department as Mulwray's business partner. Cross ended his association with the department when the partners sold it to the city.

Cross hires Gittes to find the blond girl Hollis had been seeing, saying that she might know what happened to him. Acting on a hint from Sessions, Gittes begins to unravel an intricate water scandal. Cross and his partners have been forcing farmers out of their land so they can buy it cheap, after which a newly-built (and controversial) dam and water system would start redirecting much of L. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees A. 's water supply to that land, dramatically increasing its value. Since Cross wants no record of such transactions, he has partnered with a retirement home community in such a way that many of the eldest residents within (one of whom is mentioned in the obituary column) would legally, but unknowingly, own the land.

Back at Evelyn's house, Gittes and Evelyn share a romantic interlude. As they lie on the bed afterward, the phone rings. Evelyn has a cryptic conversation with someone, then informs Jake that she has to leave for a little while. She asks him to trust her.

Gittes follows Evelyn to a middle-class house and sees Mulwray's girlfriend crying. Evelyn claims this is her sister, who was crying because she had just learned about Hollis' death. Later that night, Sessions is murdered. Police Lt. Escobar points out that the coroner's report proves that salt water was found in Mulwray's lungs even though the body was found in a freshwater reservoir. A coroner is an official responsible for investigating deaths particularly some of those happening under unusual circumstances and determining the cause of death A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use

Gittes returns to Evelyn's mansion, where he discovers a pair of eyeglasses in a garden saltwater pond. Gittes confronts Evelyn, who reveals that the blond girl, Katherine, is both her sister and her daughter; Gittes asks Evelyn if her father raped her and she shakes her head no. Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person It remains unclear whether the act was consensual or not; Evelyn's father later hints that it was indeed a consensual incestuous relationship by saying: "Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything". It is apparent also that Evelyn resents her father for taking advantage of her in a relationship considered unnatural. Gittes then chooses to help Evelyn escape. Evelyn remembers that the eyeglasses could not have been her husband's because they are bifocals. Bifocals are Eyeglasses whose Corrective lenses each contain regions with two distinct Optical powers Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with Gittes arranges for the two women to flee to Mexico and instructs Evelyn to meet him at her butler's address in Chinatown. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Chinatown in Los Angeles, California ( is a Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles that was founded in the late 1800s Evelyn leaves, and Cross arrives with Mulvihill under the pretext that Gittes has found the girl; however, Gittes confronts Cross with the accusation of murder and the glasses. Mulvihill takes away the eyeglasses that are the only physical evidence. Cross forces Gittes to take him to the girl. When Gittes arrives at Evelyn's hiding place in Chinatown, the police are already there and arrest Gittes.

When Cross approaches Katherine, demanding custody of her, Evelyn pushes him back, shoots him in the arm and starts her car. As Evelyn is driving away, the police open fire and Evelyn is shot and killed. Cross clutches Katherine, taking her out of the car, as a devastated Gittes is comforted by his associates, who urge him to walk away: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. "

The plot is based in part on real events that formed the California Water Wars, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles interests to secure water rights in the Owens Valley. The California Water Wars describes the disputes between Los Angeles, California and the Owens Valley over Water rights The disputes William Mulholland ( September 11 1855 &ndash July 22 1935) was a water-services Engineer in Southern California, Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States.

Background and analysis

Chinatown was set in the 1930s and portrays water department corruption. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. It was the first part of a planned trilogy written by Robert Towne about the character J. A trilogy is a set of three works of art usually Literature, Film, or Video games, that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or three Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American Screenwriter and director. J. Gittes and Los Angeles government. The second part, The Two Jakes, was about the natural gas department in Los Angeles in the 1940s. The Two Jakes is a 1990 American Detective film, the sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be It was directed by Jack Nicholson and released in 1990, however, the second film's commercial and critical failure scuttled plans to make Cloverleaf, a film about the development of the Los Angeles freeway system in the late 1940s. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be The plot for "Cloverleaf" later became the basis of the live action/animation film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 Live-action/animated film produced by Amblin Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company (released

Because Chinatown was planned as the first film in a trilogy, Nicholson turned down all detective roles he was offered so that the only detective he played would be Jake Gittes. . Gittes was named after Nicholson's friend, producer Harry Gittes. The original script was over 180 pages. Roman Polanski eliminated Gittes' voiceover narration, which was written in the script, and filmed the movie so the audience discovered the clues at the same time Gittes did.

The title Chinatown is both a reference to the setting of the film's tragic ending as well as a symbolic reference to the demons from the past that haunt the characters' lives. Chinatown can also symbolically mean here an alien place beyond J. J. Gittes's understanding or control. The idea of past events haunting and influencing characters' actions is a common thread throughout the film. Every major character in the film is troubled by inner demons that seem to have a profound influence on the present events that Gittes is investigating. Examples of these demons include the breakup of Noah Cross' partnership with Mr. Mulwray, Jake's inability to save a woman he cared for when he was a detective in Chinatown, and Evelyn's troubled personal history. The opening scenes set this theme with the minor character Curly shown devastated by the revelation that his wife is having an affair, and by Jake advising the Evelyn Mulwray imposter, who insists on finding out about her "husband's" infidelity, that it is better to "let sleeping dogs lie. " The fact that Jake offers this advice is ironic since it is Jake's inability to "let sleeping dogs lie" that partially leads to the film's tragic ending. Irony is a literary or Rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or Discordance between what one says or does and what one means or The theme of the haunting of characters' pasts is punctuated in the film's final line when Jake's partner Walsh advises Gittes to "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown," suggesting that Gittes will be haunted by the memories of this case and that it would be in his best interest to bury his past.

Robert Towne intended the screenplay to have a happy ending. Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American Screenwriter and director. He and Polanski argued over it, with Polanski insisting on a tragic end. Towne was originally offered $175,000 to write a screenplay for The Great Gatsby (1974), but felt he couldn't better the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel and accepted $25,000 to write his own story, Chinatown, instead. The Great Gatsby is a 1974 film made by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24 1896 – December 21 1940 was an American writer of Novels and Short stories, whose works are evocative of the A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story

The characters Hollis Mulwray and Noah Cross are both references to the chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, William Mulholland (1855-1935) — the name Hollis Mulwray is partially an anagram for Mulholland. William Mulholland ( September 11 1855 &ndash July 22 1935) was a water-services Engineer in Southern California, The name Noah is a reference to a flood — to suggest the conflict between good and evil in Mulholland. Mulholland was the designer and engineer for the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which brought water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles. There are two Los Angeles Aqueducts, the First Los Angeles Aqueduct (or the Owens Valley aqueduct) (completed 1913 and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct The dam Cross and the city want to build is opposed by Mulwray for reasons of engineering and safety. Mulwray says he will not make the same mistake as when he built a previous dam, which broke resulting in the deaths of hundreds. This is a direct reference to the St. Francis Dam disaster. The St Francis Dam was a Concrete gravity-arch Dam, designed to create a reservoir as part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The dam was personally inspected by Mulholland himself before it catastrophically failed the next morning on March 12, 1928. More than 450 people, many of them school children died that day and the town of Santa Paula was buried[1]. The incident effectively ended Mulholland's career and he died in 1935.

Polanski originally offered the cinematographer position to William A. Fraker, Paramount agreed and Fraker accepted. William A Fraker, ASC BSC (born September 29, 1923 in Los Angeles, California) is a Cinematographer, Film director Paramount had previously hired Fraker to shoot for Polanksi on Rosemary's Baby. When Robert Evans became aware of the hire he insisted the offer be reneged. Evans who had also produced Rosemary's Baby felt pairing Polanski and Fraker yielded a team with too much power on one side, and would thus complicate the production.

This was the last movie Roman Polanski filmed in the U. S. , after he was arrested and convicted of sexual assault of a minor. Polanski was outraged when producer Robert Evans ordered the film lab to give Chinatown a reddish look. Polanski demanded that the film be corrected.

Phillip Lambro was originally hired to write the film's music score, but it was rejected at the last minute by producer Robert Evans, leaving Jerry Goldsmith only 10 days to write and record a new one. Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith ( February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American Film score Composer The haunting trumpet solos are by the Hollywood studio musician Uan Rasey. Goldsmith received an Academy Award nomination for his efforts.

(Some of this is verified by Nicholson, Towne, and Polanski on the DVD released on 11/6/07 in the special features section)

Awards

Academy Awards - 1974

Wins:

Nominations:

Golden Globes - 1974

Wins:

Nominations

Other Awards

Bibliography

External links

Preceded by
The Exorcist		Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama
1975		Succeeded by
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies. The Exorcist is a 1973 American Horror film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, This page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama, since its institution in 1951 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 Comedy-drama film directed by Miloš Forman.
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