Classics Corner #1: Chinatown

AFI 100 Years 100 Movies #21

I decided to start my AFI 100 years 100 Movies project with number 21: Chinatown. Chinatown is a 1974 film starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway and directed by Roman Polanski. The description from IMDB is as follows:

A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.

What did I think of my first AFI top movie?


If you've never seen the film before it's really best to leave it at that. Jack Nicholson is J.J. "Jake" Gittes, our hard nosed private eye and Faye Dunaway is Evelyn Mulwray, our striking femme fetale. Both give great performances here. I was particularly struck by Nicholson as a smooth private detective. Growing up in the 90's, my memories of Jack Nicholson are tied to the his turn as the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman and to his less critically acclaimed roles such as in Anger Management. Here Nicholson puts his smile and slick hair into a perfect portrayal of Jake. Jake is determined to find the truth in a case that begins as a routine adultery case and Nicholson totally sells it. Dunaway holds her own against Nicholson as the mysterious Evelyn Mulwray who constantly draws Jake deeper and deeper into her web of secrets.

 Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne crafted a wickedly great neo-noir thriller. The picture comes in at 130 minutes and not a single minute feels wasted. The script is tight and laser focused, much like detective Gittes. The plot moves along at a brisk pace as it follows Jake as he investigates every new clue he finds and stops every once in a while long enough to give us great doses of classic noir dialogue.

I'm struggling to think of anything about the picture that I didn't enjoy and it's obvious why this is considered one if the best films of all time. The only minor criticism I can think of is that the film doesn't go beyond the tropes of the genre. The characters fall into their places almost too neatly. But it's really a very minor complaint because within the neo-noir template, Chinatown is a shining example of what makes the genre so compelling and so much fun to watch.

Chinatown is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Instant Watch if you're an Amazon Prime member. It's also available to rent or purchase from iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, and Amazon Instant Video. Lastly you can find it on DVD and Blu-Ray, so definitely catch it if you've never seen it. The film totally holds up and having recently watched Ruben Fleischer's Gangster Squad this is a much better film set in that type of world. It's more enthralling and the ending will hit like a kick to the stomach.