Chinatown (1974 film)

Chinatown
Theatrical release poster by Jim Pearsall
Directed byRoman Polanski
Written byRobert Towne
Produced byRobert Evans
Starring
CinematographyJohn A. Alonzo
Edited bySam O'Steen
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Production
companies
  • Long Road Productions
  • Robert Evans Company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 20, 1974 (1974-06-20)
Running time
131 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[2]
Box office$29.2 million[3]

Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne. The film stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. It was inspired by the California water wars: a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century that resulted in Los Angeles securing water rights in the Owens Valley.[4] The Robert Evans production, released by Paramount Pictures, was Polanski's last film in the United States and features many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.[5]

Chinatown was released in the United States on June 20, 1974, to acclaim from critics. At the 47th Academy Awards, it was nominated for 11 Oscars, with Towne winning Best Original Screenplay. The Golden Globe Awards honored it for Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. The American Film Institute placed it second among the top ten mystery films in 2008. In 1991, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[6][7] It is also often cited as one of the greatest films of all time.[8][9][10]

A sequel, The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, again starring Nicholson, who also directed, with Robert Towne returning to write the screenplay. The film failed to match the acclaim of its predecessor.

  1. ^ "Chinatown (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Film History Milestones – 1974". Filmsite.org. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  3. ^ "Chinatown (1974)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Barringer, Felicity. 'The Water Fight That Inspired Chinatown' in The New York Times". April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Wasson, Sam. The Big Goodbye. Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Flatiron Books, 2020.
  6. ^ Kehr, Dave (September 26, 1991). "U.S. Film Registry adds 25 'Significant' Movies". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  7. ^ D. McGinnis, Wayne (1975). "'Chinatown': Roman Polanski's Contemporary Oedipus Story". Film Quarterly. 3 (3): 249–251. JSTOR 43795625. Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Pulver, Andrew (October 22, 2010). "Chinatown: the best film of all time". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "100 Greatest Films". Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  10. ^ "Greatest film ever: Chinatown wins by a nose". The Sydney Morning Herald. October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2010.