Chinatown is a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski. It uses many elements of the film noir genre to present a multi-layered story, part mystery and part psychological drama. The movie is highly regarded and won several high-profile awards, including an Academy Award in 1975 for Best Writing and Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organization that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... The United States National Film Preservation Board is the board selecting films for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. ... See also: 1973 in film 1974 1975 in film 1970s in film years in film film Events February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in USA May 1 - George Lucas creates the first draft of what would eventually become Star Wars. ... Roman Polański Roman Polanski (born August 18, 1933) is a celebrated Polish film director and actor. ... Film noir is a sub-genre of crime films that developed in the United States during World War II that featured people acting out of desparation in a bleak and morally ambiguous world. ... Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul and logos = word) is the study of behaviour, mind and thought. ... Drama is a term generally used to refer to a literary form involving parts written for actors to perform. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Robert Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American screenwriter and director. ...

Chinatown stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. It also features a brief cameo appearance by its director, Roman Polanski. Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is a highly successful, iconic American method actor. ... Faye Dunaway (born Dorothy Faye Dunaway on January 14, 1941 in Bascom, Florida) is an Academy Award winning actress. ... Statue of John Huston, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico John Huston (August 5, 1906 - August 28, 1987) was an American film director. ... Cameo is a method of carving; or an item of jewelry made in this manner. ...

Chinatown is consistently listed in the top 50 on the Internet Movie Database's top 250 films and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

A sequel, called The Two Jakes, was released in 1990. Jack Nicholson directed and starred in it. The screenplay was also written by Robert Towne. The Two Jakes is the sequel to the 1974 movie Chinatown. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plot

A Los Angeles detective named Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by a woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray to spy on her husband. When Gittes' photographs of Mr. Mulwray, revealing an apparent affair, appear in the papers another Mrs. Mulwray, whom we discover is the real one, appears in his office threatening to sue if he doesn't drop the case immediately. Gittes pursues the case nevertheless, slowly uncovering a vast conspiracy around water management, state and municipal corruption, land use and real estate, and involving at least one murder, further complicated by the tangled emotional relationships between the primary characters in the film. The Downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from Hollywood. ...

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 was a struggle between Los Angeles, California and people living elsewhere (including the Owens Valley) over water rights. ... William Mulholland (1855–1935) was a prominent and influential water-services engineer in Southern California He was born in Belfast, Ireland and immigrated to New York City in the 1870s, traveled to San Francisco in 1877, worked as a miner in Arizona and finally moved to the city that would... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ...

Selected Quotations

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about:

Chinatown

From the first meeting between Jake and Mrs. Mulwray: Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

Jake, to Mrs Mulwray: "...Don't get tough with me..."

Mrs. Mulwray to Jake: "I don't get tough with anyone Mr. Gittes... My lawyer does."

Russ Yelburton, observing Jake's bandaged nose:

"You've got to be more careful; that must really smart."

"Only when I breathe."

gggg Mrs. Mulwray conversing with Jake in the restaurant:

"Look, Hollis seems to think you're an innocent man."

"Well, I've been accused of many things, Mrs. Mulwray, but never that."

Excerpt from a phone conversation:

"Hello, Miss Sessions. I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

"Oh, yes we have. Are you alone?"

"Isn't everyone?"

Final lines:

"As little as possible."

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Bibliography

• Chinatown and The Last Detail: 2 Screenplays by Robert Towne
• Chinatown (B.F.I. Film Classics series) by Michael Eaton (brief critical analysis)

External links

• Chinatown at the Internet Movie Database
• Andy's Movie Quotes - page for Chinatown
• Discussion of characters and themes in "Chinatown"