Chinatown
Directed by	Roman Polanski
Produced by	Robert Evans
Written by	Robert Towne
Starring	Jack Nicholson Faye Dunaway John Huston
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 20, 1974 (U.S.A.)
Running time	131 min.
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000 US (est.)
Followed by	The Two Jakes
All Movie Guide 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 movie won several high-profile awards, including an Academy Award in 1975 for Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. Image File history File links Chinatownposter1. ... Roman Polański (born August 18, 1933) is an Academy Award-winning film director, writer, actor, and producer. ... Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera June 29, 1930 in New York, New York) is an American film producer best known for his work on Rosemarys Baby, Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown as well as his hedonistic lifestyle and seven marriages. ... Towne in the 1960 movie Last Woman on Earth Robert Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American actor, screenwriter and director. ... Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... John Marcellus Huston (August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director and actor. ... Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Two Jakes is the sequel to the 1974 movie Chinatown. ... 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 Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Roman Polański (born August 18, 1933) is an Academy Award-winning film director, writer, actor, and producer. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... 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). ... Psychological science redirects here. ... For other uses, see Drama (disambiguation). ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Towne in the 1960 movie Last Woman on Earth Robert Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American actor, screenwriter and director. ...

Chinatown stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston and also features a cameo appearance by its director, Roman Polanski. Also appearing in the film are John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, Perry Lopez, James Hong, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, Burt Young, and Noble Willingham. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. A sequel, called The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, starring Jack Nicholson (who also directed it), with a screenplay written by Robert Towne. Nicholson as Wilbur Force in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960). ... Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... John Marcellus Huston (August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director and actor. ... A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. ... John Hillerman (born December 20, 1932 in Denison, Texas) is an American actor. ... Diane Ladd (b. ... Perry Lopez (born July 22, 1931 in New York, New York) is an American film and television actor. ... James Hong (吳漢章, pinyin: Wu Hanzhang, born 22 February 1929) is an American actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists (AAPAA). ... Joe Mantell (November 13, 1947 – ) is an actor. ... Bruce Glover (born May 2, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor most famous for his role of assassin Mr. ... Burt Young (born April 30, 1940 in Queens, New York, USA) is an American actor, painter and author. ... Noble Willingham (August 31, 1931, in Mineola, Texas — January 17, 2004, in Palm Springs, California) was an American television and film actor. ... 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. ... The Two Jakes is the sequel to the 1974 movie Chinatown. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Plot

A Los Angeles private investigator named Jake 'J.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' wife. Mr. Mulwray spends most of his time investigating dry river beds. 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 in a kiss, 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. Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

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 himself), 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. 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. Obituary for World War I death An obituary is a notice of the death of a person, usually published in a newspaper, written or commissioned by the newspaper, and usually including a short biography. ... Noah Cross is a fictional character and villain in the 1974 film Chinatown, in which he was portrayed by actor/director John Huston. ...

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.'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. This article is about structures for water impoundment. ...

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. 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. For the thrash metal band, see Coroner (band). ... ...

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 blonde girl, Katherine, is both her sister and her daughter; Gittes asks Evelyn if her father raped her and she shakes her head no but it is insinuated through her body language and frequently expressed fear of her father that she is not being wholly truthful. Gittes then chooses to help Evelyn escape. Evelyn remembers that the eyeglasses could not have been her husband's because they are bifocals. Gittes arranges for the two women to flee to Mexico and instructs Evelyn to meet him at her butler's address in Chinatown. 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. Bifocals are eyeglasses whose corrective lenses each contain regions with two distinct optical powers. ...

When Cross approaches the girl, demanding custody of her, Evelyn pushes him back, shoots him in the arm and starts her car. The police arrest Gittes, and as Evelyn drives away, they open fire and Evelyn is shot and killed. Cross clutches Evelyn's shrieking daughter as a devastated Gittes is comforted by his associates, one of them saying, "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 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. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Owens Valley is the arid ranching valley of the Owens River in southeastern California in the United States. ...

Background and analysis

This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Chinatown was the first part of a planned trilogy written by Robert Towne about J.J. Gittes and L.A. The second part, The Two Jakes, about the natural gas business in Los Angeles in the 1940s, was directed by Nicholson and released in 1990. However, this film's commercial and critical failure scuttled plans to make Cloverleaf, a film about the development of the area's freeway system (this plot actually became the basis of the live action/animation film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, also set in the 1940s). Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can be seen as a single work, as well as three individual ones. ... The Two Jakes is the sequel to the 1974 movie Chinatown. ... This article is about the fossil fuel. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... Interstate 80 (Eastshore Freeway) in Berkeley, California: a typical American freeway (MUTCD definition) A freeway, also known as a highway, superhighway, autoroute, autobahn, autostrada, dual carriageway, expressway, Autosnelweg or motorway, depending on the country of discussion, is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles... Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 film produced by Amblin Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company (released on its Touchstone Pictures banner), which blends traditional animation and live action. ...

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.^{[citation needed]} 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. 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. For the form of speech, see Irony. ...

Robert Towne intended the screenplay to have a happy ending. 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 Jazz Age author of novels and short stories. ... This article is about the literary concept. ...

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. 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. The dam Cross and the city want to build — and which Mulwray opposes for reasons of engineering and safety — is a direct reference to the St. Francis Dam, which catastrophically failed in 1928, killing more than 600 people and ending Mulholland's career. William Mulholland (1855–1935) was a prominent and influential water-services engineer in Southern California. ... There are two Los Angeles Aqueducts--the original Los Angeles Aqueduct was designed by William Mulholland (an Irish immigrant who became a self-taught engineer and head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) and completed in 1913 to deliver water from the Owens River to the city... Colorized photo of the St. ...

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. The haunting trumpet solos are by the Hollywood studio musician Uan Rasey. Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ...

(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:

• Best Original Screenplay - Robert Towne

Nominations: // The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ...

• Best Picture - Robert Evans
• Best Director - Roman Polanski
• Best Actor - Jack Nicholson
• Best Actress - Faye Dunaway
• Best Film Editing - Sam O'Steen
• Best Art Direction - Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell, Ruby Levitt
• Best Costume Design - Anthea Sylbert
• Best Cinematography - John A. Alonzo
• Best Sound Mixing - Bud Grenzbach, Larry Jost
• Best Music Score - Jerry Goldsmith

// The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. ... This Academy Award was first given for movies made in 1948 when separate awards were given for black-and-white and color movies. ... Charles Rosher the first recipient in 1928 The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. ... The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was a famous American film score composer from Los Angeles, California. ...

Golden Globes - 1974

Wins:

• Best Motion Picture - Drama - Robert Evans
• Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Jack Nicholson
• Best Director - Roman Polanski
• Best Screenplay - Robert Towne

Nominations Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ... The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. ... Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ... For the main article see Golden Globe Awards. ...

• Actor In A Supporting Role - John Huston
• Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama - Faye Dunaway
• Best Original Score - Jerry Goldsmith

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. ... The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. ... For the main article see Golden Globe Awards. ...

Other Awards

• 1975 BAFTA, Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Direction, Best Screenplay (male)
• 1975 Edgar Award, Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Robert Towne
• 1991 National Film Preservation Board

BAFTA Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, childrens film and television, and interactive media. ... The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. ... The United States National Film Preservation Board is the board selecting films for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. ...

Bibliography

• Easton, Michael (1998) Chinatown (B.F.I. Film Classics series). Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-85170-532-4.
• Towne, Robert (1997). Chinatown and the Last Detail: 2 Screenplays. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3401-7.
• Tuska, Jon (1978). The Detective in Hollywood. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company. ISBN 0-385-12093-1.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Chinatown

• Chinatown at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim Dirks' analysis of Chinatown, one of "The Greatest Films"
• Roger Ebert's complete review of Chinatown
• - conversation with sceenwriter Robert Towne
• Film Noir of the Week commentary