Released in 1974 Chinatown was one of a number of landmark films that made the decade such an important one in cinema. The story of a private detective hired to expose an adulterous husband in 1930 Los Angeles but then finds himself caught up in a web of corruption and murder was written by the late Robert Towne. His scripts previous to this had included Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe and Mrs Miller and The Last detail which had starred Jack Nicholson.
Towne had been fascinated by stories his father had told him of water supplies to LA in the early part of the century and he spent years researching the stories as well as that of the work of private investigators of the era. He settled on the format of a murder mystery and having already earned an Oscar nomination for his script for The Last Detail he found the studios were only too receptive to his work and it was Paramount who optioned the script offering it to director Roman Polanski. With films such as Repulsion, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Rosemary’s Baby and a bloody retelling of Macbeth his films has met with much admiration. But Polanski was also a gifted writer himself and though he liked the script he had issues with the ending that saw the detective solve the case and powerful yet corrupt officials and business men bought to account. It didn’t sit right with him and it was the ending plus a number of other smaller issues that he wanted changed much to Towne’s ire but keen to sell the script he agreed. It was the right decision as it made a decent if conventional story into a truly great film with a downbeat ending and would impact on how all future films in the genre and in fairness to Polanski he refused any script credit.
The script is generally regarded as one of the finest ever written and rightly so with poetic licence that enriches it to new heights. The first is its running motif of water vs drought with allusions to drowning, drinking, the sea and the Department of Water and Power is at the centre of all because in the story water IS power -those that controlled the water supply would have power. Further to this is the thread of sexual cruelty – apart from one moment of intimacy all the rest causes pain, anguish and turmoil owing to adultery, sadism and incest. Then finally there is the concept that little is what it appears to be – scenes seen in mirrors, broken glasses, sunglasses. No scene is without at least one of these elements.
So why is it called Chinatown – in years past many major cities allowed Chinatowns to exist and crime there was largely ignored as long it stayed within that district and the film was an indicator of this on a far larger scale. It is the fourth element that runs throughout the film with racial quips by characters about criminal elements within such a district. But in Chinatown evil was everywhere and also within. Little is what it seems.
Polanski had secured a great cast led by Jack Nicholson as detective Jake Gittes opposite Faye Dunaway and John Huston himself a giant in the world of film directors having worked with actors like Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. But Chinatown is often considered film noir. Film noir dealt with characters on the fringe of society often losers with detectives doling out justice and bringing the guilty to face the consequences of their actions. Instead Chinatown with its downbeat ending had characters that were rich, powerful and influential. Film noir would have a femme fatale that would play on the weakness of the male lead. But Dunaway’s character was as tragic as any other. Film noir was celebrated for its hard expressionist lighting – here it is soft and luxurious.
Chinatown opened on 20th June 1974 and was an immediate commercial and critical hit with 11 Oscar nominations that included Best Film, Actor, Actress and Director but it was Towne who rightly won for his screenplay.
50 years later we now have this superb 4k UHD blu-ray with a host of excellent bonus features that includes:
- A State of Mind: Author Sam Wasson On Chinatown – Sam Wasson, film historian and bestselling author of The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years Of Hollywood, on the importance of the film and its legacy.
- Chinatown Memories – Legendary producer Hawk Koch shares stories from his time as assistant director on the film.
- The Trilogy That Never Was – Sam Wasson discusses the planned third installment of what would have been a trio of movies featuring the character Jake Gittes.
Additional legacy bonus content which appears on 4K Ultra HD
and Blu-ray discs:
- Commentary by screenwriter Robert Towne with David Fincher
- Water and Power
- The Aqueduct
- The Aftermath
- The River & Beyond
- Chinatown: An Appreciation
- Chinatown: The Beginning and the End
- Chinatown: Filming
- Chinatown: Legacy
- Theatrical Trailer
Each of these are excellent and the commentary with Towne and director David Fincher is very good notable also for the reason too that the pair were working on a script together before Towne recently passed away. This 50th anniversary edition of Chinatown is as good as it gets for classic film releases. Lavished with excellent features it’s a reminder that film is an art form as much as it is a business.
related feature : ‘See How They Run’ – Tom George on his all star cast, hidden Easter eggs & a ‘This Country’ film
related feature ; Chinatown producer Robert Evans obituary
Here’s the Chinatown trailer….
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