Chinatown [Blu-ray]

The only thing wrong with this movie is that it was released the same year as Godfather II. As a result, it never got the attention that it deserved (and still deserves to this day) as a premiere example of a film noir drama. The entire cast is superb, but Nicholson and Dunaway dominate with great performances. I have this movie and never tire of re-watching it from time to time. The musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is excellent and the trumpet solo in the opening and ending love theme is hauntingly beautiful and so "1930s L.A.". The story itself is timeless.

No way could you give this movie fewer than 5 stars! It would be a travesty. This movie was written so well, and acted so well that it is as fresh today as it was when I first saw it when it came out in movie theaters. Yes, we actually went to theaters in those days: there were no computers, no Amazon prime, no streaming. But I'm not knocking the current system: it is so easy to view something like this masterpiece for only three or four dollars! This movie ranks up there with Casablanca and Gone With The Wind in so many ways: a classic that is referred to daily, its takeaway lines that are timeless, its lessons in history and corruption that amaze us and jade us both. If you've never seen Chinatown, see it. If you've seen it before, check it out again to be astounded by how great the movie has persisted.

You probably know the movie. It's fantastic, and the sound and the quality of this print are perfect. But the real reason to buy this is for all the extras. All the interviews with the stars and the creators of the movie - I enjoyed them almost as much as the movie. Lots of history revealed too. So you are getting one of the two or three greatest movies ever made, and a brilliant documentary about the making of the movie and about the history behind it.

The best stuff has already been said, but I'll offer that Nicholson seems like an ensemble player in this flick. John Huston is so powerful here, I sometimes think it may have shaped all of Nicholson's future performances. Faye Dunaway is astounding in how she seeks to not only embody her character but the era the film is set in. When the camera cuts to her, it cuts to a 1930's femme fatale.

First of all, CHINATOWN the movie is one of the unqualified greats. Why I'm writing is to warn Amazon Prime streamers that this version is not the best way to experience this amazing movie, especially for first-time viewers. For some reason, the print from which this version is struck has been drained of color! And colors are essential to experiencing CHINATOWN, because when I first saw it in a theater decades ago, I kept thinking to myself: how could a setting so sun-kissed and often even lush be the backdrop for a story so noirish? How did they pull it off? But pull it off they did, in spades and that is part of the greatness of CHINATOWN. However, you will not see this contradiction in the Amazon Prime streaming version, and it takes away greatly from the enjoyment of the picture. Most of the colors are muted, desaturated, and interior scenes are often murky. When I watched this on Amazon for about 10 minutes, I paused the stream and switched over to Kanopy, a free streaming service obtainable through membership in my local library. While still not the best digital version of CHINATOWN I've seen, at least all the colors I remember have been retained. So again the 2.5-star rating is not for the quality of the movie, but I have reduced the 5-star rating this great film deserves because of the poor quality of Prime's presentation. (And don't get me started about another Paramount classic offered on Prime - ORDINARY PEOPLE. On Prime, that looks like it was digitized from a VHS copy.)

Young Jack Nicholson is a private eye, who gets into deep water when he stumbles upon a murder mystery. This movie is perhaps the best Jack Nicholson movie I have ever seen. I am a child of the 80's, so I grew up with an older, more deranged Jack Nicholson. I love the character that he plays in this movie. Jack is quick witted and he says some hilarious comebacks that shuts up his adversary. I would say he is a lovable jerk with balls of steel. There is so much more to say about this movie. they don't make movies like this anymore and it is a must watch!

There were tens of thousands of movies produced between 1950 and 2000; Chinatown has to be in the top three.What makes it so compelling is it is two stories told as one. Your first viewing is the story as seen by J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) who, like the audience is just trying to figure out what is going on. Your second viewing is the story as told by all the other characters, a story that remains pretty well hidden from you in the first viewing. Only then can you full appreciate director Polanski's rebuttal to to complaints about changing the original screenplay ending: "But then... what's the point?".EXCELLENT acting by Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston.

I don't say this lightly, but this may be the greatest detective noir film ever made. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway are brilliant in this gritty tale that starts at a low simmer and build to a rolling tea kettle whistling boil. The climax breaks violently and fizzles into the tingly afterglow of good sex. I loved this film so much. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This UK blu-ray disc is reviewed as having extras including commentary along with extras featured on previously issued DVD version. IT HAS NONE WHATSOEVER !The film is without doubt a 5 star, but thisUK blu-ray edition is only worth 3 star. A rip-off!I have subsequently purchased a US import and it has several extras and therefor 5 stars all round.

Polanski's classic noir thriller based on the Los Angeles water wars, ie the political difficulties over the Owens Valley aqueduct. It presented a vague backdrop for a murder mystery story set in the 1930s. It was a generally entertaining film with some good acting and a very good musical soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. The Blu-ray video was good but the sound was better when set to the restored mono rather than the simulated 5.1 Dolby stereo - the latter seemed to be at a lower level compared to the musical soundtrack which made it difficult to set a suitable sound level. For the record this US import will play in the UK and includes all the extras which are apparently missing from the UK version.

Roman Polanski created an unforgetable film-noir. Although shot in colour, it still retains an authentic feel of place and time.Jack Nicholson plays the inevitable gumshoe wandering into a convoluted plot until it's way above his head. Faye Dunaway has the role of Femme-fatale to perfection. These two are the main players, but there's a decent supporting cast that includes an alarming `Goodfellas'-style cameo from the director himself. The plot twists so much it must be watched rather than described. Pacing, lighting & editing are absolutely spot-on, enabling the whole movie to flow in both plot and character development. And the icing on the cake is its theme music, which surfaces as incidental elements throughout the movie. It's a slow-burning jazz number with languid trumpet lead that hits the spot in every theme and is as much a part of plot cohesion as the script itself.Some don't appear to enjoy this movie half so much as they should. I don't know why, and clearly my praise of it must be as confusing to them. All I can say is that I was bowled over at first watching and have loved it ever since. It's nearly 40 years old now, but might have been made yesterday. No element has aged in the least.The Collector's Edition supplied by Amazon is crisp & clear. It is listed as 125mins run-time, `15' viewer-rating, and 2.35:1 aspect ratio. There's a number of interesting extras.Highly recommended and collectible.

If there are any niggly little flaws in this movie then they are SO minor as to be completely inconsequential. The marriage of major movie stylists Polanski and Nicholson on one film proves to be almost too good to believe. Have they made another movie together? And if not, why not? It simply throbs with style and charisma, this movie, and the work of both men here is just exceptional. You really can't hype this movie enough, it sets out knowing exactly what it wants to be and delivers it by the bucketful. Nothing in it is forced or rushed or looks out of place. This is because there are cinematic masters at work here. Everything is relaxed (as real Noir should be) and very, very confidently executed. A masterpiece.

Very good film in all regards, perhaps not a typical Hollywood film.