# Chinatown (1974 Movie)/Recommendations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929 "2017-08-28T12:10:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/1 "2017-08-28T12:10:43Z")
Just watched this movie, I am shocked at how fantastic it was. It just reinforces my idea that the older movies have so much more substance to them. Seeing good classic movies like this makes me wonder if modern movie makers are just out for a quick buck, or have nothing original to offer. Any recommendations for some very good older movies in the same vein as this one? Thanks. Edit: Sorry Mods, meant to put this in Cafe Society… ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/2 "2017-08-28T12:45:07Z")
The 70s Nicholson library is filled with classic film The Last Detail Carmel Knowledge Five Easy Pieces One Flew Over the Coockoos Nest King of Marvin Gardens ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/3 "2017-08-28T12:47:21Z")
Autocorrect wants Carnel Knowledge to be Carmel Knowledge…but that reminds me of another great ups film…Play Misty for Me…Clint Eastwoods first directoral effort. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/4 "2017-08-28T13:10:02Z")
I rewatched _Chinatown_ recently just to marvel at how brilliantly the story unfolds. In a similar vein three of my favorite 70s movies, that don’t seem to be all that often mentioned are: [Badlands](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069762/combined), which may be my all time favorite [Sorcerer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/combined) and [Straight Time](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078326/combined) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/5 "2017-08-28T13:51:18Z")
Chinatown is indeed amazing. As far as 70s movies, while it is overshadowed by its soundtrack I think Saturday Night Fever is a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/6 "2017-08-28T13:59:26Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I rewatched _Chinatown_ recently just to marvel at how brilliantly the story unfolds. > > In a similar vein three of my favorite 70s movies, that don’t seem to be all that often mentioned are: > > [Badlands](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069762/combined), which may be my all time favorite > [Sorcerer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076740/combined) and > [Straight Time](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078326/combined) Straight Time is a shockingly forgotten film. Dustin Hoffman, playing completely against type, is brilliant as a hardened criminal. A young fresh faced Theresa Russell is very effective. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/7 "2017-08-28T14:47:41Z")
**Mel Brooks** movies, with the exception of _Space Balls_, which sucks balls. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/8 "2017-08-28T15:01:47Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > Just watched this movie, I am shocked at how fantastic it was. It just reinforces my idea that the older movies have so much more substance to them. Seeing good classic movies like this makes me wonder if modern movie makers are just out for a quick buck, or have nothing original to offer. > > Any recommendations for some very good older movies in the same vein as this one? Personally, Chinatown invokes the [eight deadly words](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EightDeadlyWords) for me. But what vein do you mean? 1970s movies? Detective noir movies? The field is wide open. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/9 "2017-08-28T15:25:13Z")
_The Big Fix_ _The Conversation_ _The Friends of Eddie Coyle_ _The Long Goodbye_ _Marlowe_ _Night Moves_ _The Seven-Ups_ ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/10 "2017-08-28T15:32:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > **Mel Brooks** movies, with the exception of _Space Balls_, which sucks balls. In whose circulatory system is a Mel Brooks movie in the same vein as Chinatown? mmm ---
**Author:** ![ralfy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ralfy/32/600_2.png) [@ralfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralfy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/11 "2017-08-28T16:17:53Z")
Many films mentioned here: > **[New Hollywood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hollywood)** > > The New Hollywood, also known as American New Wave or Hollywood Renaissance, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence. > They influenced the types of film produced, their production and marketing, and the way major studios approached filmmaking. In New Hollywood films, the film director, rather than the studio, took on a key authorial role. The definition of "New Hollywood" varies, depending on the ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/12 "2017-08-28T16:21:57Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > Just watched this movie, I am shocked at how fantastic it was. It just reinforces my idea that the older movies have so much more substance to them. Seeing good classic movies like this makes me wonder if modern movie makers are just out for a quick buck, or have nothing original to offer. > > Any recommendations for some very good older movies in the same vein as this one? > Thanks. > > Edit: Sorry Mods, meant to put this in Cafe Society… Moved ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/13 "2017-08-28T17:50:37Z")
Contrary opinion: Saying older movies have more “substance” to them compared to modern movies is just selective memory. Look at what else came out in 1974. Start with _Earthquake_, which right this minute has a thread about how unbelievably stupid it is. In the old vs new comparo, is _Dirty Mary Crazy Larry_ better or worse than the _Fast and the Furious_? Is _Freebie and the Bean_ better than _The Other Guys_? For every _The Conversation_ in 1974, there’s a _McQ_. Speaking of, does _The Conversation_ have more or less originality than _Enemy of the State_? On the other hand, The original _Taking of Pelham 123_ is far superior to the remake. Personally, I think _LA Confidential_ is better than _Chinatown_, but that’s just like my opinion. Anyone up for a showing of _Phantom of the Paradise_? Or _The Trial of Billy Jack_? ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/14 "2017-08-28T18:34:28Z")
I have always been a fan of The Day of the Jackal (1973). Just don’t watch the Bruce Willis remake “Jackal”. That was a horrible film. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/15 "2017-08-28T18:49:25Z")
_Sorcerer_. Good (80% on Rotten Tomatoes) gritty action flick that got overshadowed by a certain blockbuster space opera. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/16 "2017-08-28T19:24:11Z")
> [@Scoobysnax](#): > > I have always been a fan of The Day of the Jackal (1973). . . . Just what I came in to post. It has that unhurried pace and logical progression which I love to see in a noir or a thriller. _Chinatown_ is an awfully hard one to beat, though. It’s one of my top five favorite films. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/17 "2017-08-28T19:50:26Z")
Ooh, I remembered a good one: _Charley Varrick_, with Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/18 "2017-08-28T20:02:28Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Ooh, I remembered a good one: _Charley Varrick_, with Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker. I like the Matheau trifecta from the early seventies: The Laughing Policeman The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Charley Varrick ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/19 "2017-08-28T20:06:08Z")
If you liked _Chinatown_, you should check out the sequel, _The Two Jakes_. Many people will tell you it is vastly inferior, but I found it very worthwhile. There was a third film intended, but it was never made. At least, not yet. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929/20 "2017-08-28T20:39:02Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > In whose circulatory system is a Mel Brooks movie in the same vein as Chinatown? > mmm _The Producers, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, Blazing Saddles…_ All Classics! Great stories, and well-made films. Just because they are funny doesn’t make them sub-standard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinatown-1974-movie-recommendations/794929.md?page=2)