One of my top 5 favorite films. Just now watching the special feature on the DVD.
One thing I never thought about was that Polanski was reluctant to come to the US to make it, it was only a few years after Sharon Tate was killed.
“You know what happens to nosy fellas?” Nicholson thought it was a real knife when they shot the scene.
Robert Towne is now talking about how much time some of the shots took, on screen. A very long shot of Gittes driving a car into a driveway, other scenes. Such a slow-paced film.
Now Polanski and Towne talking about how it could not be made today, and I think that is true.
"Mr. Gittes, have we ever met?’
“I think I would have remembered.”
“How much better can you eat, what can you buy that you can’t already afford?”
“The future, Mr Gits.” (he never gets the name right)
I don’t know, I loved Chinatown when I saw it (instant purchase the next time I see it for sale) but I think that it’s the story, the acting, and the “noir” storytelling that makes it a classic, more than the long cuts or anything. It’s probably my favorite noir outside of an episode of The Big O about a balloon (of all things). But, I think, it has some good competitors like LA Confidential and the aforementioned Big O. I don’t think it’s massively out front in its field. (Particularly given that I haven’t watched all that many black and white films, comparatively.)
In terms of long cuts and atmosphere, I think that’s a separate matter from noir and I don’t know that Chinatown is really at the head of that list. There, I’d call the heavy hitters movies more like Once Upon a Time in the West and Bladerunner.
You need a really good soundtrack to place on that scale. Vangelis and Ennio Morricone really brought it on their films.
I love this movie and I’ve always been a big fan of Jack Nicholson, but I never knew till recently there was a 1990 sequel, The Two Jakes. I guess it wasn’t very popular because I’ve never heard anyone even mention it, apparently Roger Ebert thought it was decent though.
I love Chinatown, and I’m in good company on that. But I’m one of the few people I know who think The Two Jakes is just as good if not better. There was a planned third film in the series, but it never materialized. Nicholson is still alive, though, so I suppose it is still possible.
I hated The Two Jakes (and Rotten Tomatoes agrees with me), but perhaps I’ll watch it again and see if that’s still the case. Nicholson directed it, and it showed, IMO.
That’s one of my favorite little parts of the movie. Cross says Gittes name wrong, is corrected, but still gets it wrong. He knows that it is Gittes, not Gits. It is a not so subtle point that Gittes is far beneath Cross on the social scale.
And the last line is one of the best last lines in any film.
In the early scene the gardener says, “Bad for grass.” Gittes says, “Yeah sure, bad for the glass.” Then Gittes sees something reflecting in the water. He picks up a poker to try and fish it out but Mrs. Mulray arrrives and Gittes drops the poker and forgets about it. In the later scene the gardener is there again and he says, “Salt water, very very bad.” Gittes was walking away but then stops and goes back and fishes out the glasses
are we talking about the exact words the gardener used or when he mentions salt water? I was quoting from memory, but the gardener does not mention salt water the first time Gittes comes to the house.
*EXT. POND - GITTES AND JAPANESE GARDENER - DAY
GARDENER:
(to Gittes)
Bad for glass.
GITTES:
(not understanding)
Yeah sure. Bad for glass.
The Gardener nods, and is off, leaving Gittes staring at the object in the bottom of the pond that is gleaming. He looks at the tool the Gardener was using, hesitates, picks it up and starts to probe into the pond himself, toward the gleaming object.
*
The scene when the gardener mentions salt water is much later in the film but since this website only shows about 30 lines per page I’m not going to keep hitting next to get there.
And so did Jerry Goldsmith. It’s not experimental or anthemic, like those scores, but man, he really does a great job of capturing the melancholy and the suspense–much like he did in L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, too.
If anyone wants to catch MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, you’d be advised that while the commodity is land rather than water, it owes a lot to both CHINATOWN and its sequel–not only in some of the tangled webs that are woven, but even in the mythic captain of industry that’s pulling the strings (instead of Noah Cross, it’s Moses Randolph, played by Alec Baldwin).
MB has some wonderful period details, a strong affection for jazz, and an excellent cast, but the mystery gets tangled in the exposition and while it’s a strong movie (and one I’d recommend), it’s not nearly as smart in its construction and narrative economy as CHINATOWN. That film really guts you in a world where power means everything.
I saw MB and it is good and I would recommend it, everything is done very well. But I have no interest to see it again. Maybe in a couple of years if I see it on Netflix and there is nothing else I want to watch I will.
It’s like The Two Jakes. I’ve seen it a couple of times, and it is very good. It just doesn’t have that inexplicable magic to make it a great film.
I am a big fan of The Two Jakes. I’m fine with the story - some parts are stronger than others - sure … great acting though - from a lot of great actors. And … I love the cinematography
Yes, perhaps the best example of a big plot reveal through clever writing; I wonder who came up with that idea.
I had never heard of the Two Jakes, maybe I will give it a go some time.
BTW there is a rather amusing episode of Pinky and the Brain which parodies Chinatown and other noirs. Are there any other parodies of Chinatown worth watching? it’s a great film but like most noirs very much a ripe target for parody too