Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13974 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-11-23
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Roman Polanski's brooding film noir exposes the darkest side of the land of sunshine, the Los Angeles of the 1930s, where power is the only currency--and the only real thing worth buying. Jack Nicholson is J.J. Gittes, a private eye in the Chandler mold, who during a routine straying-spouse investigation finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. The glamorous Evelyn Mulwray (a dazzling Faye Dunaway) and her titanic father, Noah Cross (John Huston), are at the black-hole center of this tale of treachery, incest, and political bribery. The crackling, hard-bitten script by Robert Towne won a well-deserved Oscar, and the muted color cinematography makes the goings-on seem both bleak and impossibly vibrant. Polanski himself has a brief, memorable cameo as the thug who tangles with Nicholson's nose. One of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time. --Anne Hurley

Customer Reviews

The best deal for the classic coloured film noir
The film is a classic. Everyone knows Chinatown. Who still doubt it? Forget it, Jake. Chinatown is one of the best film i've ever seen. A coloured film noir. And the dvd is cheap. For an not-really-modern film like Chinatown, the picture and sound is at their best-if you dont wanna say it perfect. We're talking about this product (a DVD,not a BD). It has just a few extra. I found a lot of fun on them. I dont know whether the studio still keep some footage for the BD release or not. For now, it's at its best deal.

More than just a great detective film
Private detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) becomes embroiled in L.A. water politics and falls for the daughter (Faye Dunaway) of a powerful but evil (you have no idea how evil unless you've seen the movie) developer (John Huston). This is 70s nihilism at its best. Roman Polanski shows us why he's worthy of being regarded as a great director no matter how much sub-standard product he turns out, and Nicholson shines in his physical prime. Robert Townes demonstrates why he is regarded as a superlative screenwriter, although it is important to note that Polanski is responsible for the film's devastating conclusion.

Gittes operates in a world where it is essentially impossible to do good. No matter how much he seems to be in command of a situation, there are always factors beyond his understanding and control that fundamentally alter the intended outcome of all his efforts. Knowing this, is he a fool or a hero for acting as he does? Or perhaps he is just a decent human being who tries to help when he can, trusting to the Fates that he will not cause too much harm. For much of this film, you may wonder why it is called "Chinatown," but when the final scene reveals the suitability of the title, it is a disturbing comment on the human condition.

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its a timeless classic and must for movie buffs! it also arrived in great condition and a very timely manner.