History Film / Chinatown

[[IThoughtItMeant For the kind of place]], see FriendlyLocalChinatown. Don't confuse this with ''BigTroubleInLittleChina'', however tempting it may be.

** spoiler:''Noah'' Cross, who is trying to gain control of all the water in Los Angeles. Noah Cross' original name in the script was Julian, so someone on the team probably decided to change the name sometime during production in realization.]]

--> '''Noah Cross:''' Oh my, yes!

--> '''Noah Cross:''' [[VisionaryVillain The future, Mr. Gittes! The future]].

** Screenwriter Robert Towne once expressed that Huston was the second best-cast actor in the film, next to JackNicholson. Huston's performance, he claimed, elevated Cross above the portrayal in the script and made him truly memorable.

** "'''Holl'''is '''Mul'''wray" is derived from William '''Mulholl'''and, the name of one of the men involved in the real events which the film fictionalizes (see VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory) and who also gave his name to [[MulhollandDrive a famous road in California]]. Also, ''Noah'' Cross, who is trying to gain control of all the water in Los Angeles.

** Noah Cross' original name in the script was Julian, so someone on the team probably decided to change the name sometime during production in realization.

* TitleDrop: See this article's opening quote. Probably one of the most famous examples.

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Cross persists in pronouncing Jake's last name as "Gitts" even after he's corrected. Also, Curly addresses him as "Mr. Geetis" a couple times.

* GuileHero: While "hero" might be something of a stretch, the fact is that Jake is VERY good at making people slip up so he can wring info out of them, and has so many tricks up his sleeve he'd do {{Batman}} proud.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The characters' casual sexism/racism/antisemitism.
-It should be noted that when Gittes makes an anti-Semitic comment during his conversation with the manager of the Vista Inn retirement home, he is bluffing; he's pretending to be the son of a potential resident there, so that he can get information about fraudulent real estate dealings. He is, therefore, pretending to be the type of upper-crust exclusivist who would seek out such a venue. His anti-Semitic comment is not his actual opinion; it's part of his guise to get into the place.

One of the seminal Neo-Noir films, and considered by many to be among the best of FilmNoir films in general, ''Chinatown'' (1974) was written by Robert Towne and directed by RomanPolanski. The film stars JackNicholson, Faye Dunaway, and JohnHuston. It is ''[[WorldHalfEmpty DARK.]]''

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Part of the Downer Ending is that Noah Cross gets away scot-free for his crimes, and even takes his daughter/granddaughter away at the end. It's implied that he'll go on to molest her the same way he did his daughter.]]

* ParentalIncest: [[spoiler:It's revealed that Noah Cross raped Evelyn Mulwray, his daughter, and produced a daughter with her.]]

* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler:Although Cross claims otherwise.]]

* TheReveal[=/=]WhamLine: She's [[spoiler: her sister ''AND'' [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo her daughter]]]].

* VisionaryVillain: [[spoiler:Noah Cross.]]
-->'''Jake Gittes:''' I just wanna know what you're worth. More than 10 million?
-->'''[[spoiler:Noah Cross]]:''' Oh my, yes!
-->'''Jake Gittes:''' Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?
-->'''[[spoiler:Noah Cross]]:''' [[VisionaryVillain The future, Mr. Gittes! The future.]]

->'''Walsh:''' ''Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.''

* TheBadGuyWins

Fun fact: ''Chinatown'' was co-financed by Bob Guccione, the publisher of ''Penthouse''. (That's right, the pornographic magazine.)

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Noah Cross]]

* ChekhovsGun:
** 'Bad for glass'.
** Good GOD there are so many in this film! Let's see here, [[spoiler:Evelyn]] has a flaw in [[spoiler:her]] left eye, Jake shoots out the left taillight of [[spoiler:her]] car, the pair of glasses that Jake finds has the left lens broken... and so on and so on. Guess where [[spoiler: Evelyn]] eventually gets shot?
*** Jake's left nostril is the one that gets slashed.
** Even the seemingly insignificant touch of Evelyn accidentally setting off the car horn by resting her head on the steering wheel comes back with a vengeance at the end, when [[spoiler: Jake (and the audience) know her fate even before seeing the carnage by the continuous sound of the car horn]].
** The script is so loaded with these that many consider it to be one of the most structurally perfect screenplays ever written, and it has a reputation for being taught in screenwriting classes. ''Nothing'' is superfluous in this movie.

* CreatorBreakdown: Roman Polanski's pregnant wife was murdered by the Manson family. He was also a Holocaust survivor. His bleak, bleak worldview led him to change Robert Towne's BittersweetEnding into a big ole DownerEnding. Robert Towne ultimately conceded that it made the movie better.

* EnforcedMethodActing: Jack Nicholson was genuinely nervous during the nose-cutting scene because the knife being used could actually have hurt him badly if not held correctly. In the end, Roman Polanski did the scene himself to get it right.

* EvilSoundsDeep: Just ''listen'' to JohnHuston's voice.

* EyeScream

* KarmaHoudini
* KnightInSourArmor
* MeaningfulName: "'''Holl'''is '''Mul'''wray" is derived from William '''Mulholl'''and, the name of one of the men involved in the real events which the film fictionalizes (see VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory) and who also gave his name to [[MulhollandDrive a famous road in California]]. Also, ''Noah'' Cross, who is trying to gain control of all the water in Los Angeles.
** Also, the coroner's name is Morty.

* MetaCasting: John Huston, the director of many of the FilmNoir classics, in the role of the villain.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Gittes gives Cross the only piece of evidence capable of proving him guilty of murdering Hollis Mulwray.]] Whoops.

* ParentalIncest

* RapeAsDrama: Although Cross claims otherwise.
* RedHerring: Hollis not wearing his glasses when his body is recovered. Gittes finds a pair of glasses and assumes they belong to him, when in fact they belong to his killer.

* ShoutOut: The casting of JohnHuston, the director of many of the great, early noirs including ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon'' and ''KeyLargo'', as Noah Cross.

* SmokingHotSex

* TheSociopath: Noah Cross.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Anjelica Huston, John's real life ''daughter'', as Evelyn Mulwray. {{Squick}}.
** [[HarsherInHindsight It was pretty awkward as it was]], given that Jack Nicholson had just started dating Anjelica in real life, making the scenes where John's character asks "Mr. Gittes, do you sleep with my daughter?" just...uncomfortable.
** ''Chinatown'' was meant to be the first film in a trilogy, each starring Jake Gittes and revolving around corruption during the development of Los Angeles. Jack Nicholson never played another detective character, so that Gittes would remain his iconic PI. Unfortunately the sequel had trouble getting off the ground - thanks to Roman Polanski's rape of at least one underage girl and his subsequent flight to Europe to avoid prosecution - and when it finally materialized ''sixteen years later'', its critical and commercial failure put a kibosh on any chances for the third film.
*** Bizarrely enough, many elements of what would have been the third film turned up in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', notably the freeway arc.
** Robert Towne originally wrote the screenplay with a (comparatively) happy ending, in which [[spoiler: Evelyn and her daughter]] make a successful getaway. Only after a long and bitter debate with Polanski was it changed - at the last minute - to the infamous DownerEnding. Towne later conceded that the film was better that way.

* ChekhovsGunman: Jake's client in the opening scene.

* CreatorBreakdown: Roman Polanski's pregnant wife was murdered by the Manson Family. He was also a Holocaust survivor. His bleak, bleak worldview led him to change Robert Towne's BittersweetEnding into a big ole DownerEnding. Robert Towne ultimately conceded that it made the movie better.

* OneSceneWonder: An interesting use of this trope. [[spoiler: Noah Cross]] has all of two (three at a push), very brief, scenes in this very long film. He's often remembered as one of the most despicable villains in cinematic history.
** And [[CreatorCameo Polanski himself]], as the Man with the Knife. "You're a very nosy fella, kittycat. You know what happens to nosy fellas? No? Wanna guess?"

Had a lesser-known (and less well-regarded) sequel, ''TheTwoJakes'', directed by JackNicholson and released in 1990.

** ''Chinatown'' was meant to be the first film in a trilogy, each starring Jake Gittes and revolving around corruption during the development of Los Angeles. Jack Nicholson never played another detective character, so that Gittes would remain his iconic PI. Unfortunately the sequel had trouble getting off the ground - thanks to Roman Polanski's rape of at least one underage girl and his subsequent flight to Europe to avoid prosecution - and when [[TheTwoJakes it finally materialized]] ''sixteen years later'', its critical and commercial failure put a kibosh on any chances for the third film.

* [[spoiler: ParentalIncest]]

* ParentalIncest

* FemmeFatale: Just about everyone thinks Evelyn Mulwray is one of these. [[spoiler:She is the exact opposite]].

* KarmaHoudini: By a CompleteMonster, no less.

** Not to mention [[spoiler:calling the cops on Evelyn under the erroneous belief that she's the culprit]].