History Main / Chinatown

* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: Evelyn Mulwray dozes off in the car, her head falls and sets of the horn. In the end she tries to escape, a police fires at her and then we hear the horn ring...]]

One of the seminal Neo-Noir films, ''Chinatown'' was written by Robert Towne and directed by RomanPolanski. The film stars JackNicholson, FayeDunaway, and JohnHuston. It is ''[[WorldHalfEmpty DARK!]]''

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Anjelica Huston, John's real life ''daughter'', as Mulwray. {{Squick}}.

* CreatorCameo: Polanski briefly appears a a hired goon who catches Jake snooping around the reservoir at night and slits his nostril open with a knife.

** And 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?"

* CreatorCameo: Polanski briefly appears as one of Yelburton's thugs, who catches Jake snooping around the reservoir at night and slits his nostril open with a knife.

* DownerEnding: One of the nastiest. Perhaps the most famous aspect of this film outside of TheReveal.
** Originally screenwriter Robert Towne had written a happier ending where [[spoiler: Evelyn Mulray and her daugher get away]]. Polanski however had a more pessimistic viewpoint(due to his wife and unborn child's murder by the Manson family) and changed it into the more tragic ending.

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] again, particularly after TheReveal.
* ContestedSequel: There are rumors of a movie called ''TheTwoJakes''.
** Sadly ''Chinatown'' was intended to be a trilogy. Each film would catch up with Jake Gittes entangled in a natural resource scandal, each one separated by 15 years in time. ''Chinatown'' is the story of LA's water rights; ''TheTwoJakes'' detailed the local oil industry. A third film, titled either ''Cloverleaf'' or ''Gittes vs. Gittes'', would have shown the shady real estate deals leading to the freeway system. The poor performance of the first sequel killed the final film.
*** Wait... didn't RobertZemeckis make [[WhoFramedRogerRabbit that one]]?

* TheReveal: She's her sister [[spoiler:''AND'' [[GrandmamaBabymamaSwitch her daughter]]]]

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel / VindicatedByCable: ''The Two Jakes''. Its chief problem was that when it was released in 1990, it required filmgoers to have seen ''Chinatown'' to get its full impact. Now, it's possible with the release on DVD, one can watch both films simultaneously and get the full impact of the sequel.

* AteHisGun: Jake does this to a corrupt cop in ''The Two Jakes'' because of the TragicKeepsake he has. The cop [[PottyFailure pees his pants]] after Jake forces him to perform fellatio on the gun barrel. It sounds harsh, but [[JerkAss the cop really deserved it.]]

* TragicKeepsake: The son of the officer who shot [[spoiler: Evelyn]] at the end of ''Chinatown'' kept the bullet. Proudly.

* Surprisingly Improved Sequel / VindicatedByCable: ''The Two Jakes''. Its chief problem was that when it was released in 1990, it required filmgoers to have seen ''Chinatown'' to get its full impact. Now, it's possible with the release on DVD, one can watch both films simultaneously and get the full impact of the sequel.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The city of Los Angeles [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Water_Wars#Los_Angeles_Aqueduct:_the_beginning_of_the_water_wars really did]] steal water from valley farmers.

** Sadly ''Chinatown'' was intended to be a trilogy. Each film would catch up with Jake Gittes entangled in a natural resource scandal, each one separated by 15 years in time. ''Chinatown'' is the story of LA's water rights; ''TheTwoJakes'' detailed the local oil industry. A third film, titled either ''Cloverleaf'' or ''Gittes vs. Gittes'' would have shown the shady real estate deals leading to the freeway system. The poor performance of the first sequel killed the final film.

One of the seminal Neo-Noir films, ''Chinatown'' was written by Robert Towne and directed by RomanPolanski. It is ''[[WorldHalfEmpty DARK!]]''

* TheReveal: She's her sister [[hottip:spoiler:''AND'' [[GrandmamaBabymamaSwitch her daughter]]]]

* ContestedSequel: There are rumors of a movie called TheTwoJakes.

[[IThoughtItMeant For the kind of place]], see FriendlyLocalChinatown.

This movie contains examples of: