Chinatown

In the mid-70s, director Polanski decided to revive the long-dead noir genre, thus becoming the founder of the so-called neo-noir genre, which found numerous followers and supporters in the 70s and 80s. Chinatown is the flagship of its category, and one must admire the technical aspects of the film even years later, whether it is careful direction, music, or - above all - precise camera work. However, I have a problem with the film itself. The plot and screenplay failed to captivate me. Although Chinatown is considered one of Polanski's best films, I prefer other films in his body of work. Those who enjoy charismatic detectives, fateful women, and dramatic atmosphere will enjoy this film, but I prefer genre classics that are 2-3 decades older. Perhaps I also have a slight issue with the slow pace and the film's runtime. Overall impression: 70%. (26/05/2010)

I like Polanski’s movies. I have a weakness for noir. And for Nicholson as a young actor, when he hadn’t yet got into the habit of acting himself from various directions. Chinatown isn’t the best noir movie ever. But it certainly is one of the best. I can see just one “serious" negative. That it wasn’t filmed in black and white, as Polanski originally intended. (27/11/2004)

The basic structure of the story is quite similar to L.A. Confidential, with mysterious murders, a lot of peripheral characters, a foggy and unpredictable plot, and slowly revealing connections that gradually fit into a complex pattern of the motive of the murder. Roman Polanski brilliantly captured the atmosphere of a classic noir film. Throughout most of the film you can see a constant twilight, which gives it a special mysterious touch. (13/04/2005)

I've heard maybe too much praise for the movie, and perhaps I'm already a bit influenced by the current state of the world, so the major revelation didn't feel that shocking to me. But it's still a great film, which Polanski guides with an incredibly sure hand to the end, and it offers no happy ending, which in this case is a good thing. (06/10/2015)

I have one problem with Chinatown, as deeply mysterious and conspiratorial as the story appears to be, I found it rather falsely super-clever and a bit unnecessarily drawn out in the end. But that doesn't change the fact that it works superbly as a colourful homage to film-noir, that the atmosphere is properly suffocating, the actors are excellent and that Polanski stages some of the climactic scenes in a very impressive, almost unique in its time, visual way. Rarely you’ll feel so sad that noir has disappeared from the film industry as when you watch Chinatown, a work of form that is undoubtedly perfect and beautiful... (08/02/2016)