 "Blu Ray" | 2010-03-05 |
| - Reviewed By Dr Gero from Bellingham, WA |
| I am wondering when this movie will be available in Blu ray. It's a masterpiece. |
| |
| "A great achievement in the art of noir" | 2010-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By Movie Collector from Houston, Texas |
Chinatown is a dark bit of neo-noir cinema directed by the great Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby) and starring three time Academy Award winning actor Jack Nicholson (both of whom are no strangers to dark stories). So to say that Chinatown is a journey into the darkside of humanity is putting this gloomy story lightly. Everything about this movie has a lingering feel to it that refuses to leave a viewer's head. Is it the characters or the plot? It's both. Chinatown is a mystifying puzzle of a film that immerses its viewers into its world.
Chinatown is not a nice film, being in no way your typical Hollywood picture. I could really feel how this film was made during the Vietnam War because everything about it is very cynical to say the least. The characters are hateful and are constantly following questionable and deplorable morals in order to finish their jobs. In a normal Hollywood picture a man like Jake might be looked down upon, but in Chinatown the other characters are so cruel that the stubborn detective becomes an enormously charismatic lead. He's sarcastic as well as a scoundrel, but that's Jake's charm. He likes to put things bluntly in an often *dark* comical light. Jake can be beat down, sliced up, and shot at yet will keep on going in search of the truth. It's a determination that can't be healthy for the character, but admirable nonetheless. How he keeps such good humor about the events is anyone's guess.
Jack Nicholson's performance is one of the best I've seen out of him (and that's saying something) truly embodying J. J. "Jake" Gittes; I really believed that this character could be for real. Jake Gittes will bring you into Chinatown with a fast tongue and scathing sarcasm.
With such a bleak film it's almost hard to believe it can be such a beloved classic, yet here it remains as one of the greatest films of all time. But why is this? People always seem to look for happy endings; a quick fix that wraps the story up in a tidy little package. While some may view Chinatown's ending as a flaw it is in actuality one of the things that makes it a stand out movie.
The sad, quite frankly, tragic ending is one that lingered in my mind (and I'm sure those of everyone else who saw it) long after it had ended. Chinatown isn't meant to please its viewer. It succeeds because it challenges the viewer to look into the dark reality of life while also questioning what the characters in the film might have done differently. A tale of murder, dumping water and incest might not be good for a mainstream audience, but for viewers who want a movie that stimulates all their senses there are few better than Roman Polanski's Chinatown.
A great director brings his or her vision to screen without compromise. Polanski does this without flaw. |
| |
| "Passes the Time-Test" | 2010-02-15 |
| - Reviewed By hooked on Platonics worked for me! from Anytown USA |
It's difficult to believe that this was the first time I've watched this. Heard many positive comments but never got around to it. Now that I've experienced it, I can say it's not bad that I've been without it all these years and missed something (and can't get the original intention because of time distortion), because the fundamental topic of water in LA is still being heavily debated today between farmers, politicians, you and I and those who are trying to take advantage of it. This movie isn't dated at all, which makes it not only an aesthetic pleasure (great acting, nice shots, eerie music, etc.) but a highly relevant political picture today.
I really liked the different layers of the story (private I gets out witted, murder, incest, non-reliable clients, water takeover) that overlaped to the very end, which has a weird ending and right now I don't comprehend it (ended abruptly, with whispers, having a strong dissonance throughout the entire movie without any real resonance at any point including the ending) which I think lends to some psychological intricacies of the characters not totally revealing themselves to us or maybe they did and I should watch it again. I do know that we see Jake's perspective the entire film. He's in I think every shot. And we find that the only thing that he wants is the truth and it seems to be a pretty big truth. Can he handle the truth? |
| |
| "Re: Special Collector's Edition 2007" | 2010-02-13 |
| - Reviewed By Bruce from Michigan |
| When trying to decide what release of Chinatown to buy, I was looking for reviews regarding the video quality of a particular release because some DVDs look like they were copied from VHS tapes. Instead of finding the information I needed, I got "noir"ed to death. In spite of the useless reviews, I am happy to report that the "Special Collector's edition - 2007" version of Chinatown has descent video quality compared to other standard-definition DVDs. |
| |
 "Stylish, Yet Disappointing" | 2009-12-04 |
| - Reviewed By James from Sausalito, CA |
Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a private eye with a nose for trouble. Roman Polanski (current felon, but we won't go there) directed what many see as one of his masterpieces of cinema back in 1974. Jack definitely channels Bogart with some Raymond Chandler and some hard-boiled detective action.
The film does not lack from interest --- the mystery gets deeper and deeper and just when you think you have the story figured out, another twist. But how many times can I watch Gittes climb a chain link fence? And the cameo of Polanski as a thug made no sense at all to the story. Who was this gangster working for? What's the relationship with some of the men he tangles with? What's the relation between the farmers and Faye Dunaway's character?
Odd, insightful and looong. Rather than watch a neo-noir film, take in a Maltese Falcon or the Big Sleep! For what it does, Chinatown does succeed as a murder mystery in 1930s LA. But my heart belongs to Bogie.
The DVD had some good features though; interviews with Roman Polanski and crew was fascinating. |
| |
| "chinatown great movie" | 2009-11-07 |
| - Reviewed By Nancy J. from California |
Melancholy movie plot; very worth watching; those who "love to hate" rich interfering daddies and politicians versus the good guys will enjoy. Get out the kleenex box for the ending!!
Great Jack Nicholson acting AGAIN |
| |
Expedited Available
