Chinatown (Special Collector's Edition) [1974]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-07-18 rating:
Classic, brilliant movie
This film is superb in every department. Buy it, watch it, rewatch it. Great stuff.

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review by: mgcs date: 2008-07-11 rating:
Classsic Film, brilliantly presented
For story, direction, acting, and sheer period class, this is worthy of its status as a classic. Whether you are a serious film addict, or whether you are looking for a great 'hollywood' movie, this does the trick. And this is one of those special movies that rises higher in the ranks as time goes by - looking back it can be appreciated even more. The quality of the picture on this 'collectors edition' (the one with red case if you're ordering) is probably the best transfer of any film I've watched on DVD - a clear, crisp, vibrant print that does the whole experience proud - an all round treat.

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review by: date: 2008-06-18 rating:
one of the best 70's films
Jack Nicholson (One flew over the cuckoo's nest) stars alongside Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde) in Roman Polanski's (The Pianist) compelling crime drama Chinatown where Jake Gittes is hired to investigate an affair, which ultimately leads into a political and deadly investigation surrounding the town's water supply.

With a gritty opening and a fascinating and dramatic climax, Chinatown has established itself as one of the best written crime dramas of the 70's and deserved Oscar winner for best writing original screenplay with excellent dialogue, no cheesy clichés or anything like that, a true realistic approach to the crime world, which is helped along by an excellent cast and brilliant direction.

One of my favourite Nicholson performances, he plays central protagonist detective Jake Gittes, a professional with an edge, a real cutting attitude to seek out what he wants.

Faye Dunaway is equally as impressive as Mrs Mulwray and these two characters with strong personalities and agendas create tense and engaging situations, justifying the genre beautifully.

It is one of the best directed films I have ever seen, perhaps only behind a couple which include The Good the bad and the ugly among others.
The settings are effective along with the situations and the lighting.

Costume design and general cinematography are all effectively established to give the film the emotion and sophistication it needed.

Though I got lost at a couple of turns with the plot, there is still no question that the dialogue and the timing of the situations deserve its praise. Had it not been for the brilliant Godfather II then this film noir classic would surely have scooped a few more Oscars.

the special features are very interesting as well undertanding how the film came about and is a great purchase

9/10

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review by: laurence_p_williams date: 2008-03-10 rating:
A Superb 1930s-Era Detective Drama - Jack Nicholson at his Best
Chinatown is a terrific period drama of the 'Film-Noir' genre (although note it is filmed in colour !) and in my top 5 best films. It was directed by Roman Polanski and deservedly won an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

It features 2 fantastic lead actor performances, from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, and is perhaps notable for the fact that the Nicholson character is never off the screen since the film is made from his viewpoint.

He plays a very 'colourful' private detective who gets himself involved with an investigation into an apparent murder, corruption and family feuding. Things progress dramatically and he unearths many well-kept secrets....

It is set in the 1930s and the production values to reflect that era (eg costume and vehicles) are superb.

Similarly, the musical soundtrack (which it turns out only replaced an inferior version at the very last minute !) helps to portray the mood.

There are some other well-known actors (eg John Huston) but this film belongs to Nicholson, who delivers his lines (which include some hilarious one-liners) superlatively and exhibits all the necessary emotions of confusion, aggression and competence in a lively and masterly fashion.

The restored picture on this 'Special Collector's Edition' disc is excellent and is a clear improvement over the previous issue (not that it was that bad). It is sharp, bright, flawless and has vivid colours. I didn't notice any great change in the soundtrack, largely because the previous issue was already quite good.

There are a number of interesting featurettes which include contributions from Polanski, Nicholson and the writer of the Screenplay, Robert Towne.


review by: date: 2007-12-17 rating:
Outstanding
The film is outstanding and worthy of distinction, as recognised by the American Film Registry.

It would be criminal to tell you the plot. It is watchable again and again and you are still left wondering.

The DVD is one disc with silver monochrome print. In design terms the DVD face contrasts nicely with the red and black cardboard sleeve pull out, when you open the shrink wrap. The Chinatown: Beginning and End, and Film documentaries are short and to the point.

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Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Crime, Thrillers & Mystery . All Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
Video . DVD & VHS . Substores . Custom Stores . Special Editions . Horror & Suspense
Video . DVD & VHS . Substores . Regular Stores . DVD Bargains . Paramount Christmas Stars - up to 75% off
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . 15
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Collector's & Special Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 2
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1970 - 1979
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English

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