Cherished Cinema

Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)

Hello all.

Chinatown is the only film on the list that I had not watched this year (until of course I watched so that I would be better able to write about it) but it was also one of the first I put down on the list. Chinatown, like Vertigo, is one of the greats and again, like Vertigo, it took me a long time to get to it. It’s a beautiful film, and an amazingly interesting one at that. This is the second time that I have featured a film that stars Jack Nicholson and the fourth time (in only fifteen entries) that I have featured a film of Roman Polanski. This may sound simple, but I adore the way the film plays out. I love the way the characters are represented, how Polanski sets up the audience by panning across an area prior to each scene, and the fight sequences are very interestingly shot.

Out of all of Jack Nicholson’s amazing characters over the years, Jake is my favorite. Jake is hilarious, tough, and charismatic. He chooses his words perfectly in every conversation he has and he withholds bits of information until the exact right time, important because throughout the first half of the film he always has the upper hand. This was my third time watching it, and I never really noticed/appreciated how “pretty” of a film it is. There are excellent shots throughout, my personal favorite being Jake walking down a hill under a bridge in an awkward light, not the most memorable scene but that shot is just about breathtaking.

I can’t believe the project is halfway over, this is a ton of fun and it is great to revisit my favorites. I think I am going to continue the trend of watching these movies with headphones on because it allows me to pay complete attention and appreciate the sound to the best of my ability. Hope you enjoyed this post and thank you for reading!