Guide Note

Chinatown is a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski. Based on a screenplay by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson as P.I. Jake Gittes, the classic noir thriller was nominated for 11 Academy Awards.

Detective Gittes is hired by the wife of a prominent public figure to discover the identity of her husband's mistress. Soon after discovering he may have been set up, Gittes finds himself engulfed in a scandal concerning the Los Angeles water supply and the mysterious men in control of it.

Fast Facts

1. Release Date: June 20, 1974
2. Director: Roman Polanski
3. Producer: Robert Evans
4. Written By: Robert Towne
5. Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
6. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
7. Sequel The Two Jakes released in 1990

Jack Nicholson was involved in the construction of the story and the character of Gittes from the inception of the story. Though Chinatown was firmly Towne's idea, Nicholson helped shape the character of Gittes, even naming him after a friend of his.

Polanski and Towne argued over the film's ending, Towne insisting on a more pleasant resolution than the one ultimately filmed and released.

Though Chinatown only won one of its 11 Oscar nominations, it won four Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture (Drama). Robert Towne won several awards for his screenplay, including an Oscar, Golden Globe and Edgar Award.

Best Picture at the 1974 Academy Awards went to The Godfather: Part II, as did several other awards in which Chinatown was also in contention. Towne helped write several scenes on the original Godfather film.