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There are a lot of reasons why "Chinatown", Roman Polanski's
classic from 1974, is often described as the first neo-noir. On one side, we
have all the traditional ingredients of a film noir in the sense of Billy
Wilder and John Huston: a mysterious femme fatale, a tough guy who -
confronted with beauty - becomes tender, a suspenseful plot full of
ambiguities, a highly sensual atmosphere and very stylish lighting and
camerawork. We can find that all in the beautiful noir films from the 1940s.
But then, in the midst of the 1970s New Hollywood movement, Polanski and
screenwriter Robert Towne have broken the rules, if there's such a thing as
rules. While the opening credits have a nice old-fashioned look, the first
shots of the film introduce us to a new kind of noir. A noir shot in
cinemascope and composed in earthly Technicolor photography. A film full of
sadness, grief and despair, with an ending as unexpected as any other twist in
the film.
"Chinatown" is a work of passion; a labor of love if you want. It breaths the
spirit of the 40s, though it transforms it into an elegiac search for meaning
and truth. It's J.J. Gittes' (Jack Nicholson) search, but as the film
progresses and his point of view melts with the viewer's, you can't help but
be emotionally crippled in the end, regardless of your first impression of
Nicholson's sleazy character.
Then there’s Faye Dunaway, in what I can confidently call her finest
performance. Her character Evelyn Mulwray isn’t as open and charming as
Barbara Stanwyck in “Double Indemnity”, but she has something to hide, and a
lot of mysterious facets beneath that. Evelyn is eloquent but distanced,
intelligent but secretive. You may think of her as the most stereotypical of
femme fatales, but that impression will change radically somewhere in the
middle of the film. Watching Dunaway’s perfectly nuanced acting alone is
enough to revisit this complex film over and over again.
One may talk about the change of Polanski's style after the tragic murder of
his wife in 1969 - and I think that a lot of Polanski's grief is resembled in
the character of J.J. Gittes - but "Chinatown" is also one of those lucky
movie moments where everything fits together. In a glorious time where major
studios gave their directors total artistic freedom, Towne and Polanski
created a film worthy to be mentioned among noir precursors like "Double Indemnity" and "Out of the Past". What we have here is inventive and
passionate filmmaking; and that's something that has become very rare in
modern cinema.
Posters
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Theatrical Release: June 20th, 1974
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DVD Comparison:
Paramount - Region 2 - PAL vs. Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC RIGHT)
| DVD Box Cover |
The Original Region 1 release: |
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| Distribution |
Paramount Region 2 - PAL |
Paramount Region 1,4 - NTSC |
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The Special Collector's Edition is also available in The Jack Nicholson Collection (Chinatown / The Two Jakes - reviewed HERE) on November 6th, 2007. | |
| Runtime | 2:05:04 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:10:24 |
| Video |
2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate ; PAL |
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| Bitrate : NTSC |
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| Audio | English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English, French (Dolby Digital 2.0) | DD 5.1 English, DD 2.0 mono English, DD 2.0 mono French, D 2.0 mono Spanish, DD 2.0 mono Portuguese |
| Subtitles | English, none | Optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
Release Information: Studio: Paramount Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details:
• Chinatown: The Legacy Chapters 16 |
| Comments: |
The New SE:
Video: Yunda Eddie Feng BOTTOM LINE: It's a steal at less than $11. ****
About the PAL edition: The
picture is perhaps a little bit too soft, but everything else is stellar.
The original audio track is excellent as well.
The image, like on the region 1 release is very weak and muddy. We can
hope this will be re-issued possibly with a commentary or a 2nd disc of
features. Gary Tooze |
DVD Menus
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL LEFT vs. Paramount
(Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC RIGHT)
Screen Captures
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs. Paramount (Special Collector's
Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)
(Paramount - Region 2 - PAL TOP vs.
Paramount (Special Collector's Edition) - Region 1, 4 - NTSC BOTTOM)










Subtitle sample














| DVD Box Cover |
The Original Region 1 release: |
|
| Distribution |
Paramount Region 2 - PAL |
Paramount Region 1,4 - NTSC |
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The Special Collector's Edition is also available in The Jack Nicholson Collection (Chinatown / The Two Jakes - reviewed HERE) on November 6th, 2007. | |
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