Surprised no one mentioned the car horn blaring out in the final scene before the camera shows us what’s happened. I remember how sinking that feeling was when I first saw the film. Beautiful bit of sound design that’s actually foreshadowed in an earlier scene when Faye Dunaway accidentally leans her head against the horn.

The quality of light in LA shows up so much richer in these ‘70’s Paramount films.

The score. The score. The score.

Only Jerry Goldsmith can create such a masterful score in only two weeks after the prior composer was fired.

One of the best films ever made. 🎥

What a score. GodDAMN what a score. Huston deserved a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

I first saw Chinatown in 1975. It is still probably the finest film I have ever seen. From cinematography to the score, via art direction, performances, costume and of course direction, there isnt a misstep.

My favorite Nicholson movie hands down. And. perhaps, the greatest PI movies ever made.

One of those few films that if you stumble across it, no matter what time of day, you must watch the rest of it-even though it hurts. It is its own “world”-music, writing, acting, cinematography, etc..

One more aspect of the film for me is that to it closes the circle for John Huston. The first film that Huston directed was The Maltese Falcon one of the great noir films of all time, and here he is at the end of his career this time acting in a one.

A game-changing film. Holds up incredibly well to this day.

An absolutely perfect movie, start to finish. Every aspect absolutely perfect. One thing I noticed after half a dozen viewings was the performance of Faye Dunaway. If you watch her face every time her father is mentioned, before we find out what her father really is, she has a facial tick or stutter that hints at her revulsion. The film is a work of genius.

Greatest movie of the 1970s, and one of the greatest ever. Just so goddamn brilliant.

This movie is about power and betrayal, but it's also a very objective study of evil. It is the best dramatic film I have ever seen. It has stayed with me my whole life, and is the standard that I compare other films to in my mind. It is a true masterpiece.

Soderbergh's so right when he talks about satisfaction in the ending. It hits you with an utter truth of how hopeless Jake's efforts played out, but you're not offended by the delivery of it because you're so vested in all of the characters you're no longer just a passive observer. In a formulaic Hollywood ending, you would expect to be paid-off by the hero saving the girl, but in this movie with all of the unraveling corruption with Jake the only arbiter of truth and the only guiding light to help Evelyn and Catherine escape you feel the loss that Jake feels and the horror of Catherine's fate.

A perfect movie in every department.

This movie is based and grounded on one of the best, if not THE best script ever conceived.

It's hard for a cinephile to pick a favorite film (so many greats), but for me this is it. Perfect screenplay, gorgeous cinematography, acting, direction, costumes, soundtrack; the movie has it all.

For me, Chinatown and Miller's Crossing are movies you have to watch many times in order to understand the story, but they are very satisfying and get better each time you watch them. I love that there are people out there that are able to conceive of these complex plots. Just think of telling the same story from Evelyn's point of view or Noah Cross's.

Finally. A review of my favorite film. To hear the appreciation of the complexity and beauty of this movie. So delighted to have my experience echoed in these film experts’ responses. What a treat. I’m 71 years old and I remember when it came out and how it blew me away.

Great Documentary. One of my all time favorites. We always laugh at the scene where Jake tears the ledger book with a cough. I still do this sometimes.

Mike Nichols saw Nicholson in Easy Rider. He commented, "You wait, he'll be the biggest thing since Brando."

" One of the finest films ever made"

The way Nicholson says "No, really?" to that lady always makes me laugh

Great Film, great Actors and a milestone Soundtrack by genius Jerry Goldsmith…!

I watched this when I was 17. I don’t know what it was but the script just kept me hooked. I rewatch this at least once a year. It’s one of my favourites ❤️

There are a bunch of analyses of Chinatown on the internet. I think this 26 minute one is the best of the bunch.

This film changed my life, it has turned me to film fanatic! They did everything perfectly from the first to end, I really couldn't guess what would happen in the end? Normal Conventional Hollywood crime film will give us the usual "everything will be fine in the end" cuz everything went smooth after we'd known the real bastard and the bastard would get what he deserved but...once the film finished and that brilliant score playing, I question myself, shyt we live in the real world not in the movie, the reality must be told as what it is.. Thank you Towne, Thank Polanski, Jack, Faye, Huston and everyone who involved in it.

The best movie ever made. No question.

Great to see an honest assessment of an artist's work not polluted with discussion of his moral failings in his personal life.

Polanski had a genius for the sordid. Certain actors, directors, are born to create particular films.

I must say this is my top 10 favorite movies ever..

I saw this film when it came out. I saw it twice. As much as I wanted to, I could NOT recall Jerry Goldsmith's main theme until I bought the album soon after. So perfect, haunting, elusive was his elegant score for this film.

The Third Man and Chinatown are my favorite movies. This was a great breakdown of the movie.

People watching this are cinephiles, so I don't need to elaborate. The artists in this video nail it. It had every element of film production, at a peak. The costumes, the camera work, the script, that actors, the director, the editing, the music were all at a high, high level. Hard to say, 'perfect', but..... I'll call it perfect, before the next thing comes along.

This content deserves millions of views honestly,Steven Sodenberg and one of my fav cinematographer Roger Deakins on Chinatown

We here thought that the best single thing from CHINATOWN was the haunting music from Jerry Goldsmith; who gently hypnotizes the audience into thinking that 1930's period music is being played whilst the actual acoustics and musical form is more from the early 1950's --- a reflection of the works of Montovani and Jackie Gleason with a dash of Bernard Hermann.

I love this film. Most cinephiles agree that this is a masterpiece. If you are getting into film, or wanting to be a filmmaker in some capacity, it is a must see. There are so many great moments in this film, but one of my favourites in terms of performance and script was the exchange between Escobar and Gittes at the aquaduct. Escobar: I have a cold I can't seem to shake but other than that, I'm fine Jake: Summer colds are the worst.

Surely one of my top five films and surely my top film of the 1970's.

Saw it in '74 on it's release. Didn't fully understand it like many, but was overwhelmed by the visual impact and the Score. Now it's considered a Classic, with good reason, hitting all the highs in all Craft areas of Film making. Like Citizen Kane, it gets inshrined with the passing of time.

"C'mon Jake, it's just chinatown." What a great summation of the movie. So "Film Noir". Reminds me of "The stuff that dreams are made of." from "The Maltese Falcon".

Thanks KZfaq for making this a free movie. I could go to sleep every night to the sound to this lulaby.

RIP Mr Towne.

Can't ever resist watching this film. Brilliant from beginning to end.

I've seen it multiple times, but watched it again recently with my mum so got to experience it through new eyes, and I was choked up by it's power and beauty at times. Especially, that scene where Gittes dresses down Evelyn while the valet gets the car, such great acting from both Nicholson and Dunaway. I had to quickly compose myself and try to forget it, it's Chinatown.

Such a glorious and flawless film.❤

Good lord, when it all comes together like that, yes including the score, it's film as a true modern work of art.

Pierce makes a point in the Final Thoughts about Giddes overestimating himself, and suddenly I am thinking about a double feature with Night Moves.

I took the AFI list of top 100 films and corrected it for my friends. Chinatown is my number one now and for about 20 years.

Two masters talking about a masterpiece

As soon as I see that sepia paramount logo, and goldsmiths music, I just can't explain it, it just penetrates straight through me. Please release a 4k disc.

The best film ever made. Period. I watch it every six months and have been doing so since I first bought it on video (!) around 1984 (now replaced with DVD). This business requires a certain finesse... and Chinatown has it in spades.

This overview provided me insight that I hadn't considered before. If a story should be driven by the protagonist's choices, then that ending is great. How after she dies, there is only one obstacle left for Gittes, and that's if Escobar is going to punish him for all he's been involved with. He says 'as little as possible' and he almost doesn't overcome the obstacle. But after watching this video, I realise it could be said that Gittes' silence in response to 'what's that?' is a choice. And it's the first time he has actually chosen to do nothing. And it might be the first time he's finally made the choice to do nothing as the correct choice. And in the end, it serves as being the correct choice, having him overcome the final obstacle. Escobar lets him go. 'Cos he chose to keep his mouth shut and take no action.

Chinatown is the definition of "lightning in a bottle"! Perfection can not be bettered!

This would be by pick for best film ever made. It has everything I want to make in a story in the future. Especially the screenwriting and the structure of the movie.

This pairs fantastically with David Fischer/Robert Townshend’s commentary here on to youtube

Pick any movie shot by the legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, it will be a a kaleidoscope collage of visual masterpiece, from Pascali's Island to Skyfall! And he never repeats his vision from one movie to the next one.

ONE OF MY TOP FIVE MOVIES OF ALL TIME ITS ONE YOU CAN GO BACK TO AFTER A FEW YEARS AND IT STILL LOOKS GREAT

She's not kept around for very long, but Diane Ladd might be my favorite thing in this incredible film. Someone obviously playing classy, except you don't know she's playing until later - and then it's too late. Her look(s), her tone(s)... she's exquisite.

Amazing to hear the thoughts of some of the masters on yet anothers masters masterpiece - thanks a billion for making this video

Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown

It’s a dessert topping! It’s a floor cleaner! It’s a dessert topping! It’s a floor cleaner! It’s a dessert topping AND a floor cleaner!

One of the best films...ever.

What was there not to understand about that film? I was a teenager and I got it. What I didn't realize was how the filmmakers totally drew me in and I was back in 30s LA - terrific use of 1970s locations that still evoked that feeling of the past, neighborhoods that I knew.

That score .

Really impressed with Kimberly Peirce’s assessment of Chinatown. She knows her movies and structure. Very impressive.

The first time i watched Chinatown - I held off for years because I wanted to see it uncut on a big screen - I was blown away by every aspect of it. But the second time I watched it, I was blown away by how much was hinted at and foreshadowed. You just couldn’t see it because you didn’t know what you were watching.

The greatest American film ever made. Period.

Mesmerizing movie. One of my top ten.

“as little as possible” … beautifully tragic

Thanks for the Book Reference on Film EDIT ing Steven 👊

I forced myself to sit down and watch Chinatown, because I'm on the never ending quest to watch the top 25-50 film classics. Disappointed? Hardly! It is a film noir masterpiece

The Great American Film.

BRILLIANT FILM

I liked the characters who functioned like ghosts, Hollis Mulwray whose brief moments onscreen established an ideal that Jake tried to inherit, Noah Cross the common enemy; its an effective contrast - the hero Mulwray, stalked by Jake yet remote, unreal, unattainable.. Cross is visceral, real, omnipresent, creepy. "...its Chinatown" also refers to the attempt to do the right thing and making things worse for the effort, the tragic flaw of not just Jake but of Hollis Mulwray, and perhaps the US, whether Vietnam or Iraq.

Some major changes in this film to obtain that perfection,veteran genius Stanley Cortez replaced by John Alonzo( Seconds Farewell my lovely Scarface),Polanski's friend composer Bronislaw Kaper said the film needed another soundtrack,Evans allowed it and Jerry Goldsmith was brought as replacement and made a beauty in only 3 weeks !! (the Philip Lambro's rejected score is quite good though), then the famous ending put by Polanski, way more darker i believe, i would like to know the Towne version.

Considering how great the movie is, along with it's great cinematography, and the fact that Roger Deakins is one of the speakers in this, --there's absolutely no excuse for this being posted way down at 360P. --This should be at least 720p, preferably 1080p. --Just fix it, already.

Robert Towne had a "happy" ending, but Polanski insisted on the ending we have now.

They mustve shot the catalina scenes during winter - love seeing the island in these old films.

My favorite film talked about. Hey, thanks.

Polanski is in the same league as Fred Zinnemann, with whom Sam Mendes is catching up. Neat and stylish film making to the last.

Thank you for posting this!!! Just read the screenplay for the first time, so incredible

Agreed. The trumpet theme is hauntingly evocative.

Total epic

Such a great, great movie.

It is the such a perfect film ... I can’t understand why everyone doesn’t see it, xx

Watched it last night. It will stay with me for a long time. Very disturbing and sad at the end.

It's like not understanding abstract art. But that's what makes it fascinating.

the commentary is masterful as well.✅😎✌️👍🔥

have a look at The Long Goodbye, also a great movie

One I would like to see on the big screen again. Film projected and NOT digitized.

It's very upsetting for me to hear people say they "don't understand it," if only because, watching, one should feel that "understanding it" is something MORE than a matter of life or death...It's positively my most favorite film of all time.

Roger Deakins, KIMBERLY PIERCE, and Steven Soderbergh on "Chinatown" (Roman Polanski, 1974)

I'm still traumatised by the end sceen. Favourite.

What I've been thinking about is ,,, that every character in the movie has a dark side. What a mood that creates.

Brilliant

Burt Young wins the Deion Waiters award

my favorite movie

What a great take-apart of one of the greatest films of all time. All these film scholars are now better at what they do because of their delving into this masterpiece, Its infectious in it's brilliance and how it illuminates it's secrets at every turn. It is one of the films that makes the 70s...well...THE 70s. Could it be made today without 'woke' interference? No way!!

Perfect