Song that sampled this film (first 30 seconds): kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a7OVp6aVv8y4hKM.html ... Again another incredible film that I personally feel, captures the expert craftsmanship behind filmmaking and why it’s something to strive towards for anybody interested in storytelling. From subtle hinting of the end by showing her head accidentally on the horn from an earlier scene..to intentional camera movement setting into frames that can be interpreted to the detail. Similar to Amadeus, Chinatown is a beautiful homage to master level filmmaking. In my opinion. Definitely plan on creating a video about it that explains why it’s so inspiring, in the very near future.

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown". Probably one of the most quoted and memed lines of all time.

"Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough" - Best quote from a movie.

“Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.” Really feels like it’s being said to the viewer.

The man who played Noah Cross is John Huston, a legendary filmmaker who made The Maltese Falcon, one of the first and most influential of the Noir movement throughout the 40's and 50's.

Fun fact, shortly after this film, Jack Nicholson was advised by a reporter that, who he had thought was his mother was actually his grandmother. And that who he thought was his sister, was his mother. She had him at a young age and they covered it up. They both died before he found out. That’s when he really took on crazier roles.

The actor who played the ultimate evil Noah Cross is a brilliant director in his own right, The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) is one of the best movies ever made, a timeless must watch.

This is one of the best movies ever made imo. One of the best crafted stories full of twists and subtly. It is rich in themes of greed, corruption and power. It’s dark and fascinating. The music is great. The outfits are great. The ending is ICONIC. It is one of the 10 best films ever imo

I've said it before, I'll say it again: There's who you are BEFORE "She's my sister! She's my daughter!" and there's who you are AFTER. That moment changes you.

If you are interested in Noir, I would highly suggest Sunset Boulevard (1950). Directed by Billy Wilder who is among the greatest directors of the golden era.

This was another film my grandmother took me to see when I was 16 and it was playing at the theater. I remember I started to cry when he reaches up at the end and covers her eyes, the horror of it hit me so hard at that moment and I've never forgotten it. My second memory was of my grandmother's excited expression when the lights went up and she said "wasn't it so GOOD?" And I had to admit that, ending aside, it was an awesome movie. She was the only family I had growing up and I was so lucky that not only did she have an incredible passion for film, but that she loved sharing it with me. That little look of joy on her face in the theater still stays with me and I think about it whenever I see films like this one that ask us to wrestle with the darker parts of being human. Yeah, it's horrifying, but isn't it great? So glad you reacted to this one too!

When this film came out, the industry wasn't in the "nothing but happy endings" mode that came with the Spielberg / Lucas era of film. No one came out of this film disappointed, but staggered by it's twists and turns and originality and everyone loved it. Other Jack films from this era that are must watches - One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest - The Last Detail - Five Easy Pieces

One of the beautiful things about this movie is how everything comes full circle, including director Roman Polanski's decision to cast John Huston as Noah Cross. John Huston (one of the greatest directors of all time), is credited with directing what many consider the very first film noir, The Maltese Falcon. The decision to cast him in Chinatown, a film many consider the defining neo-noir film, is pure genius and certainly a nod to Huston's great influence on the genre and filmmaking as a whole. John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen and others helped shape cinema as we know it.

I was shown this in a film class on screenwriting along with some other greats, a noir's noir, with the teacher being this older, kooky guy who had a library of knowledge in his head. I was loving every second of it, but apparently I was one of only a few, because enough students were complaining about him on the grounds, "His tastes are too old, so like, uh, we aren't learning anything!" For real. I couldn't believe the mindset and how the school actually fired him for this midway through the year, but he got his justice when he sued them back for age discrimination and won. I mean, if you can't learn something from a movie like Chinatown you pretty much can't learn anything at all, or may as well not even try. The other students embodied where movies have gone lately, sad to say, but it's really, really nice to see wiser sorts like around here who draw from a more complete picture for inspiration. The feeling here is way more fun, about as good as any class with everyone joining in together. Anyway, what I love about noir beyond the usual formula is they start dreamy, other-worldly, and then they hit with stark reality, and this is no less dark in its subject matter than anything more modern like L.A. Noir or whatever, so it shows what that class knew.

With the recent passing of Sidney Poitier, I hope you’ll make an opportunity to react to In the Heat of the Night soon, if you haven’t already seen it. It’s one of those films I never tire of watching. Also, you’ve been picking some really great movies lately.

I absolutely love John Huston as the villain in this. He was a hell of a director, too. He made a lot of great movies.

This movie is definitely a 70’s movie. It’s cynicism leaves you genuinely pissed off by the end. It’s perfect at what it was trying to do.

I will never forget the day I first saw this movie. I had nothing particular to do that day,, and I saw in the newspaper an ad for this new movie, opening that day. I'd heard no advance word about it, but I love detective films, so this sounded like a pleasant way to kill a couple of hours. I went in to the theater (a wonderful old theater that no longer exists) expecting nothing more than that, and went out knowing that I had just seen one of the greatest movies ever made, on its opening day.

You should watch Double Indemnity! One of the absolute best film noirs ever! Barbara Stanwyck is glorious in it, and Edward G Robinson steals the whole movie.

Glad you watched this. One of the best screenplays ever written!

Love how you dropped the self-censoring at the finale, no question lol. And you pretty much nailed the Chinatown motif, it’s not a place in the film as much as it is a feeling. The unstoppable force of good intentions meets the immovable object of evil out of your depth

You could write a paper on the parallels between "Chinatown" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".

This is considered one of the greatest screenplays in film history. I had to read and study parts of it in film school. About your reaction to the ending: forget it, James. It's Chinatown.

Chinatown might be one of the best movies I've ever seen. With that being said, I've only watched it once in full for obvious reasons. It's just so soul crushing and infuriating.

Holy damn-when I got this notification, I clicked right away. Nothing better than to see you react to an absolute classic film like this. Thanks James! 😁 Made me forget about my Covid pains for a while.

Chinatown is among Polanski's early film masterpieces, which include Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion, and are well worth checking out. Nicholson's role here shows what he could do before he developed the tics and bad habits of later films, another good performance being in "The Passenger".

"For all my viewers out there who probably don't hear me cuss, I am sorry" Forget it, James, it's Chinatown.

I saw this film a few years ago and I remember not being crazy about it in the moment but once that ending hit, oh hell it really hit. The ending makes the entire viewing experience memorable for me. It's so effed up in the best way possible. I will never forget the feelings that ending gave me.

A masterful screenplay. When I was quarantined with covid I spent a day watching, in this order, McCabe & Mrs Miller, There Will Be Blood, Chinatown, Bugsy and Casino. If anyone has a good deal of time on their hands, it was an amazing playlist. Great reaction by the way.

Wow, James, I didn't even dare to dream about you reacting to this masterpiece. I am a very happy man right now. This movie has one of the best scripts ever written and Jack Nicholson is just perfect as Jake.

As an avid cinephile and filmmaker myself...films I highly recommend (in case you haven't seen these flicks), I'll provide 10: Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Nausicaa (1984), High & Low (1963), Moonlight (2016), the original 1954 uncut version of Godzilla, Grave of the Fireflies (1988), M (1931), Wings of Desire (1987), Persepolis (2007), and The Great Dictator (1940)

Damn bro, you’ve been killing it with these videos recently. This is one of those films I can watch two times in a week. It’s definitely top 20 film I’ve ever seen.

I remember seeing this the first time, in film class at uni, that ending. I sat there opening mouthed in shock. Horrific, shocking, worthy of every plaudit it ever got

"The two Jakes" directed by Jack Nicholson is the sequel, not of course the same level but rather pleasant to watch imo

In my Top 3 favorite films of all-time and one of very few true perfect films & masterpieces in cinema history. Despite how terrible of a human the creator of this film is, he still crafted a well shot, well acted, well written and overall well developed piece of art, and if it wasn't for the character of Jake Gittes played to perfection by Jack Nicholson I wouldn't want to write and create characters and try to be a smart writer. What a HECK of a film. 🙌

24:56 - Wow, James, you absolutely nail the entire movie right there, you are totally getting it, and on the first viewing! Brilliant. The father is played by John Huston, one of the greatest directors ever and practically the inventor of film-noir ("The Maltese Falcon", "The Asphalt Jungle" and tons of incredible movies). He also was the father of Jack Nicholson's girlfriend at the time: Angelica Huston! So when he asks Nicholson, "are you sleeping with her?" in the movie, it definitely had meaning outside of the movie! :D Fantastic reaction to one of the truly great ones!

Brilliant reaction to this classic bro! They totally rip your heart out of your chest with the ending. Great script by Robert Towne, music by legendary Jerry Goldsmith. Noah Cross was played by master director John Huston. Curly, our character at the beginning of the movie, who came back to help Jack was Burt Young (Rocky). Another great film worth checking out is the 1973 best picture winner The Sting with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Thanks!

James, I'd love to see you react to 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' w/ Jack Nicholson. One of the best movies of all time, imho.

Seconding others, 1967's _In The Heat Of The Night_ is essential viewing. And John Huston's filmography of classics is one to dive into: _The Maltese Falcon_ (1941 - Huston kicks off the '40s Noir genre here) _The Man Who Would Be King_ (1975 - Sean Connery & Michael Caine in one of the greatest adventure films ever made)

Great movie, great reaction. My favorite Faye Dunaway film is Bonnie and Clyde (1967). It's very different from Chinatown but maybe even more influential.

I'm so happy you finally watched this movie. This and L.A. Confidential are two of my favorite crime noir films I've seen these past couple of years.

Notice that James Hong played Evelyn Mulwray's Chinese valet, in 1974's "Chinatown". In 1982, James Hong had a role in another great Film Noir, the futuristic masterpiece "Blade Runner". Hong played the genetic eye designer, questioned by the two male replicants in his freezing cold laboratory.

Watching your video here, I never really thought about the visual metaphor of water through-out the film and your commentary on the motivations on Jack Nicholson's character made me love this film even more. Thank You, James!

This film has a "top tier" movie ending that beautifully mimics the troubling moments most of us have experienced in life. The movie score at the beginning of the film is just a beautiful piece of music, but after that ending, the score becomes a concise theme of what we have all witnessed watching this brilliant film. God bless!

Loved watching this with you. Possibly your best reaction yet!

What I love about Chinatown is that it's a real mystery film. We don't enough of those.

so glad you finally got to watch this, pretty sure I reacted to the dips and dives of this movie pretty much the same way when I first watched this

Robert Towne's screenplay is next-level. I finally checked this one off my list during Quar 2020, and I'm so, so glad I did.

An incredible Noir, James. May I suggest you go into Dark City (1998) from Alex Proyas? It's a sci-fi-ish awesome noir. Cheers!

A top 10 director of all time, John Huston, as Noah Cross. He was also the father of actress Angelica Huston, who was Nicholson’s partner for almost 20 years. John Huston directed an incredible body of work over more than 50 years. His father was the legendary actor Walter Huston.

I remember watching this for my film class on a big theatre screen it was such a good movie

Was so looking forward to this reaction! Faye Dunaway has some incredible titles to her name and Network especially is a *MUST* though I'm also fascinated by what you'd think of Bonnie & Clyde.

I watched this last night with my partner, this has been one of my favourite movies for a long time and to get to share the experience with her was wonderful. Damn I just knew that you would have a video for this, loved the movie and loved watching your reaction.

You might know this already, but Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score for Alien (1979) as well as for Chinatown. He was also selected by Director Curtis Hanson to score his film L.A. Confidential (which you reacted to before!) because Goldsmith's music, according to Hanson, "scared the crap out of me!"

"she's gorgeous..." wow for once James, always the acute observer, seems distracted by a lady's sheer beauty ! Faye Dunaway earned her second Oscar nomination for that role. Amazing actress.

The most reserved part I remember Jack playing in was About Schmidt. He got nominated for it & many thought he would win his 4th oscar for it but he was upset by Adrian Brody

When I was in college sometime before the dawn of time, my screenwriting professor believed that Chinatown came as close to perfect as it was possible form film to be. We spent an entire quarter (or semester, I fo0rget if this was before or after we made the switch) studying this script and this movie. This movie taught me more about the art of cinema than any other single source. James' early comment about learning things with Jake is spot on. One of the things to learn from this movie is that perspective = identification. Polanski was careful throughout to make sure that every single thing comes to us through Jake's eyes. Only once do we ever learn something before Jake does: when Jake is telling the dirty joke without knowing that Evelyn is behind him. This very carefully, silently, and subtly transfers a portion of audience identification from Jake to Evelyn. Even this one technique and fact was revelatory to me.

I was waiting to see your reaction to the twist of the movie. And you didn't disappoint. Great movie and great acting from start to finish

one of my all time favorites

Love this movie. When that smokey trumpet plays I get goosebumps. My favorite film from the 70s . Won so many awards and deserved every one. 👍 great reaction.

Filmmmaking aside, I really enjoyed how invested you got in this one.

I love the Chinatown soundtrack. That trumpet oh god its beautiful - perfect for a nightcap on my balcony at the end of the day

The greatest ending to any movie I've ever seen. Not a nice ending but so real and a searing indictment of the way the rich can get away with anything. Great reaction mate.

Oh man, this is gonna be great! Dude keep doing you James. And I loved the shots of the countryside you uploaded yesterday. It was so incredibly gorgeous, really reminds me of the assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. That’s a Picture you should watch I think it’s right up your alley.

This movie is depressing, but not nearly as depressing as talking over the iconic line in the end. Just tears my heart out.

One detail I love is how just investigating one thing leads to a whole rabbit hole of conspiracies, murder, incest and greed.

If you want another neo-noir masterpiece, check out Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye. IMO, one of the great movies of the '70s.

Fun Fact: The subplot to "Who framed Roger Rabbit" was a proposed second sequel to this movie. IMO "The Two Jakes" doesn't get enough mention or love.

I took some screenwriting classes in college and every textbook I had to buy used this script as an example of a perfect screenplay.

Awesome Work Bro, Thanks!!! 👍👍 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸

It´s been well over 30 years since I first watched this, which in itself seems crazy :O. But yes, it definitely had an impact on me! Looking forward to seeing more great ones from the past in this space

John Huston was great in this one..not a bad director too. 😉

The actor who played the villain Noah Cross is the genius filmmaker John Huston, who's considered "the Ernest Hemingway of American cinema". His films are must-sees including "The Maltese Falcon", "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "The African Queen", "The Asphalt Jungle", "Fat City", "The Man Who Would Be King", "Moby Dick", "The Red Badge of Courage", "Prizzi's Honor" and many more classics.

I got chills just looking at your thumbnail. I freaking love this movie and the great news? The first time watching is just getting through the mystery part! Every time you watch this movie, you'll get something out of it, as I'm sure you discovered just by editing it./Yeah, Nicholson never only played loonies! He always did good guys and bad guys, and everything in between. / Faye Dunaway I'm sure you remember from "Network". She's also Bonnie, in "Bonnie And Clyde", the gangster movie that really kicked off the American "new wave" (which includes stuff like "Chinatown" and these 70s classics you've been watching). Highly recommend that one!/You talk about how great the writing is; they teach this script in film school! A legendary screenplay by Robert Towne. (he also helped write "Bonnie & Clyde", but was uncredited).

The term, "Chinatown," means that you can't change the past, you have to move forward with the future, because that's how the world is now.

I strongly sugest for you to read "The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood", its one of the best books I ever read and its all about the making of this incredible movie. At the end of the book you really understand why this type of film was never made again, they took a special time of the industry and it was never the same.

This movie is arguably a *perfect* film. No flaws and so effective.

~Wow - what a GREAT reaction to a tremendous movie. Just loved the Puddle-River-Sea analogy - I'd not figured that for myself, when I watched 'Chinatown'. Chutzpah to Roman Polanski for this movie. He did the 'Dick Noir' genre and knocked it clean out the ball park. Great that you likened 'Chinatown' to 'No Country...' too, but remember, this was 35 years the predecessor to the Coen Brothers. (Great choice of play-out music dude. Always a lovely bonus to listen to 'Purple jacket....' Respec'

Jazz musician here. I performed most of the music from this movie in different configurations. Either with big bands, jazz combos, etc.

As others will have mentioned, the creepy old man-monster was played by famed director, John Huston, who is widely credited with inventing Film Noir and its tropes. At the very least, the first movie that he directed was the first Great Film Noir, "The Maltese Falcon" -- still one of the best in the genre. He also directed Humphrey Bogart in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", which co-starred the director's father Walter, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role. The Huston acting dynasty includes Angelica Huston and Danny Huston. And their progenitor, Walter, was Canadian, so y'all are welcome! One of my favourite John Huston movies is 1975's "The Man Who Would Be King", based on a Rudyard Kipling novel. It starred Michael Caine and a post-James Bond Sean Connery, in one of the greatest adventure movies ever filmed. I mean, Adventure with a Capital A, man.

It's probably no accident that Noah Cross is played by legendary director John Huston, whose first directorial feature film (The Maltese Falcon) is a classic Hollywood noir.

One of my favourite lines from Chinatown is when Jake says to Escobar, after being told by him that he has a cold, and he replies, "Yeah, summer colds are the worst."

I love how this movie really captures the aesthetic, look and feel of that time period. Movies today rarely seem to really capture the look of past time periods in the 20th century. Drives me nuts when I see something set in, let's say, the 70s or 60s and the hair/makeup or even the sets don't look like it's from that period. It's cool to see this era covered though, which doesn't always get a lot of attention in film.

What a punch in the gut, right? You get so invested in the characters and the story, it makes you take it personally when disaster strikes. There's not a whole lot of movies that can do that so effectively. That's art, man. Art in its truest, darkest, most brutally beautiful form. What a film.

An otherworldly film. Absolutely timeless

I'm halfway through this video and I can't wait to see your reaction to the ending. LATER: Watching you watch this was almost like seeing it again for the first time. I saw Chinatown when it came out in 1974 and it completely devastated me. It's so dark and so brutal; Noah Cross is one of the greatest villains in movies. And yet the movie itself is so beautiful because it's so well made. All of the pieces fit together so tightly, everyone involved in it is at the top of their game. I don't know how many times I've seen it since then but it never fails to hold me from start to finish. Glad you enjoyed one of the greatest movies ever made. Good luck with your future career.

How have you never heard of this film before? It’s one of the greats! Glad you finally got to see it though. One of the best scripts of all time, expertly directed.

A must-see for filmmakers. And a script worthy of academic study.

Chinatown is often lauded for is amazing directing and acting, and it should be. One of the all time greats. What is often not discussed is this is one of the first “twist” endings. Long before Seven, Usual Suspects and Six Sense. The impact of the big reveal will stick with you always. Amazing movie.

Many essays/criticisms/documentaries insist "Chinatown" is one of the best screenplays ever. I was 19, dating a 24-year-old, when I saw this movie at its release. ......considered myself pretty sophisticated. But the "slapping scene" made me realize that there was a LOT going on in the world I knew nothing about. I could talk about this movie for hours. Wonderful reaction, James. Thanks for posting.

4:12 Yelling man is Rance Howard, father of Ron Howard. You cut out the scene where the director, Roman Polanski, comes onscreen for just a few minutes to slit Nicholson’s nose (and he spends the rest of the movie with that huge ridiculous bandage) as if to say, “This isn’t your movie. It’s mine.”

Just watched earlier today. This is great timing

'Chinatown' was one of those rare movies shot in sequence.

when james so shook by the ending he drops the f-bomb on his channel :0

He IS an absolute monsterman!

According to Robert Towne (the screenwriter) Jake’s early days as a cop in Chinatown were difficult because of the cultural and language barriers that kept him on the outside and made it virtually impossible to make any difference in the cases he worked there. Same situation he’s faced with throughout the film. Hence, that haunting final line of dialogue: “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown”

I am surprised you didn’t see this in Film School, James! I saw it there.

One of my all time favorites! I re-watch every couple of years, and I always catch more details. Directing, acting, editing, cinematography, score are all on point but none of them would be worth a damn without Robert Towne's absolutely bulletproof script. I also highly recommend this films sequel "The Two Jakes". It's not as good as this (what could be?) but it's a solid effort.

I've always thought that Noah Cross would make an excellent story for a semi prequel.

*watching James absolutely losing it during the ending scene* Me: Forget James, it’s Chinatown 😂😂😂