Films/DVD Asylum

"Chinatown"

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rico

(A)

I watch this once a year and never cease to be ammazed at how well written, acted, and photographed it is. I once rad evey book on Lizzie Borden I could find and realized that the more you knew about those nurders the less you know. "Chinatown" is like that. It is so relentlessly evil. When Cross/Huston says, "Hollis and I were a lot closer than Evelyn realized" I always wonder, what the hell does THAT mean. And I love the forshadowing of the discoloration of Dunaway's eye and, later, her broken tail light. And of course the Oedepus reference at the end for her sleeping with her father. A wonderful film and one of my all time top 10.

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Re: "Chinatown" - cjfrbw 14:47:11 08/27/05 (0)
The perfect screenplay. Jake never learns anything until it is too late to recoginize his own role in exacerbating the tragedy.
A perfect glide into gothic madness in sunny L.A.
Re: "Chinatown" and eyes - geoffkait 17:18:47 08/26/05 (9)
Eyes and things related to eyes appear frequently in Chinatown, glasses found in pool, the eye in the head of fish served by Houston to Nicholson at lunch, the flaw in Faye Dunaway's eye, the daughter's eyes sheilded from seeing her dead Mother, many others. Nicholson sees almost everything he runs across incorrectly. Hey, didn't Faye Dunaway star in the Eyes of Laura Mars?
- How about the "nose" references now? - cjfrbw 12:30:09 08/27/05 (6)
  Since Jake got sliced early in the program.
  - Re: Who nose?... - geoffkait 12:39:47 08/27/05 (5)
    Jake Gites was a Bloodhound for mystery - he just had a nose for the stuff :-)
    - Re: Who nose?... - cjfrbw 12:51:22 08/27/05 (4)
      Man with Knife: You're a very nosy fellow, kitty cat. Huh? You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh? No? Wanna guess? Huh? No? Okay. They lose their noses.
      Jake Gittes: I goddamn near lost my nose. And I like it. I like breathing through it.
      - Re: "Only when I breathe." - geoffkait 14:34:07 08/27/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Who nose?... posted by cjfrbw on August 27, 2005 at 12:51:22:
        
        Jake Gites' reply when asked if the (sliced) nose hurt.
      - Of course you know who the fellow was wielding the knife, right? - tinear 13:28:59 08/27/05 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Who nose?... posted by cjfrbw on August 27, 2005 at 12:51:22:
        
        Polanski.
        
        Re: Of course you know who the fellow was wielding the knife, right? - cjfrbw 14:43:56 08/27/05 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Of course you know who the fellow was wielding the knife, right? posted by tinear on August 27, 2005 at 13:28:59:
        
        Mr. Polanski, himself, looking like he was having entirely too much fun playing an evil munchkin.
        
        Re: More Chinatown trivia - geoffkait 07:26:09 08/28/05 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Of course you know who the fellow was wielding the knife, right? posted by cjfrbw on August 27, 2005 at 14:43:56:
        
        In real life, Polanski was seeing the way too young girl at Nicholson's house and Nicholson was going out with daughter (Algelica) of Houston.
- Re: "Chinatown" and eyes - rico 07:46:16 08/27/05 (1)
  Yes, Faye did star in "The Eyes of Laura Mars". Boy, you picked up a lot of eye references I never would have thought of. Good job.
  - Re: "Chinatown" and eyes - geoffkait 09:24:08 08/27/05 (0)
    fergot to mention Jake Gites was a private eye :-)
How can one mention this film w/out singling out Nicholson's - tinear 13:30:58 08/26/05 (3)
amazing performance?
That joke he delivers when he first meets, unexpectedly, Faye's character truly is classic.
- Re: How can one mention this film w/out singling out Nicholson's - rico 07:48:22 08/27/05 (2)
  There is an uncomfortable moment in Mamet's "Homicide" that mirrors the scene in "Cjinatown": where Montegna is speaking on the 'phone with his partner and he is unaware that the daughter is right behind him listening in.
  - I think I enjoyed Homicide but I was disappointed in it because I - tinear 12:08:11 08/27/05 (1)
    expected more. I'll give it another go and look for that moment.
    - Re: I think I enjoyed Homicide but I was disappointed in it because I - rico 06:49:15 08/28/05 (0)
      I think it's mamet's best film. Like "Chinatown", relentlessly evil.

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