Chinatown (1974) is a neo-noir masterpiece about private detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) uncovering a vast conspiracy in 1930s Los Angeles involving political corruption, land grabs, and the manipulation of the city's water supply by powerful figures like Noah Cross (John Huston) and Gittes's client, Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway). The investigation into Hollis Mulwray, the city's water chief, reveals a dark secret: Evelyn's daughter Katherine is also her sister, the product of an incestuous relationship with Cross, culminating in a tragic ending where Gittes fails to save Evelyn, and Cross gets away with his crimes, highlighting systemic corruption and the power of greed.
Jake returns to the Mulwray mansion, where he learns that a backyard pool is filled with salt water, and he finds that it contains a pair of broken glasses. Jake deduces that Evelyn drowned Hollis in the pond.
Why does Curley's wife have a black eye in Chinatown?
Later in the movie, Jake pretends to lead the police to Evelyn—but he's actually going to Curly's house to ask him to drive him out the back, so he can escape and confront Noah. When he knocks on the door, Curly's wife answers, bearing a black eye indicating that Curly hit her for cheating on him.
In Chinatown, the water department, under the influence of Cross, is behind a plan to secretly dump water from a vital reservoir in the San Fernando valley at night during a drought, so that the local agricultural land becomes unusable, and is devalued – allowing the department and Cross to buy it off cheaply from ...
Chinatown (1974) Plot Analysis | The truth behind the "truth".
What does the last line in Chinatown mean?
"Forget it, Jake; it's Chinatown" is an encouragement to Jake to forget this set of circumstances, just as he "forgot" the circumstances surrounding his time in Chinatown.
Did Jack Nicholson really slap Faye Dunaway in Chinatown?
After several takes that never looked quite right, Faye Dunaway got annoyed and told Jack Nicholson to actually slap her. He did and felt very guilty for it, despite it being Dunaway's decision.
What happens to Katherine at the end of Chinatown?
Instead, the movie ends with Cross gathering Katherine up and spiriting her away, achieving a victory that should have belonged to Jake. The way Cross finally triumphs is the most devastating part of the scene.
At gunpoint, Cross and Mulvihill force Gittes to take them to Chinatown, where the police are waiting. Escobar detains Gittes as Cross attempts to claim Katherine. Evelyn shoots Cross in the arm and tries to escape with Katherine, but the police open fire, killing Evelyn.
Curley's wife admits that she does not like her husband and thinks that he's an unpleasant man. Curley's wife is also disappointed because of her failed dream to become a movie star.
4. Her advances with Lennie were more likely platonic that sexual. She looks down on him, but he's simply the easiest one for the characters to relate to, and they were in a position where they were unlikely to be interrupted.
“Chinatown” won best original screenplay at the 1975 Academy Awards, best screenplay, best actor and best director at the 1975 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), and best director and best screenplay at the 1975 Golden Globe Awards.
What does Jack Nicholson say at the end of Chinatown?
After Evelyn Mulwray is killed, you hear Jack say the words “as little as possible.” Thus making Chinatown a metaphor for the futility of good intentions… good people getting caught up in bad situations and ending up with horrifying results.
Why did Jack Nicholson's mother pretend to be his sister?
To avoid the social stigma of unwed motherhood, her mother, Ethel May, raised Jack as her own son, while June assumed the role of his sister. Nicholson remained unaware of this arrangement until a Time magazine reporter uncovered the truth during research for a profile on him.
Evelyn denies this and instead confesses that Katherine is both her sister and her daughter, her father having raped her when she was a teenager. When Evelyn tells him that the eyeglasses did not belong to Hollis, Gittes figures out that they must be Cross's and that Cross must have drowned Hollis in the pond.
A jury consisting of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians selected "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 American Civil War epic Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quotation of all time.
1. Madham. A marginalized family in rural India faces brutal persecution after false accusations. As they endure police violence and social hostility, their fight for justice becomes a testament to resistance against systemic oppression.
Only three films have ever won 11 Oscars: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), tying for the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single movie, with The Return of the King notably winning all of its nominations in a clean sweep.
