What is the true story behind the movie Chinatown?

The film's narrative, set in 1930s Los Angeles, is loosely inspired by the California water wars—early 20th-century conflicts over water rights that enabled Los Angeles to access resources from the Owens Valley.

Did Jack Nicholson actually 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. The shot made it into the movie.

What is the significance of the nose in Chinatown?

The cutting of Gittes's nose is important not only because it marks Gittes for the rest of the film, but because the nasty little hood who cuts Gittes is played by Polanski himself, brandishing a triangular knife like those that dominated his first feature whose title seems to fit this film as well, Knife in the Water.

Why did Chinatown have a bad reputation?

The early reputation of Chinatowns in the West was that of dilapidated ghettos and slums, sites of brothels, opium dens, and gambling halls.

Who pretended to be Mrs. Mulwray?

Ida Sessions, played by Diane Ladd

A red-haired, slightly worn-looking actress hired by Noah Cross to pose as Mrs. Mulwray. Ida is practical-minded and possessed of a strong self-interest. Cross has her killed when the police get too close to her.

Chinatown (1974) Plot Analysis | The truth behind the "truth".

Why were they dumping water in Chinatown?

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 ...

Who killed Hollis in Chinatown?

Gittes arranges for the women to flee to Mexico and instructs Evelyn to meet him at her butler's home in Chinatown. He summons Cross to the Mulwray estate, having deduced that Cross dropped his glasses when he drowned Hollis in the pond.

What is the big twist in Chinatown?

The ending of Chinatown sees Jake Gittes piecing together the web of conspiracy weaved by Noah Cross (John Huston). Jake discovers it was Cross who murdered Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling) and was also responsible for the death of Ida Sessions.

How old was Jack Nicholson in Chinatown?

In 2010, when Chinatown was 36 years old—the same age as Jack Nicholson when he starred in the movie, when he was, by broad critical consensus, at the peak of his star power—a poll of The Guardian's top critics proclaimed it “the best film of all time.” So, we might take the occasion of its 50th birthday in 2024 to ...

Why was Chinatown burned down?

In 1906, firefighters torched the Chinatown in California's Santa Ana after one man in the community was reported to have leprosy. After banning Chinese from walking on the streets after dark in Antioch, white residents burned down its Chinatown. San Jose was once home to five Chinatowns.

What is the meaning of the last line in Chinatown?

Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. This line from the final scene, which Walsh speaks in a sympathetic voice as he leads Jake away from Evelyn's dead body, sums up one of the film's major themes. Throughout the film, several characters suggest that Chinatown is a place to be avoided at all costs.

Whose glasses were in the pond in Chinatown?

Noah Cross drowned him the salt pond at Mulwray's house. Noah's glasses were found in the salt pond later, by Jake. He killed him over Katherine and not the water bond issue. It was done in the heat of an argument over her.

What is the yellow building in Chinatown?

The Chinese characters zhen zhu fang, or Pearl Square, on the facade of People's Park Complex are often photographed from Temple Street in Chinatown. In 2009, the building was again repainted – this time, in a brighter yellow-and-green scheme.

Do Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson get along?

''However, once filming began on 'Ironweed', everyone on set and those who heard about it, were talking not about the film's script, or direction, or scenic design, but about Jack and Meryl. '' Meryl - who has been married to Don Gummer for 35 years - and Jack still remain close friends to this day.

Was there a sequel to Chinatown?

The Two Jakes. The sequel to Chinatown (1974) finds J.J. "Jake" Gittes investigating adultery and murder, and the money that comes from oil.

Are Faye Dunaway and Sharon Stone friends?

After playing famed opera singer Maria Callas in a touring stage production of "Master Class" in 1996, Dunaway bought the rights to the play and announced her intention of writing, directing and starring in a film version. For nearly two decades it has been in development limbo. Good friends with actress Sharon Stone.

Was Jack Nicholson's sister his mother?

In 1974, Time magazine researchers learned, and informed Nicholson, that his "sister", June, was actually his mother, and his other "sister", Lorraine, was really his aunt. By this time, both his mother and grandmother had died (in 1963 and 1970, respectively).

What is considered Jack Nicholson's best movie?

Was there a Chinatown 2?

The Two Jakes is a 1990 American neo-noir mystery film and the sequel to the 1974 film Chinatown.

What is the horrible ending of Chinatown?

The ending is especially disturbing because earlier in the movie you find out the villain raped his daughter. His daughter had a baby as a result. In the end the bad guy steals away the child (possibly planning to rape her) and the daughter he raped is shot as she tries to escape.

What is the mambo in Chinatown about?

Mambo in Chinatown follows Charlie Wong's journey to establish balance between her often seemingly contradictory Chinese and American identities as she trains as a professional ballroom dancer. Twenty-two-year-old Charlie lives in a cramped New York Chinatown apartment with her widowed father and younger sister.

Who killed Hollis Mulwray in Chinatown?

His implication in Mulwray's murder is confirmed when he instructs his assistant, “Take those glasses from him, will ya?” gesturing to the bifocal glasses Gittes has in his hands. They belong to Cross, making him the man responsible for Mulwray's drowning in the saltwater pound outside his house.

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.

What did JJ discover in the Backyard Pond Chinatown?

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. He rushes to the house where Evelyn is hiding her sister.

Who is the femme fatale in Chinatown?

As a film, Chinatown is as gorgeous and clever as a femme fatale, but Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) is emblematic and far from an archetype. Like Dietrichson, she simply desires her freedom, but in her case, the circumstances are far more sinister.