What is your favorite movie?

it was the first movie I ever saw that left me speechless when it was over! To this day, I’m stunned by the script, the performances, Roman Polanski’s direction and the exquite detail in recreating a bygone Los Angeles. Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway deservedly became stars of the first caliber. THe movie is timeless!

Can you spell film-noir?

This film is my favorite because it comes as close to a “perfect” film as I have seen thus far in my life; Polanski has some quirks, but he is a great director, the cimetographer’s use of light and filters combined with the musical score made me feel like I traveled in time back to that era. Cudos must also be handed out for a great scipt (nobody I’ve yet met has been able to predict the outcome of this plot) and the casting director for assembling a group of Hollywood players whose careers span several decades.

AFI -
I am very upset that Chinatown fell out of your top 20. I actually think that just about all the films from number 35 to number 20 should be rated higher than many films you rated in the top 20. Please explain how The Searchers jumps from 96 to 12. Also, Vertigo, not Hitchcock’s best work, jumps from number 61 to number 9 ??????? Is Rebecca even on the list at all ? Also, From Here to Eternity disapears from the list entirely. Again, other than the top 3, I strongly feel the mainstay of America’s greatest films fall between numbers 20 and 35.

I just saw Chinatown again last night, for the first time in High Def As much as I hate to be disloyal to the other movies I love, this is my favorite of all. I knew it was a landmark when I saw it at the time it was first released. Its the most completely realized film I know of, from the first scene with the haunting Jerry Goldsmith score to the final line. The screenplay is deservedly famous and the acting is wonderful Its wonderful to see Nicholson before he became a parody of himself. The scene where Dunaway loses all of her defenses just from Nicholson telling her he saw her father is devastating, as is the justly famous revelation of the final twist. Every single performance is solid, no one just mails it in. The cinematography is wonderful, especially if you’ve lived in coastal California I also think it is the most American of films, since it deals with the eternal conflict between our dreams and the things some people will do to realize their dreams, no matter the cost to others. This one film is like an education in film, watch it sometime and pay attention to how the tension is remorsely increased, through the pacing, editing, cinematography and music Polanski doesn’t get enough credit as a director, he does the same thing in Rosemary’s Baby, starting out lighthearted and finally making the tension almost unbearable.

An absolutely perfect movie, not a wasted frame.

An absolutely perfect movie, not a wasted frame. Robert Towne’s cynical labyrinth of secrets and sin, Polanski at the top of his form, Nicholson in all his glory, Dunaway at her sexiest and most mysterious, John freakin’ Huston as one of the creepiest and most unrepentant villains of all time, that great cinematography, the wonderful score, the bandage on the nose, as little as possible…get the picture, or is it too tough for you? Forget it, Jake, it’s CHINATOWN.
By: Aaron Fuller

Clever and tragic with a surprising twist. Excellent writing, acting, directing. Great classical allusions.
I love everything about this movie - the dark ending, the Greek and biblical references, the water as a means of power, sight/soul play, everything.
By: Sarah Mcdermott

Equates the violation of human rights with that of a citizenry’s civil rights.

I’ve never seen any other movie so well-balanced between the old and the new. It takes classic genres and Hollywood conventions, and continues to make them relevant in this hyper-media saturated age.
By: Chris Emery

I just loooveee it.

I just loooveee it.
By: Mike Ferris

All of the elements of the American dream are in this movie - glamour, deception, greed, ignorance, cunning and passion. And none of it is what it appears to be. At the same time, it’s a tribute to a time when movies were about what they appeared to be.

It’s like an archeological dig. The more times I see it, the more layers I see.
By: David Browne

Greatest screenplay of all time.

Greatest screenplay of all time & greatest performances of all time (Nicholson, Dunaway, and Huston). Never bores and never ages.
By: Louis Cerato

Masterpiece of story and filmmaking.

The script, cinematography, and everything is just beautiful. And I’m a big fan of Faye Dunaway.
By: Lloyd Torres