Classics Film Marathon: Chinatown

Director: Roman Polanski

Screenplay by Robert Towne, Director of Photography: John A. Alonzo, Stanley Cortez, Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Darrell Zwerling

Legends and criminal court records also preserve the specific circumstances under which this film noir was made, focusing not on the shadows and proportions but on the characters, one of the most interesting and best thrillers ever, the screenplay of which by Robert Towne was considered the finest screenplay, and the starting point of their analysis, by gurus teaching the art of screenwriting such as Robert McKee and Syd Field. There is a femme fatale in this book (the character of Faye Dunaway has the most astounding background story), there is a cynical cop, the power and machoism of hardboiled detective stories, worthy of the works of Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett. But all this would still be insufficient, were it not for the fact that this is a film reflecting the circumstances of its creation. If ever there was a decadent film, then this is it.

More programmes of the Budapest Classics Film Marathon 2019 in Urania National Filmtheatre.