Post by Boz on Jan 22, 2007 0:58:54 GMT
Chinatown
Roman Polanski 1974 Originally Written 5/28/06
I had rented this maybe a year ago and gotten through about half of it. The film seemed fairly boring to me and I never had any interest in getting back to the rest. Fortunately, I recently saw its high placement on a greatest films of all time list and decided I'd give it another go. I don't know whether I was just paying more attention this time or I just have more of an appreciation for more conservatively directed films, but I enjoyed it much more this time around. First of all, it must be said that what really sets this film apart from all others is Jack Nicholson's performance as J.J Gittes. I felt as though any other actor in this role simply wouldn't have sufficed, and it seems as though some scenes and dialogue of the Gittes character were almost custom made for Nicholson, his personality, his look, and his delivery. This was the first film I had ever seen by Roman Polanski, and although I really liked all of his neo-noir, precisely-framed, still camera shots, some of the time when he chose to move the camera, the shots were noticeably shaky for some reason. The story itself, written by Polanski and Robert Towne, was excellent. I felt as though it nearly matched Godfather II in terms of complexity, which I appreciated, but it was still reasonably understandable and not overdone. The twisted plot also helped to add depth to the principal characters, all of whom I really liked. The writing was strong when it came to dialogue as well, as Nicholson had some real gems to work with. Some minor plot comprehension problems towards the end, but overall damn good.
Roman Polanski 1974 Originally Written 5/28/06
I had rented this maybe a year ago and gotten through about half of it. The film seemed fairly boring to me and I never had any interest in getting back to the rest. Fortunately, I recently saw its high placement on a greatest films of all time list and decided I'd give it another go. I don't know whether I was just paying more attention this time or I just have more of an appreciation for more conservatively directed films, but I enjoyed it much more this time around. First of all, it must be said that what really sets this film apart from all others is Jack Nicholson's performance as J.J Gittes. I felt as though any other actor in this role simply wouldn't have sufficed, and it seems as though some scenes and dialogue of the Gittes character were almost custom made for Nicholson, his personality, his look, and his delivery. This was the first film I had ever seen by Roman Polanski, and although I really liked all of his neo-noir, precisely-framed, still camera shots, some of the time when he chose to move the camera, the shots were noticeably shaky for some reason. The story itself, written by Polanski and Robert Towne, was excellent. I felt as though it nearly matched Godfather II in terms of complexity, which I appreciated, but it was still reasonably understandable and not overdone. The twisted plot also helped to add depth to the principal characters, all of whom I really liked. The writing was strong when it came to dialogue as well, as Nicholson had some real gems to work with. Some minor plot comprehension problems towards the end, but overall damn good.