Chinatown - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Chinatown



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
And things come full circle! Chinatown was not only the very first film I reviewed when I got hired on as a “film critic” back in 2012, but also the first time I had ever seen the seminal classic, so this is sort of a milestone review for me. I get to look back over 12 years of reviewing films, and I get to do it with a classic that I had spent the better part of 30 years (at the time) avoiding for some oddball reason. And of course it doesn’t hurt that Paramount has gone out of their way to do a new 4K remaster from the original camera negative, and give it an amazing looking encode for it’s 50th anniversary (and 45th Paramount Presents film as well).

As is the case with these hard boiled “Sam Spade” detective stories, we start with a dame. A dame by the name of Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray to look into her high profile husband (who happens to be on the board of the L.A. water committee) on grounds of infidelity. It seems like a simple case, with Detective J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) digging up dirt on Mr. Mulwray and finding what appears to be evidence on his affair. However, things get hinky when the REAL Mrs. Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway) shows up and rips the detective a new one and threatens to sue him if he continues the investigation into her husband.
Wanting to find out who set him up from the get go, J.J. decides to pay a visit to Mr. Mulwray and figure things out, only to find the man dead under suspicious circumstances. Mrs. Mulwray instantly switches stances on the detective, dropping her bluster and threats in order to hire him to find out who killed her husband new. Now J.J. is confronted with not only a seedy husband, but treachery, greed, lust and a path that leads back to his own personal demons and haunted past...Chinatown.

Chinatown is NOT a happy ending type of movie. Without spoiling anything, the ending is going to leave you just as angry as the beginning, with the villain seemingly winning in the end, and the audience forced to confront the bleak reality that the more you know, the less you actually WANT to know in many situations. Roman Polanski does an amazing job at crafting a murder mystery that toys with ideas that life can be brutal and unfair, while at the same time utilizing the same hard boiled detective tropes of the early 30s and 40s radio shows, just without the happy endings. It’s a nice balance of the happy go lucky feel good past, mixed with the more bleak and angry tone that the 1970s was known for. Every bit of it is pure classic storytelling, with lusts, greed, avarice, and a whole host of evils that we all face in the world coming together for one tale of misdirection mystery.

What really makes Chinatown is not just the story, but the characters themselves. The story itself is actually a fairly simple murder mystery tale. It’s not super special, but what makes the film is Nicholson and Dunaway, both who absolutely knock it out of the park with their respective roles. Nicholson is famous for his over the top characters, but here restricts and restrains himself a good bit, playing a more down to earth “hard boiled” character that is shockingly different than what he’s known for. Dunaway is perfect as the seductive and angst ridden widow with a dirty past. She’s equal parts bombshell and sympathetic victim, to the point where her final moments in the film literally rip your heart straight out of your chest.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA (both films)




4K Video: Video:

After the previous Paramount Presents edition of Once Upon a Time in the West I was a BIT nervous about Chinatown. Especially when it was advertised that they were doing a new remaster from the OCN much like Once Upon a Time in the West. But luckily it appears that the same compression issues that plagued the western, did NOT translate over to Chinatown, instead we get a near perfect 4K UHD disc that fixes a lot of the problems from the aging 2012 master (which was also most likely used for the Centennial two disc DVD release as well back in the day). Clarity is excellent throughout, getting rid of the softness and compression issues I noticed in the 2012 disc. Fine details are superb, with the new boost in the resolution (you can actually see the paste used to affix the “stitches” to J.J.’s busted up nose when he’s inspecting it in the mirror), and vintage clothing shows off TONS of textural nuances that I’ve never seen before. Dolby Vision enhancements are subtle, but still superbly done here. Black levels are much cleaner looking, with inky shadow sequences that don’t compromise on details at all. The faded and sort of “golden” color grading is intact, but seems more toned downw, with less over the top brightness and a richer browned wood tone to it all. Honestly, this is a fantastic upgrade over the previous disc, and a breathe of fresh air considering how nervous I was that we would get another Once Upon a Time in the West.








Audio:

It looks like the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track is going to be the exact same 5.1 mix from the 2012 Blu-ray, meaning it’s a solid listening experience, but one that also won’t bowl you over. It’s simply a well done dialog centric track that focuses on the center channel, as well as Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score. The track is perfectly balanced, with crisp dialog in the front of the room, as well as light surround activity that is most actively used with Goldsmith’s before mentioned score. We also have a 2.0 Dolby TrueHD track for the original theatrical mix, but even as a purist, I SLIGHTLY prefer the 5.1 mix due to it sounding a bit more spacious.







Extras:

• NEW A State of Mind: Author Sam Wasson On Chinatown – Sam Wasson, film historian and bestselling author of The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years Of Hollywood, on the importance of the film and its legacy.
• NEW Chinatown Memories – Legendary producer Hawk Koch shares stories from his time as assistant director on the film.
• NEW The Trilogy That Never Was – Sam Wasson discusses the planned third installment of what would have been a trio of movies featuring the character Jake Gittes.
• Audio Commentary by screenwriter Robert Towne with David Fincher
• Water and Power
-- The Aqueduct
-- The Aftermath
-- The River & Beyond
• Chinatown: An Appreciation
• Chinatown: The Beginning and the End
• Chinatown: Filming
• Chinatown: Legacy
• Theatrical Trailer
• Collectible packaging featuring a foldout image of the film's theatrical poster and an interior spread with key movie moments

Final Score: ​

Chinatown is a fantastic noir murder mystery, and one that has held up incredibly well over the last half of a century. It’s brutal, rough, and bleak look on the reality of human corruption is sometimes hard to sit through, but never boring. Paramount has gone out of its way to create a fantastic collector’s edition here, with collectible packaging, a brand new 4K remaster, and the inclusion of the sequel, The Two Jakes, (which was released back in 2020) to supplement the already solid extra (my only complaint is Paramount not releasing The Two Jakes in 4K UHD as well, but that’s a minor nitpick). Great movie, great transfer, very good set overall.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, Diane Ladd
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Robert Towne, Roman Polanksi
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English (Restored Audio) Dolby TrueHD 2.0, French, Spanish, Portuguese DD 2.0
Subtitles:
Chinatown: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
The Two Jakes: English, English SDH, French, German, Japanese
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 131 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 18th, 2024

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Really interested to know when this OCN scan and remaster was performed. I bought this last year in 4K HDR on Kaleidescape and it looks glorious, I'm just wondering if they've been holding the disc release for that long, or if they have done any additional work on it since the version I purchased.

 

[Michael Scott]

Really interested to know when this OCN scan and remaster was performed. I bought this last year in 4K HDR on Kaleidescape and it looks glorious, I'm just wondering if they've been holding the disc release for that long, or if they have done any additional work on it since the version I purchased.

From what I've heard from my contacts it's the same master that was struck about a year and a half ago

 

[Asere]

This movie has been on my radar for a long time but never got around to see it. I need to set a reminder now that it has been reviewed by you. Thanks for the review!