Historical context

Like many other top talents in the American film industry, screenwriter Robert Towne broke into the business by working for B-movie mogul Roger Corman. After writing a few low budget potboilers for Corman, Towne came into his own with the scripts for The Last Detail (1973), Chinatown (1974), and Shampoo (1975). He is now recognized as one of the most gifted screenwriters working in the industry, and is much sought-after as a "script doctor," a lucrative sideline that involves doing uncredited rewrites to improve the scripts of other writers. Having been born in Los Angeles and raised in San Pedro, Towne has long been interested in the history of Los Angeles, a major metropolitan area that has grown up on the edge of a desert to become the home base for the most influential film industry in the world. The screenplay for Chinatown derives, in part, from Towne's fascination with the development of his famous hometown.

Roman Polanski emerged from a horrendous childhood marred by Nazi persecution in his native Poland to become one of world cinema's most celebrated directors. His work has bridged many different types of narrative, from psychological thrillers (Repulsion, 1965) to horror (Rosemary's Baby, 1968) to Shakespearian tragedy (Macbeth, 1971). In directing Towne's script for Chinatown, he took on yet another striking challenge -- the visualization of what amounted to a latter-day film noir.

The genre known as film noir emerged in American cinema mainly after World War II. It was a deeply pessimistic genre in which characters typically found themselves caught in traps set for them by fate. In most cases, these traps proved inescapable, leading inexorably to the main character's ultimate downfall. Another common element in noir was the nature of the female lead characters. Almost always these women were dangerous, scheming, and amoral. Often they were the immediate cause of the doomed main character's demise. The term "film noir" translates from the French as "dark film," which was an apt description on at least two levels. The films certainly were psychologically dark, but this darkness was also literalized in the cinematography, which was typically dominated by low key lighting, heavy with shadows. It was a look that seemed tailor-made for black and white, which is how all the classic titles of the genre were shot. By 1974, however, cinematic styles had changed. The pessimism of film noir was well suited to the times -- this was, after all, the era of Watergate -- but black and white films were no longer regarded as commercially viable. It was, therefore, up to Polanski and his cinematographer, John Alonzo, to solve the problem of how to create a color film noir.

Narrative context

This film is called Chinatown, and yet only one scene takes place there. In view of that fact, why choose that title?

Towne has said that an alternate title he considered was Water and Power. In what way(s) would this title have been appropriate?

Is Jake Gittes a sympathetic character? Why or why not? What is his image of himself? How does this compare to how others see him?

During the course of the film, Gittes nearly loses his nose and Evelyn Mulwray loses an eye. Also, a significant plot point turns on the discovery of a pair of glasses. Why is there so much emphasis on sensory deprivation?

What is the significance of the name "Noah Cross?"

There is a backstory that is alluded to periodically throughout the film, having to do with Gittes and his work for the District Attorney's office in Chinatown. How does this backstory relate to the action depicted in the film?

What is the significance of the repeated phrase, "as little as possible?"

Aesthetic context

How did Polanski and Alonzo solve the problem of mixing color cinematography with a genre that has been traditionally associated with black and white?

Follow the development of smoke imagery and water imagery throughout the film. How is each used?

How does the music score (by Jerry Goldsmith) contribute to the mood of the film?

Rhetorical context

What does the film seem to say about the nature of corruption?

How does the film treat the theme of the repetition of error?

Does the film single out Chinatown as the locus and/or source of venality and iniquity?