--- title: "Chinatown: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/chinatown/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/chinatown" critics_score: 90 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chinatown (1974): what the critics said Critics' score 90 from 7 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics are strongly enthusiastic about Chinatown, praising its detective story as a disturbing account of corruption and power. Robert Towne’s screenplay draws repeated praise for its organisation and political implications, while Jack Nicholson’s performance is a particular point of agreement, with Faye Dunaway and John Huston also receiving strong notices. The reviews admire Roman Polanski’s controlled direction, especially the way he makes the Los Angeles setting inviting without softening the cruelty beneath it. There is little shared complaint; the differences mostly concern how highly to rank the film’s achievements. The New York Times offers a clear dissent, finding it stylish and well acted but short of the wit and entertainment of earlier detective films such as The Maltese Falcon. Elsewhere, critics treat the intricate plotting and pervasive disillusionment as strengths, stressing how the film unsettles the familiar pleasures of a private-eye mystery. ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Rating ★★★★★. The review calls Chinatown a five-star film whose aura is intentionally fatigued and deflated, importing 1970s paranoia into its 1930s Los Angeles setting. It praises how Polanski makes disillusionment seductive as Nicholson's private eye uncovers rot in an irrigation scandal. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9778296/Films-in-brief-Hors-Satan-McCullin-Chinatown-Repulsion.html) ## Empire — Rob Fraser Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2012. The best private eye movie ever made, with all the gumshoe staples elevated by Towne's sophisticated script that updates Greek tragedy and offers a subtle political allegory from the Watergate/Vietnam era. A timeless classic and never-bettered noir masterpiece boasting top 1970s Hollywood talent. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/chinatown-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Jeremiah Kipp Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The reviewer calls Chinatown a classic American film from the 1970s that works on multiple levels as both a detective story and a disturbing parable about human pressure and moral emptiness. Polanski handles the heavy material with a light cinematic touch, bringing the crime elements into sunlight without stylistic affectations while grounding the labyrinthine narrative in Jake's perspective. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/chinatown/) ## Total Film — Neil Smith Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2012. A peerless gumshoe mystery with Robert Towne's magnificent script dissecting corruption and career-best performances from Nicholson, Dunaway and Huston. A 1974 masterpiece that is unforgettable. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/chinatown-2-review/) ## Time Out — JWin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 January 2015. The film subverts the hard-boiled detective genre by having its protagonist get everything wrong before a tragic, Greek-tragedy-style climax. It singles out Jack Nicholson's charismatic, pre-Schtickolson performance and the film's bleak ending for particular note. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/chinatown) ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 8.1/10. It is a masterpiece whose brilliantly organised script (the best original work since Citizen Kane) and strong performances, especially Nicholson's, repay repeated viewings. The ending was altered by Polanski from Towne's original plan, resulting in acrimony but genius on screen. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-q5qwc5/chinatown/) ## Evening Standard Rating ****. 4 January 2013. Polanski has not made a more watchable film than this 1974 thriller, thanks to catching Nicholson at his peak, a fine producer and Towne's screenplay. His telling of LA corruption is masterly—thrilling, humorous and disturbing—and brilliantly played by Nicholson, Huston and Dunaway. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/also-showing-chinatown-repulsion-and-playing-for-keeps-8438115.html) ## The Guardian 9 August 1974. The critic praises Roman Polanski's Chinatown as a palpable hit and more than a skilful update of classic detective stories like The Maltese Falcon. It is highlighted as a clever, confident examination of corruption and power in 1930s Los Angeles, with strong performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, handsome production, and a macabre climax. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/17/chinatown-review-crime) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby 21 June 1974. The critic finds the film a competently stylish private-eye melodrama set in 1930s Los Angeles that falls short of the wit and entertainment of classics like The Maltese Falcon. Strong performances by Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston are highlighted amid a labyrinthine plot of corruption and family secrets. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/21/archives/screen-polanskis-chinatown-views-crime-of-30s.html) ## The Skinny — Jack McFarlane Rating ★★★★★. 7 November 2007. The critic calls it one of the greatest films ever made. Performance, direction, and scoring are singled out as masterclass examples of subtlety used to devastating effect, making it the last word in '70s noir. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/chinatown) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/chinatown.md