When it comes to movies, I may as well be the poster child for Generation X. We came of age during the home video revolution. Now, instead of waiting for movies to come on television or play at a revival house, we could watch one anytime that we chose, and suddenly, hundreds/thousands of movies were available. This could have been an opportunity to visit classics from the past. But, new movies were coming out every week, especially when the idea of straight-to-video became a reality. So, looking to the past became a challenge when the future of movies was right in front of us. Thus, there are many classic movies (which in my world means pre-1975) which I haven't seen. But, I try to remedy that when I can, so I was glad to check out Chinatown.

It's the late 1930s in Los Angeles and Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a successful private detective. He's hired by Mrs. Mulwray (Diane Ladd), who's convinced that her husband, Hollis (Darrell Zwerling), is cheating on her. Jake follows Hollis and finds that the man is constantly visit beaches, rivers, and reservoirs. L.A. is in the midst of a drought, so this behavior seems odd, until Jake witnesses thousands of gallons of water being diverted around the city. However, Jake is able to put this aside, as he does witness Hollis with another woman. Then, two events take place which change the case -- Hollis is found dead, and Jake realizes that he's been set up. It quickly becomes obvious that this is more than just another adultery case. Jake has wandered into a political hornet's nest which involves millions of dollars and the future of the city.

I hadn't seen Chinatown, but, of course, I'd heard of it and knew a little bit about it. But, if you had described the plot to me, I probably wouldn't have believed you. "It's all about water?" The Oscar-winning screenplay by Robert Towne is very complicated and deceptively simple. The movie is part detective story, part political drama, and part romance. The task of tailing a man to see if he's cheating is pretty standard for Jake and the movie could have easily stayed on this path. Instead, it brings in the unique aspects of the plot involving the water department and how no one but Jake seems to notice that water is being diverted around the city. Then, into this mix comes Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and her father, Noah Cross (John Huston). Evelyn is cold to Jake at first, but an attraction soon grows and Jake should no better, as a woman like in a movie like this is nothing but trouble.

However, at its core, Chinatown is film noir. It seems that every decade has its tribute to the hard-boiled detective films of the 30s and 40s and Chinatown is certainly the epitome of the genre. From Jake's office to his car to the way in which a seemingly simple case grows into something larger to the double-crosses, this is noir to the core and noir done very well. Jake has his flaws, but we root for him, and when the twists come, they are done in a very subtle way that leaves both us and Jake reeling. Director Roman Polanski uses very long takes to convey a leisurely pace, which makes the suddenly bursts of violence even more shocking (The movie contains not one, but two sudden gunshots which will make you jump.) It's very easy to see how the movie was a big influence on L.A. Confidential and, as odd as it sounds, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

It's now easy to see why Chinatown is considered a classic. The movie has a great look, the story is both surprising in its plot structures and full of intriguing twists, and (probably thanks to Polanski) the movie doesn't pull any punches. Nicholson is great here, as this was before he fell into his stereotypical "manic Jack" persona which ruined so many of his later performances. Yes, some of Chinatown seems a bit dated now, but there's nothing better than good storytelling.

Chinatown shamelessly depicts the deaths of several innocent oranges on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. Someone did a great job of cleaning/restoring this movie for the transfer, as the image is very impressive. The picture is sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain at times and no overt defects from the source material. The colors look good and very realistic. The film has a warm look and is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is good, as we can make out textures on objects, and I was very impressed by the depth, as older movies can easily look flat. The primary audio track on the Disc is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.0 Mbps. (For purists, there is also a mono track.) As a re-built/re-mixed mono track, we get some minor stereo and surround sound effects here. The important thing is that the rushing water sounds good, the gunshots are jarring, and the dialogue is always audible and intelligible.

The Chinatown Blu-ray Disc contains several extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY with Screenwriter Robert Towne and Director David Fincher, who is an admirer of the movie. Like many retrospective commentaries, this is good, as the speakers feel more free to be honest and Fincher asks some good questions. "Water and Power" (78 minutes) is a three-part feature-length documentary of sorts which shows the actual history of public works in Los Angeles and how it built and effected the city. We also see how this true story influenced Chinatown. "Chinatown: An Appreciation" (26 minutes) contains comments from filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh and Kimberly Pierce talk about how they view the film and what it taught them about movie-making. "Chinatown: The Beginning and the End" (19 minutes) is a making-of which contains comments from Polanski, Towne, Nicholson, and Robert Evans who give a lot of details (especially from Towne) about how the film came together and then how the project got off the ground. "Chinatown: Filming" (26 minutes) is a continuation of the previous featurette which gets into the details of the film's production, which descriptions of how specific scenes were done. "Chinatown: The Legacy" (10 minutes) has Polanski, Towne, Evans, and Nicholson giving their final impressions of the movie. The extras are rounded out by the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.