Chinatown review

Jack Nicholson gets more than he bargained for in the Polanski classic

GamesRadar Editor's Choice

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

“Forget it, Jake it's Chinatown!”

The most memorable sign-off ever, right? Wrong.

Roman Polanski’s peerless gumshoe mystery actually ends with a testy cop ordering rubberneckers to “get off the street”.

Fortunately that’s one of the few unremarkable lines in Robert Towne’s script, a magnificent dissection of corruption boasting career-best turns from Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston.

A hurrah too for the ensemble, the likes of Burt Young and weak link in this 1974 masterpiece.

Unforgettable.

Freelance Writer

Neil Smith is a freelance film critic who has written for several publications, including Total Film. His bylines can be found at the BBC, Film 4 Independent, Uncut Magazine, SFX, Heat Magazine, Popcorn, and more.