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Viewer Score

40
Viewer score based on 1 vote.

Critic Score

86
Critics' score based on 10 reviews.
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Critic Reviews

An outstanding picture.Full Review

Variety

But it's Polanski who pries the genre open until it goes metaphysical.Full Review

Ty Burr
Entertainment Weekly

[Nicholson's] performance is key in keeping Chinatown from becoming just a genre crime picture--that, and a Robert Towne screenplay that evokes an older Los Angeles, a small city in a large desert.Full Review

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times

But the greatness of Chinatown, unappreciated by my adolescent self, lies not in its cynical view of the California dream (that's too easy) but in its fatalistic, even tragic conception of America and indeed of human nature.Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

A nearly flawless example of movie composition, with close examination revealing how carefully it was put together. For those who take a less studious and more visceral approach to movie viewing, it's also worth noting that Chinatown is a superior thriller - one that will keep viewers involved and "in the moment" until the final, mournful scene has come to a conclusion.Full Review

James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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