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Chinatown (1974)

Directed by Roman Polanski · Cinematography by John A. Alonzo

R130 min62 frames

CrimeDramaMysteryThriller

You get tough. You get tender. You get close to each other. Maybe you even get close to the truth.

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Stills, screencaps & shots from Chinatown

16 of 62 frames — the full set is searchable by lighting, lens, shot size, color and mood with a free account.

Chinatown (1974) movie still: fullbody — A manicured outdoor space features a small stone pond and yellow patio umbrellas. A man in a tan suit…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — Rows of tall shelves are packed with uniform beige ledgers in a narrow aisle. A man in a fedora reaches out…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — A 1930s office interior features a glass door with dark lettering and wood trim. A woman in a grey cloche hat…Chinatown (1974) movie still: fullbody — An outdoor courtyard sits between two stucco apartment buildings with numerous glass-paned windows. A man…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — An interior space features wood-paneled walls and a window covered with horizontal Venetian blinds. A man in…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — A dimly lit covered outdoor area features white structural columns and large window panes. A man with a…Chinatown (1974) movie still: wide — A quiet residential street lined with multi-story, 1930s-style American suburban homes at sunset. A dark…Chinatown (1974) movie still: closeup — A man in a fedora stands on a concrete bridge overlooking a dry riverbed. The landscape is sparse and dusty…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — A dimly lit narrow corridor features a single bright light source at the end. A man in a fedora and suit…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — Two men sit at a white-clothed table eating a meal under a covered patio. A third man in a white shirt stands…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — A man in a fedora relaxes in a small boat on a calm lake. Tall palm trees line the water's edge in the…Chinatown (1974) movie still: establishing — A dark rocky stream bed at night is mostly obscured by deep shadows. A small bright object rests among…Chinatown (1974) movie still: closeup — A dark outdoor setting at night features blurred lights in the distant background. A man in a suit and hat…Chinatown (1974) movie still: medium — A vast, sun-drenched dry field stretches toward low rolling mountains under a clear sky. A man seen from…Chinatown (1974) movie still: wide — A concrete bridge spans across a dry, brush-filled embankment under a clear sky. A man in a suit stands on the…Chinatown (1974) movie still: wide — A man in a suit stands by a stone-lined pond in a manicured lawn. A second man wears a hat and kneels in the…
Chinatown (1974) — © Paramount Pictures, Long Road Productions

Chinatown — official trailer

What is Chinatown about?

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne. It stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, with supporting performances from John Huston, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, James Hong and Diane Ladd. The film's narrative, set in 1930s Los Angeles, is loosely inspired by the California water wars—early 20th-century conflicts over water rights that enabled Los Angeles to access resources from the Owens Valley. Produced by Robert Evans and distributed by Paramount Pictures, Chinatown was Polanski's final film made in the United States.

Second paragraph from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where can you watch Chinatown?

US availability for Chinatown (1974). Data by JustWatch, listings on TMDB. Availability changes — check the provider for current listings.

Who stars in Chinatown?

Who made Chinatown?

What does the cinematography of Chinatown look like?

Sampled across 62 frames, the coverage of Chinatown leans heavily on medium shots (60% of the sample). Cinematographer John A. Alonzo keeps 48% of it in soft, low-key light. Night and dusk account for 45% of the frames. Anamorphic glass shapes the frame. Focus stays shallow in 74% of the frames, isolating subjects from their surroundings. The production design places the film in the 1940s.

What is the color palette of Chinatown?

The dominant colors across the sampled frames of Chinatown (1974) are #35302a, #151310, #584e47, #514738, #8c7a6a, #d6c9b1 — measured from the per-frame color data FrameThrower extracts for every film.

  • #35302a
  • #151310
  • #584e47
  • #514738
  • #8c7a6a
  • #d6c9b1

See the full Chinatown colour palette — every hex with its share, plus warmth, saturation and luminance.

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Techniques in this film

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