Chinatown

Set in 1930s Los Angeles, private investigator J.J. Gittes is hired to expose a cheating husband but stumbles into a vast conspiracy involving water rights, power, and a deeply disturbing family secret. Directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne, the film is considered one of the greatest neo-noir masterpieces in cinema history. Its shocking, fatalistic ending subverts Hollywood conventions and cements its status as a defining achievement in American filmmaking.

• Roman Polanski himself plays the knife-wielding man who slits Jake's nose.
• Robert Evans insisted Faye Dunaway star despite director Polanski's objections.
• The original ending was much happier before Polanski rewrote it.
• Jack Nicholson wore a bandage on his nose for most filming.
• Writer Robert Towne won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

• Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
• You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything.
• I don't blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact... at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything.
• She's my daughter. She's my sister. She's my daughter AND my sister.
• You're a very nosy fellow, kitty cat. Huh? You know what happens to nosy fellows? They lose their nose.