Legacy
Evans says that the film cemented Jack Nicholson, then a rising star, as one of Hollywood's top leading men.
Robert Towne's screenplay for the film has become legendary among critics and filmmakers, often celebrated as one of the best ever written. However, it was Roman Polanski who decided about filming the fatal final scene, changing Towne's idea of a happy ending.
Chinatown brought more public awareness to the land dealings and disputes over water rights which arose while drawing Los Angeles' water supply from the Owens Valley in the 1930s.
The film holds a 100% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 50 reviews. Metacritic assigned a rating of 86/100 based on 10 critic reviews.
Read more about this topic: Chinatown (1974 film)
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)