Chinatown
“You get tough. You get tender. You get close to each other. Maybe you even get close to the truth.”
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.
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Part of The Jake Gittes Collection
2 films
Cast
66 people
Jack Nicholson
J.J. 'Jake' Gittes
Known for
The Shining
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Claudio Martinez
Boy on Horseback
Federico Roberto
Cross' Butler
Faye Dunaway
Evelyn Cross Mulwray
Known for
Network
Bonnie and Clyde
John Huston
Noah Cross
Known for
The Other Side of the Wind
The Hobbit
Perry Lopez
Lieutenant Lou Escobar
Known for
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
Burt Young
Curly
Known for
Rocky
Once Upon a Time in America
John Hillerman
Russ Yelburton
Known for
Magnum, P.I.
Paper Moon
Darrell Zwerling
Hollis I. Mulwray
Known for
Joe Versus the Volcano
High Anxiety
Roman Polanski
Man with Knife
Known for
The Tenant
Rush Hour 3
Diane Ladd
Ida Sessions
Known for
Joy
Wild at Heart
Richard Bakalyan
Detective Loach
Known for
The Fox and the Hound
Return from Witch Mountain
Roman Polanski Director · Robert Towne Writer Jerry Goldsmith Composer
Worldwide gross $30M · Budget $6M · United States release June 20, 1974
Box office
Budget
$6,000,000
Worldwide gross
$30,000,000
Gross vs. budget
5.0×
Production
Paramount Pictures
Production · Studio
Long Road Productions
Production
Robert Evans Productions
Production
Penthouse
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Cantonese · Chinese · English · Spanish
Release dates
Romania · June 20, 1974
Limited theatrical
United States · June 20, 1974
Theatrical
Argentina
February 27, 1975 · Theatrical
Australia
December 20, 1974 · Theatrical
Belgium
March 14, 1975 · Theatrical
Brazil
September 23, 1974 · Theatrical
February 21, 2001 · Physical · DVD/VHS CIC Video
Canada
June 28, 1974 · Theatrical
Chile
April 4, 2015 · Theatrical · Re-release
Denmark
February 10, 1975 · Theatrical
Finland
May 9, 1975 · Theatrical
France
September 12, 1974 · Theatrical
November 21, 2012 · Theatrical · Re-release
Germany
December 19, 1974 · Theatrical · West Germany
November 26, 1976 · Theatrical · East Germany
Greece
May 7, 1975 · Theatrical
August 27, 2020 · Theatrical · Re-release
Hong Kong SAR China
March 26, 1982 · Theatrical
Hungary
September 27, 1979 · Theatrical
Iceland
February 15, 2001 · Premiere · Filmundur
India
February 9, 2013 · Digital
Ireland
November 8, 1974 · Theatrical
Italy
December 13, 1974 · Theatrical
May 26, 2014 · Theatrical · Re-release
Japan
April 12, 1975 · Theatrical
Lithuania
December 4, 2015 · Limited theatrical · k/c "Skalvija"; R. Polanskio filmų retrospektyva
Mexico
May 9, 2017 · Physical · DVD
Netherlands
December 19, 1974 · Theatrical
October 10, 2000 · Physical · DVD
April 18, 2012 · Physical · Blu ray
September 15, 2016 · Theatrical · Re-release
Philippines
December 7, 2013 · Digital
Poland
August 9, 1976 · Theatrical
Portugal
December 18, 1974 · Theatrical
March 17, 2021 · TV
Russia
October 19, 2010 · Physical · DVD, «ВС трейд»
Spain
December 16, 1974 · Theatrical
Sweden
December 16, 1974 · Theatrical
Ukraine
March 14, 2024 · Limited theatrical
United Kingdom
August 9, 1974 · Theatrical
April 23, 2004 · Theatrical · Re-release
Uruguay
May 22, 1975 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.