Films directed by Roman Polanski (Film Guide)

Source: Wikipedia. Commentary (films not included). Pages: 29. Chapters: Chinatown, Macbeth, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, The Ninth Gate, The Ghost Writer, Oliver Twist, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Tess, The Tenant, Bitter Moon, Repulsion, Pirates, Cul-de-sac, Frantic, Knife in the Water, Death and the Maiden, What?, Le Gros et le maigre, Les plus belles escroqueries du monde, When Angels Fall, U¿miech z¿biczny, Two Men and a Wardrobe, Rozbijemy zabaw¿, Morderstwo, Ssaki. Excerpt: Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. The film features many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The story, set in Los Angeles in 1937, was inspired by the California Water Wars, the historical disputes over land and water rights that had raged in southern California during the 1910s and 1920s, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles interests to secure water rights in the Owens Valley. Chinatown has been called one of the greatest films ever made. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning in the category of Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne. In 1991, Chinatown was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." A sequel, called The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, starring Jack Nicholson, who also directed it, with a screenplay by Robert Towne. The film, however, failed to generate as much acclaim as its predecessor. In the 1930s, a woman claiming to be Evelyn Mulwray hires private investigator J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) to perform matrimonial surveillance on her husband Hollis Mulwray, the chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Gittes tails Mulwray. In a public meeting about new dam construction, Mulwray argues that the proposed dam will be physically unsound and opposes it. The tail continues, though Mulwray visits only Water and Power sites, no mistresses. Mulwray does engage in a heated argument with an elderly man outside the Pig 'n Whistle eatery in Hollywood. Gittes's tail finally hits paydirt when he photographs Mulwray with his young mistress. When his photos hit the front page of the paper the next day, Gittes is confronted by