Chinatown

Chinatown (1974)

5 corrected entries

(5 votes)

Corrected entry: After Jack and Faye sleep together, she gets a phone call and has to leave. Jack wants to follow her so he rushes outside and kicks in her car's right tail light. But when he is following her it is the left tail light that is out.

Correction: He kicked in her right tail light and in the subsequent "following" scene , it is her right tail light that is out.

Corrected entry: In the early scene where Jake is photographing the Mulwrays from a roof, the reflection of the two Mulwrays in the camera lens is right-side-up, but in reality the image reflected in the lens would be upside-down as seen from the audience POV.

Correction: Not true, the image only gets inverted once it passes through the lens. Looking at the reflection of the subject on the outside of the lens, it would not be turned upside-down.

tinsmith

Corrected entry: Early on, while Jack Nicholson is contemplating a dry riverbed, the camera pans around him, giving the audience a clear view of some huge red and white electricity pylons in the distance (the film is set in the 1930's).

Correction: Not sure on the authenticity of the towers in the back (and being red and white. heheh.), but This was Los Angeles, 1937. The Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. I'm pretty sure the city had electricity before that, too.

Corrected entry: The woman who pretended to be Mrs Mulray rings J.J.Gettes and tells him to check the obituary section of the local newspaper. He does this and finds out that Noah Cross is buying land in other peoples names. Why would a simple actress be privy to this information? (00:42:30)

Correction: Apparently someone else thought she knew a little too much because she ended up dead. She probably overheard some things or looked at some documents she wasn't supposed to.

Corrected entry: While trying to escape Jack parks outside an old client's house and makes a break while the baddies are waiting in the car outside. In the background, a girl walks past wearing an orange tee-shirt and jeans.

Correction: I watched this scene on DVD in slow motion several times and did not see anyone on the street much less a girl in an orange tee shirt and jeans.

Continuity mistake: After Jake walks threw the door at 1972 Canyon Drive the mirrored makeup case in front of the staircase moves between shots. At first the top is angled slightly, then when we see it again it's opened fully and straight up in the air. (01:48:10)

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More mistakes in Chinatown

Gittes: How much are you worth?
Cross: I have no idea. How much do you want?
Gittes: No, I just want to know what you're worth. Over $10 million?
Cross: Haw oh my yes.
Gittes: Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What can you buy that you can't already afford?
Cross: The future, Mr. Gitts! The future!
(02:02:15)

More quotes from Chinatown

Trivia: The homage Roman Polanski pays is subtle but there are many similarities to Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon directed by John Huston. Ida Sessions in beginning of the movie trying to put one over on Jake, the guys removing Hollis Mulwray's name from the door of the office after he dies, and Jake's interrogation of Evelyn Mulwray at 1972 Canyon Drive.

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More trivia for Chinatown

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