The greatest!

Rating: 10/10 (4 November 1998)

Having just viewed "Chinatown" for the second time, I can call it quite possibly the greatest film ever made--a model of cinematic perfection that may have never been equalled, at least as far as I have seen. It took a brazenly ambitious concept--a film noir in color--and pulled it off masterfully, managing to incorporate sunlight into the noir milieu and creating a palette that reflected the parched, burned-out atmosphere. And unlike many old noirs, it does not compromise its mood with a ridiculous happy ending, but rather one that completes its gloomy, desperate vision in a setting that makes perfect thematic sense. The script, the acting, the music, the costumes--along with Polanski's direction these mesh perfectly together to create a whole and coherent artistic vision. A masterpiece.