What makes Chinatown such a paragon of cinema?

Roman Polanski's Chinatown is the apogee of the noir genre.

It is a masterclass in storytelling: quick, efficient, and yet suspenseful.

It features plot twists, startling revelations, unremitting suspense, and the most ironic of endings.

In Chinatown, Polanski sought to recreate the ambience of the hardboiled detective novels and classical noir films.

The film's tragic ending is set in motion by the fact that he has gone against his own mantra by wading knee deep into other people’s issues.

As Evelyn Cross , Faye Dunaway channels the beauty and elegance of a 1930s Hollywood star, right down to the thin drawn-on eyebrows.

But perhaps the most outstanding performance in Chinatown is that of John Huston , who exquisitely conveys the faux bonhomie.

For contemporary audiences, Chinatown evoked the Watergate scandal, which was being investigated as it the film was in production.

Nixon resigned in August 1974 , less than two months after the release of Polanski ’s film.

Chinatown is filmed in colour with natural lighting, instead of the black and white of classic noir, as if to denote that the fiendish inner workings of corrupt power are now out in the open for everyone to see.