"You got a nasty reputation" | The most evil villain ever | Chinatown | CLIP

[@walterlv01]

According to the movie notes, John Huston kept mispronouncing Gittes (Git-tes) as "Gitz" unintentionally during takes, so Polanski stopped bothering to correct it and just played it off as a character trait. It ended up working out perfectly because it conveyed how little respect the evil tycoon had for the private investigator that he didn't even bother to say his name right despite having been corrected by him.

[@BUKUDI]

"Duck I says"

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

Faye Dunaway said that John Huston mispronounced the name "Gittes" on purpose as a way of casually belittling Jack Nicholson's character. It wasn't in Towne's original script.

[@MelroseHomestead]

@@BUKUDIthat was my favorite scene in the whole film 😂

[@Rensune]

Considering that Jack Nicholson was with his daughter at the time this sounds true

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

@@Rensune John Huston later directed Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston in "Prizzi's Honor".

[@ChrisSmith-lo2kp]

"Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if the last long enough." - such a great american film noir quote

[@marstondavis]

One of the greatest cinema/real life quotes ever. You may think you know what that quote means but you don't.

[@CB-rv9kb]

​@@marstondavis I know but I think you don't.

[@johnprovince5304]

I've swiped that line many times.

[@BUKUDI]

​@@marstondavisjust cause you struggled with figuring it, doesn't mean others had to

[@theseeingeye454]

A Truth of Biblical verity.

[@gggmac6254]

Kevin Pollak has a great story about John Huston’s character is asking Jack Nicholson’s character if he’s sleeping with his daughter…and in reality, John Huston doesn’t know that Jack Nicholson was sleeping with his daughter at that moment

[@freemanz4051]

At that MOMENT!? Kinky.

[@devanirpaula6845]

😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@bobjoe1593]

@@freemanz4051 I have to commend the blocking work they did with that tablecloth lol

[@michaelj.r457]

By odd fate, Angelica Huston was actually visiting the set of Chinatown that day, which made John (as Noah) asking Jack (as Jake), "Are you sleeping with my daughter?" hillariously awkward!

[@jjmuni]

I’ve watched this couple of times because it just cracks me up. Here in the scene one can see the little pause and the twinkle in his eye we all now know where he took it. Just brilliant.

[@Halloweenfreak]

One of Jacks best performances in his entire career!

[@serenityinside1]

THE best....followed by ''the pledge''.

[@gregbors8364]

This is my favorite movie starring Nicholson but imo his best performance was in “Five Easy Pieces”

[@Halloweenfreak]

@@gregbors8364 so many epic performances, Half my friends think his best was in the Shining the other half are torn on many others. Imo he NAILED IT in Chinatown.

[@WillyCLARKE-g8c]

One of the greatest films ever made.

[@jeffschueler1182]

As simple as that. 👍🏼

[@orban_furer]

Makes me think you're taking my daughter for a ride. Financially speaking, of course.

[@serenityinside1]

THE greatest ! no contest.

[@jimringomartin]

Agreed

[@stevemcnary7963]

"You may think you know what you're dealing with but, believe me you don't. " That's Chinatown in a nutshell. Gittes thinks he knows what's going on and he's always a step or 2 behind. Great script, cinematography, direction & acting front a great ensemble cast. And what an ending. My favorite movie.

[@jasonjenkins7825]

The image of the dead fish with the camera's focus on the eye is thematically relevant in multiple ways. One is the missing water. Another is how Mulwray himself is pulled out of the water dead with missing glasses; Dunaway ends up at the end with the focus on the single eye. Gittes and Cross are feeding and have fed on them in their own ways. Pretty great.

[@Onmysheet]

The shot of that food makes me hungry.

[@greenfuzz13]

One of the best scenes in any movie ever. Polansky directs both actors with finesse. Huston reeks of obsequious evil and Nicholson exerts nuanced strength as he spars with Huston, takes his measurement and fends off Huston's efforts to "charm" him.

[@artlover1477]

Good analysis, but as we know, Gittes was in way over his head.

[@BradBolin]

Obsequious?

[@dagnabbit6187]

@@artlover1477 But he didn’t know that until the 3rd Act and the near conclusion of the film . Gittes had no choice after he got sucked into it by the false Mrs . Mulray who sucked him into the false infidelity hire . Morally and because he was a Sleuth by trade and maybe birth he had no choice but to follow it through

[@Onmysheet]

I'm pronouncing his name as Gitz 😆

[@tiananman]

Polanski sure does know how to get the most out of people, especially teenage girls

[@jimringomartin]

John Huston, not usually an actor is providing a master class. Oscar type performance in a Best Picture type film. Nicholson also A+. Love this film.🎉🎉

[@giovannito858]

No doubt, one of the most evil film characters ever.

[@koomo801]

He played this villain so well that if I watch one of the many classic movies he directed and I see his name, I can’t fully enjoy the movie.

[@edmundgonzalez8731]

2:19 Yes, at this point in the story none of us know just how slimy things are going to get. But yeah forget it, it's Chinatown...

[@weirdshibainu]

This era was peak California, the architecture was stunning, the weather perfect, the population small.

[@jasonjenkins7825]

Yeah. Love the costumes here, too.

[@careyfreeman5056]

LA Confidential nails this too.

[@WaryofExtremes]

And even then they knew there was going to be problems with water, and nobody paid attention or did anything until it was a massive problem.

[@jacqdanieles]

​@@WaryofExtremesI imagine they probably said, back then, _"extreme, prolonged droughts aren't real -- droughts have always existed"_ ...

[@gregbors8364]

@@WaryofExtremes People shouldn’t build massive cities in a desert… who knew, right? 😅

[@jamescoate862]

"Fine. As long as you don't serve chicken that way."😂

[@crimony3054]

voodoo

[@Captain-Cosmo]

Forced to eat for an unbroken 2 minute take must have been terrible after the fourth or fifth take.

[@larrywilliams3313]

John Huston had the perfect facial features to have made a great "Grinch who stole Christmas."

[@RADIUMGLASS]

I noticed that 30 years ago 😂

[@sigmann66]

I never seen a fish eye that crystal clear before, especially when cooked. Looking right at you.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

Adds to the mystery of the scene. Perhaps a subliminal message?

[@milossarkissian2606]

Gotta love a good self-insert villain

[@acmewasi799]

John Huston did well in the film. Rest In Peace.

[@kingofthefountain3091]

Someone needs to make a Chinatown about these fires. I bet there’s plenty of story and corruption under the surface.

[@outlet6989]

But of course, this is America after all is said and done. Trump bragged about how many good properties he bought for pennies on the dollar after the 2008 real estate bust. He's probably thinking the same way with the fires.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Forget about it Jake, its China town....

[@dennishipsley8703]

Loved the 1936 Ford woody that brought "Gitz" to see John Huston.

[@thesoultwins72]

Still one of my 'Top 5' all-time favourite films - due in no small part to Robert Towne's sublime screenplay, an absolutely amazing cast, Polanski's masterful direction and a beautifully haunting soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. According to Nicholson, this scene with cinema great John Huston was particularly 'awkward' for him. Nicholson had recently started a relationship with Huston's real-life daughter - Angelica Huston. So when Huston's character [Noah Cross] starts to interrogate Nicholson's character [Jake Gittes] and asks if he is 'sleeping with his daughter' - meaning the film's femme fatale, Evelyn Mulwray [Faye Dunaway] the question took on much greater significance. It also didn't help that Angelica Huston had come to meet Nicholson for lunch and was actually standing off-camera behind her father but in Nicholson's eye-line has he delivered his lines! Despite this, Nicholson never made a better film than 'Chinatown' in my opinion.

[@dagnabbit6187]

Yes John Huston’ Noah Cross is the most evil villain ever . Some say it is Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth . I can see that. Frank Booth might be the sleaziest most whacked but he just doesn’t hang around high society even if he has local small town cops on his payroll and Booth couldn’t function in high society . Huston is high society and his rationalization for his behavior in a later scene when Nicholson’s Gittes has uncovered all his scandals is just horrifying

[@camtron]

Definitely not a cooked fish without an opaque eye.

[@jamesl9371]

One of the best movies 🍿 of all time

[@jackshaftoe1715]

Only seen this clip but I think you're on to something.

[@BUKUDI]

Well ... more like since the time of cinema existing ... which isn't really that long a time at all. So let's not be melodramatic

[@dagnabbit6187]

@@jackshaftoe1715 You need to watch the whole thing . One of the best films ever made . Stands with Casablanca and Citizens Kane . Warning ,it is not for the romantic but it isn’t unnecessarily over the top violent like many of today’s unnecessary carnage films . Best comment about Chinatown is by a Critic . “ Hollywood has been backing off its wormy truth ever since “ I say yes until Monster when Charlize Theron’s Aileen Wuornos had a sit down with Christina Ricci’s Selby wall.

[@kristiandoon8976]

This is one of those films you can watch again and again. What makes some films like that?

[@Mungo-Man]

They don't make movies in Hollywood like this any more.

[@tony.bickert]

Stop with the whining.

[@jackshaftoe1715]

They only put out comic book $hit. I read those when I was 12. Kids today.......

[@geoffoldread7684]

Strange, they've been making comments like these FOREVER.

[@franktatom1837]

That's exactly the premise of this book, and there is evidence to support that premise. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Goodbye:_Chinatown_and_the_Last_Years_of_Hollywood#:~:text=Language-,The%20Big%20Goodbye%3A%20Chinatown%20and%20the%20Last%20Years%20of%20Hollywood,book%20written%20by%20Sam%20Wasson.

[@Philbert-s2c]

And they haven't since the 80's.

[@cozmicmojo2181]

Wow, what a great scene.

[@radscorpion8]

I was hoping to learn something about why he was so evil but he just seems like a generic old man

[@dandavis8300]

Same predilections as Polanski...

[@SS-ex8pg]

To explain why would be a spoiler. This is an amazing movie with great performances...a film noir (in color) NOT made in the 40s or 50s. See it, if you get a chance.

[@inlandindieP35]

Same predilections both ON and OFF screen. Danny Huston; look up who his parents are and their age disparity.

[@SP-ki5gn]

@@inlandindieP35 Just did, but no trace of the mother's date of birth, but yeah, pictures show a considerable age difference.

[@dandavis8300]

@@inlandindieP35 --Walter Huston was born in 1906 but I actually can't find any information on when Zoe Sallis was born; do you know?

[@Palaemon44]

I saw Chinatown when it was first released and before Roman Polanski was exposed. I had no idea at the time Polanski thought he was giving the movie a happy ending when the villain drove off into the sunset with the young girl.

[@bayknight20]

So are you saying that Noah Cross is really Polanski projecting himself on to the screen?

[@operator1717]

John Huston wasn’t that wholesome irl either.

[@Bearcat19]

Love to know where I could get a hat like the one Jack has on !

[@donnyscallz]

I believe that is a Trilby -style hat.

[@Bearcat19]

@ thanks, my wife says my head is too round for traditional cowboy hat, so I’m looking for alternatives. Problem is, she’s a DAMN good cook!

[@donnyscallz]

@@Bearcat19 Hahahaha that hilarious

[@crash-symbols]

So many things to love about this movie! 🤓

[@ys11-s4f]

They dont make em like John Huston anymore...magnificent actor/director...what a life he had ! Weird that Polanski directed a film about incest considering his sodomy/rape conviction...

[@Easy-Eight]

Polanski lost his mind after Sharon Tates murder. Obviously he changed and it's no excuse

[@CrazyLinguiniLegs]

I’ve read a couple of times that Huston was also accused of sexual abuse of underage girls and even of letting his daughter, Anjelica, be taken advantage of by men his age when she was underage. I don’t think he was ever convicted though (or even accused in court). Supposedly he was friends with the prime suspect in the Black Dahlia case, too.

[@bradpnw1897]

John Huston was the MAN!

[@Psyfi85]

Was literally sizing up Jack here, not all of it was acting at least in a metaphorical sense. Jack had already begun seeing Angelica by this point I believe.

[@jeffmiller6954]

the screenwriter passed away this year.

[@rayhill5767]

If y’all love this movie check out The Long Goodbye. One of my favorites. Almost forgotten

[@unfgreen]

Elliot Gould as Philip Marlowe? Sounds awful

[@rayhill5767]

@ Robert Altman film (MASH Mc Cabe and Ms Miller etc). It’s fantastic. Like the Big Lebowski but darker

[@brucewayne3602]

He was uniquely that +++ brilliant, perhaps beyond, director !!!

[@gregbowden1552]

Such a complicated scene.

[@cdavidlake2]

I love how he keep mispronouncing Gittes' name. Great (and telling) detail.

[@David-ke5nm]

Never liked the decision to cover half of Jacks face with the biggest nose bandage you’ve ever seen.

[@Onmysheet]

It was a serious injury. The midget cut the left side of his nose.

[@RalphEmigh]

The hat etiquette was different than Cowboys.

[@tomallen5837]

Probably. I'm curious now too. Just what kind of Cowboys are you comparing to? That is to say which category of cowboys... from what vicinity? You didn't write enough. If you're talking about John Huston's character's hat, my research shows it's a western fedora. If you're talking about Jack Nicholson's characters hat, it also shows up as a fedora. But both are different styles. Lots of info on this on the web since the movie was so well documented.

[@bobjoe1593]

@@tomallen5837 I think hat etiquette means the rules about when it is acceptable to wear hats or when you have to take them off (like every time Nicholson sits down he takes his off- which I see as sort of a demonstration of Gitte's professionalism as being a servant as in a paid investigator vs Huston's character laid back old boss?) and I am interested in what he meant by it too

[@tomallen5837]

@bobjoe1593 okay now I see the point. I totally wasn't including 'etiquette' in my thought process. My bad. Yes super curious now to reflect on this further, I somehow have an immediate impression that Noah Cross has reached a state where he doesn't have to take his hat off. It's a class separation if you will?... the result of his years of money and wealth. Can also be that the directors decided that John Houston, who I read was quite 'eclectic', maybe he didn't want to take his hat off, you know, like in real life?

[@pjmlegrande]

@@tomallen5837the costuming for 5his flick was top notch

[@FrancisGalton117]

He’s still not as evil as The Hildebeast.

[@jacqdanieles]

... rent free 😂

[@JohnMar210]

Can’t take more chicken and veg

[@petere5826]

Anton Chigurh

[@craigbrowne5806]

They don't make movies like this anymore...

[@kellymcclendon6601]

Well, what do I comment?

[@rapido2963]

The floor is all yours 👍

[@CB-rv9kb]

One of the most underrated movies

[@bertroost1675]

Are you seriously thinking this? Chinatown is an extremely famous film. Perhaps you're just trolling for someone like me to take the bait? LOL.

[@unfgreen]

10 Oscar nominations and 1 win is not underrated.

[@AlottaDixonCider]

k.

[@christiangraf5474]

Chicken is better as Fish.🙋✌🏻🇦🇹

[@pp-bb6jj]

Anti White bigotry is seething through.

[@charleslanphier8094]

The sequel 'The Two Jakes' just as good, directed and starring Jack Nicholson

[@theseeingeye454]

Not quite as good ,but a worthy sequel . Gets post war LA on the verge of the boom and re introduces C'Town characters. Scar on Gittes nose still noticeable. Highly recommended.