Roman Polanski’s reinterpretation of the film noir genre stars Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes, a private detective in 1930s Los Angeles. Gittes is hired by femme fatale Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway) to untangle mysteries tied up with the city’s corrupt water rights history. Gittes’s investigation, filled with uncertainty and missteps, eventually leads to a shocking finale in Chinatown. Chinatown won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Polanski himself has an unforgettable cameo as a thug with a knife.